Mexico Unveils Warrants in 'Fast and Furious' Gun Scandal

Mexico’s government announced that federal authorities issued seven arrest warrants linked to the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal. Three individuals, including famed drug lord “El Chapo” Guzman, are named — but four others remain unidentified to the public.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) made the announcement over the weekend, identifying Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera as the leader of the cartel directly benefiting from Fast and Furious.

Run by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Fast and Furious was a failed operation that allowed thousands of weapons to be purchased by domestic cartel suppliers so they could be traced to the ultimate buyers in Mexico. The operation turned to scandal for the Obama administration after it was revealed the ATF allowed cartels to purchase more than 2,000 weapons for moving to Mexico.

Another well-known defendant in the case is Genaro Garcia Luna, a former Public Security Secretary for Mexico who is currently in a U.S. prison awaiting trial on drug trafficking conspiracy charges. The third is Luis Cardenas Palomino, a former top security and intelligence official in Mexico who has been in jail since July 2021 on unrelated charges.

The statement did not identify the four other individuals named in the warrant, or whether they were already in custody.

The FGR claimed some of the weapons have been used in crimes since 2009. The FGR said that the U.S. has been investigating the case and “defined responsibilities” on the U.S. officials involved in the scandal.

The focusing on Fast and Furious by Mexico City comes amid the country’s lawsuit against the largest gun manufacturers in the U.S. to transfer blame for the nation’s raging cartel violence.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected]. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].