70+ Examples of the Violent Legacy of Fast and Furious


(Image above: 42 weapons recovered by Mexican military in Naco, Sonora, Mexico, 20 Nov 2009. Operation Fast and Furious suspect Uriel Patino bought 19 of the weapons one to two weeks earlier. From: Justice Dept. Inspector General)

Updated Sept. 21, 2019 

Since 2011, the Justice Department has refused repeated requests from Congress and the news media to fully disclose details of incidents involving guns that had been illegally trafficked to Mexican drug cartels under the watch of U.S. agents in Operation Fast and Furious. The partial list below was compiled using available information.

Known crimes linked to “walked” weapons:

On May 25, 2016, Judicial Watch released a summary of Justice Department records that shows “a total of 94 Fast and Furious firearms have been recovered in Mexico City and 12 Mexican states, with the majority being seized in Sonora, Chihuahua and Sinaloa. Of the weapons recovered, 82 were rifles and 12 were pistols identified as having been part of the Fast and Furious program. Reports suggest the Fast and Furious guns are tied to at least 69 killings.”

Deaths: at least 43 (update: on May 25, 2016 according to Judicial Watch, “at least 69”) including:

  • 2 U.S. federal agents
  • 3 Mexican police
  • 1 terrorist torture/kidnaping/murder in Mexico

Attempted murders or injuries: 3

  • 1 in Mexico; 2 in U.S.

Kidnapings: 4 (all in Mexico)

Assaults/Shootouts: 6 incidents including:

  • 2 in Mexico against military; 2 in U.S. against Phoenix law enforcement

1. Nov. 14, 2009 Mexican Kidnaping Crime Scene

One AK-47 type assault rifle purchased by a Fast and Furious suspect was recovered in Atoyac de Alvarez, Mexico after the Mexican military rescued a kidnap victim.

2. Dec. 9, 2009 Cartel Crime Scene Seizure in Mexico
Mexican Army recovered 900 pounds of cocaine, 132 pounds of methamphetamine, $2 million U.S. dollars and 48 firearms in Mexicali, Mexico.  Twenty of the weapons had been purchased by Fast and Furious suspects.

3. Dec. 18, 2009 Crime Scene in Mexico
Mexican law enforcement agents recovered five firearms in Tijuana, Mexico, four of which had been originally purchased by a Fast and Furious suspect.

4. Date unknown, 2010 Mexican Men Assault Phoenix Detectives
Arizona state police revealed that two guns from Fast and Furious were found in an arrest involving two Mexican men who assaulted detectives outside Phoenix in 2010. Nobody was seriously hurt.

5. Jan. 8, 2010 Mexican Army Seizure
Two weapons purchased by a Fast and Furious suspect were recovered as part of a 14-gun seizure by the Mexican Army in Tijuana, Mexico.

Indian
Seizure of Fast and Furious Weapons at Tohono O’odham Indian reservation, Arizona, Feb. 20, 2010. Photo: Dept. of Justice Inspector General

6. Feb. 20, 2010 U.S. Crime Scene Seizure
Agents in Arizona at the Tohono O’odham Indian reservation seized 37 AK-47 style weapons purchased ten days earlier by a Fast and Furious suspect.

7. Feb. 26 and 27, 2010 Cartel Weapons Seizures in Mexico
ATF notified U.S. Attorney’s office of two large recovery incidents in Mexico that believed to include Fast and Furious weapons. An email on the Feb. 26 incident stated: “big Mexican Army seizure last night in Sinaloa from ‘Chapo’ Guzman’s guys.”

8. July 1, 2010 Two Murders in Mexico
Two AK-47 type assault rifles purchased by Fast and Furious suspects were recovered in Sonora, Mexico after a shootout between Mexican cartels. Two murders involving the weapons were reported in the incident.

9. July 26, 2010 Firing of Rifle in Mexico
A giant .50 caliber Barrett rifle purchased by a Fast and Furious suspect was recovered in Durango, Mexico after apparently having been fired. No further details were given.

10. Aug. 13, 2010 Mexican Military vs. Armed Group
Two AK-47 type assault rifles purchased by a Fast and Furious target were recovered in Durango, Mexico after a confrontation between the Mexican military and an “armed group.”

11. Nov. 14, 2010 Terrorist Torture Murder of Mexican Official’s Brother
Two Fast and Furious “walked” AK-47 variant rifles were found at the scene of a shoot-out with suspects in the Oct. 2010 terrorist torture, kidnap and murder of the brother of a Mexican state attorney general, Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez.

Read about Fast and Furious rifles in the terrorist-torture case

Watch the video report on Fast and Furious rifles in the terrorist-torture case

12. Dec. 14, 2010 Border Patrol Agent Murder
Two or three AK-47 style rifles found at the murder scene of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, who was killed in Arizona by illegal immigrant bandits, had been sold to Mexican drug cartels by Fast and Furious weapons trafficking suspects under ATF’s watch.

Find links to all Fast and Furious reports here

13. Feb. 15, 2011 U.S. Immigration and Customs Agent Murdered in Mexico, Partner Injured.
Immigration and Customs (ICE) Agent Jaime Zapata was murdered and his partner injured in a suspected cartel ambush in Mexico. Two weapons linked to suspects who were under ATF surveillance were used in the murder.

Watch the video of the second “walked” weapons linked to Agent Zapata murder

14. May 27, 2011 Mexican Military Helicopter Downed, 29 Cartel Members Killed
A Mexican military helicopter was forced to land after drug cartel suspects fired upon it near Jalisco, western Mexico. Authorities seized more than 70 assault rifles and other weapons from the suspects including three AK-47 type assault rifles sold to Fast and Furious suspects.

View the report on the downed Mexican military helicopter involving Fast and Furious weapons

15. Aug 17, 2011 11 Violent Crimes in U.S.
The Justice Department reported that Fast and Furious guns had been recovered, so far, at 11 violent crime scenes in the U.S. but refused to provide details requested by Congress. Later, the Justice Department revised the number and said there were only two violent crime scenes.

Read the story on Fast and Furious guns being recovered at 11 violent crime scenes in U.S.

16. Sept. 14, 2011 8 Violent Crimes in Mexico: 3 Murders, 4 Kidnappings, 1 Attempted Homicide
Fast and Furious weapons were reported to be tied to at least eight violent crimes in Mexico including three murders, four kidnappings and an attempted homicide.

Read the story on Fast and Furious weapons tied to three more murders in Mexico

17. Nov. 23, 2012 Five Killed, Including Beauty Queen, in Mexico
A weapon purchased by a Fast and Furious suspect under ATF’s watch was recovered scene of a shootout between Sinaloa drug cartel members and Mexican military in Ciudad Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico. Sinaloa beauty queen Maria Susana Flores Gamez and four others were killed.

Watch the video of the story on a Fast and Furious weapon found at shootout in Mexico that killed five

19. July 29, 2013 Gang-style Assault in Phoenix
An AK-47 rifle that was part of Fast and Furious was used in the gang-style assault on an apartment building in Phoenix that left two people wounded.

Read the story about a Fast and Furious rifle used in gang-style assault in Phoenix

19. Aug. 14, 2013 Three Weapons Recovered at Mexican Crime Scenes
Three WASR-10 762-calibur Romanian rifles sold to Fast and Furious suspects under ATF’s watch turned up at crime scenes in Mexico.

Read the report about three Fast and Furious rifles recovered at Mexican crime scenes

20. Oct. 10, 2013 Three Mexican Police Murdered
A grenade linked to Jean Baptiste Kingery, whom federal officials allowed to traffic unimpeded, was linked to a drug cartel shootout in Tepatitlin, Jalisco, Mexico in which three Jalisco State police officers were murdered and four cartel members were killed.

Watch the video about the grenade-walking case of Jean Baptiste Kingery

21. May 4, 2015 “Draw Mohammed” Shooting
One of two Islamic extremist terrorists who opened gunfire at a “Draw Muhammad” cartoon contest in Texas Nadir Soofi, had reportedly acquired one of his guns he owned as a result of Fast and Furious. The terrorists shot and injured a security guard.

22. Jan. 8, 2016 El Chapo Raid
A .50-caliber rifle found after the Jan. 8 raid Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s hideout in Mexico was funneled through the gun-smuggling investigation known as Fast and Furious, according to reports.

Read the story about El Chapo’s Fast and Furious weapon.

23. June 20, 2019 Mexican Army Seizure

After a gunfight between two armed groups, the Mexican army seized 10 weapons from nine suspect. One of the weapons, a WASR 10/63 rifle, had been purchased as part of Fast and Furious ten years before.


Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

12 thoughts on “70+ Examples of the Violent Legacy of Fast and Furious”

  1. Thank you for exposing more of the distructive nature of the Obama administration. It is becoming incleasily more difficult for the average citizen to justify lawfullnes with the continuously chaotic unlawfullness of our leadership (or lack there of). Thank you again for your diligence.

  2. This is how are Government is being run….

    “To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions; a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy.” –President Thomas Jefferson

    Following is a list of all United States federal judges appointed by President Barack Obama during his presidency.[1]
    As of January 19, 2016, the total number of Obama Article III judgeship nominees to be confirmed by the United States Senate is 320, including two justices to the Supreme Court of the United States, 55 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, 261 judges to theUnited States district courts, and two judges to the United States Court of International Trade.[2] The number of nominations currently awaiting Senate action is 32.[3] There are currently 9 vacancies on the United States Courts of Appeals, 57 vacancies on the United States district courts, 4 vacancies on the United States Court of International Trade[3] and 11 announced federal judicial vacancies that will occur before the end of Obama’s second term.[4] Obama has not made any recess appointments to the federal courts.
    In terms of Article I courts, Obama has made eight appointments and two pending nominations to the United States Tax Court, three appointments and five pending nominations to the United States Court of Federal Claims, three appointments to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, two appointments to the United States Court of Military Commission Review, and one appointment and one pending nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. He has also elevated two chief judges of the Court of Federal Claims.
    On the Article IV territorial courts, he has made two appointments and has elevated one judge to the position of chief judge.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_Barack_Obama

  3. Cumulative stories like this show the seriousness and breath of the bad decisions made by political administrations. Rather than a single event which can be brushed off as an isolated incident,, comprehensive compilation cannot be tossed aside. Even numerous separate events on the same issue are remembered lumped together as a single happening which lessens the impact.
    Its great to have reference source which has all the facts. Keep up the good work1

  4. In 1988 BORTAC had to brief US State Dept. about their operation west of Nogales, Ariz. to catch a large cocaine smuggling organization. The operation was a totally domestic op but as soon as the State Dept. Okd the operation they went straight to the Mexican Ambassador in DC and briefed him on the op. The Mexican cartel involved knew we were coming before we ever got there. Fast and Furious was a collusion between Obama and the Mexican Pres. and violated both the American and the Mexican constitutions. Many people who were involved committed treason among a great many other laws on that deal. Perjury for one. See Dennis Burkes sworn testimony.

Scroll to Top