Jaime Zapata Intercepted Fast and Furious Guns
I’ve said this first bit before — but anything worth saying once is worth saying twice, don’t you think?
OK, that may not be true of everything, but this is worth repetition.
On March 4, 2011, I asked of the murder of Jaime Zapata:
Was this murder also the result of guns that the Obama administration deliberately allowed into Mexico?
It was known at the time that a Project Gunrunner gun had been found at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. My question was: did the DoJ and/or ATF also “walk” the gun that had been used to kill ICE agent Jaime Zapata? This was a question I had not heard asked publicly before it was asked on this blog. (As I explained at the time, I cannot take credit for asking this question: as often happens, it was a perceptive reader who tipped me to the possibility.)
I elaborated on the thesis on March 29, 2011, asking: Should the ATF Have Prevented the Sale of the Gun that Killed ICE Agent Jaime Zapata?. I followed it up with a post the next day in which I said:
I think the feds had Zapata’s murder weapon in their hands, and let it go. I think that, in February 2011, Zapata was murdered with a gun that literally slipped through the fingers of ATF agents.
Today we get a rather interesting revelation: Jaime Zapata was actually intercepting firearms that originated from the Fast and Furious program:
Congressional investigators permitted to view Department of Homeland Security documents related to the Fast and Furious operation have located and seen an Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Report of Investigation (ROI) from August 2010 describing 80 weapons seized in an arms smuggling interdiction between Phoenix, Arizona and San Antonio, Texas. Of these weapons, the majority (approximately 50) were noted to have come from Operation Fast & Furious in Arizona, purchased by Uriel Patino and Jacob Chambers. The ROI was written and signed by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Jaime Zapata, who was shot dead in an ambush at a fake roadblock in San Luis Potosí, Mexico on 15 February 2011. At the time of the report, Agent Zapata was assigned to the Laredo office.
Laredo, eh?
Didn’t I write on September 30, 2011: “Has anyone fully looked into the Laredo office? Just curious . . .”?
Why, yes. I did.
I also asked a number of questions about Laredo on March 29, 2011 — a post with a detailed timeline of the surveillance of the Osorio crew that purchased weaponry found at the Zapata crime scene:
What caused Laredo ATF to be interested in investigating the Osorios and Morrison in early November 2010? How long had Laredo ATF been investigating the Osorios and Morrison and why? Why was the Dallas operation initiated by Laredo, and does that investigation relate to the earlier observations, surveillance, and seizure(s) near the border?
I will once again ask whether Laredo is central to the story.
Just sayin’.
I know people don’t seem to care much about this story, but I do.
Patterico (feda6b) — 6/15/2012 @ 7:19 pmWell I did have a h/t around 4;35, Patterico.
narciso (494474) — 6/15/2012 @ 7:22 pmWell, was Zapata killed over this? And if so, by whom? Could make a couple of movies about this in itself.
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 6/15/2012 @ 7:30 pmIf people don’t care I think it is only because they are occupied caring for some of the other reasons Holder will hopefully be before Congress for in 2013 as a private citizen, or some of the other things his boss is doing by
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 6/15/2012 @ 8:49 pmdivine commandimperial fiatexecutive order.MD, I’m kind of hoping Holder will be before a federal judge as a private citizen. And if he doesn’t respond there, a plea of Not Guilty will be entered for him.
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 6/15/2012 @ 8:54 pmThe Texas delegation cares but is getting stonewalled by the Obama Administration. The Obama Administration has admitted Fast & Furious happened in Arizona but the ATF won’t admit it happened in Texas:
Hmmm. Laredo.
On a related matter, the first Mexican plaintiff is reportedly set to sue in an American court.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 6/15/2012 @ 8:58 pmIf Romney can make a big deal out of this, he just may win this thing yet.
Ghost (6f9de7) — 6/15/2012 @ 9:19 pmI care a great deal about this story. And you can be assured that among the people I follow, this story remains a huge deal – because it illustrates the fundamental corruption of the Obama administration.
SPQR (26be8b) — 6/16/2012 @ 8:09 amPatterico asked, Was this murder (ICE Agent, Jamie Zapata)also the result of guns that the Obama administration deliberately allowed into Mexico?
Let’s see, Zapata was investigating gun running from Arizona and Texas into Mexico, which we now know was an Obama Administration sponsored operation, and he was set-up for premeditated murder at a phony check-point.
Eric Holder has refused to turn over documents relating to the Obama Administration’s gun running operations from Arizona and Texas into Mexico to Congressional investigating committees.
In the absence of verified evidence to the contrary the answer to Patterico’s question is is an obvious Yes, it certainly appears to be the case that Zapata was murdered to shut him up and that DOJ is actively concealing their criminal involvement.
ropelight (d0fd46) — 6/16/2012 @ 12:23 pmIt is important. Please keep on it too.
flicka47 (9fb290) — 6/16/2012 @ 7:05 pmHere are a few more questions and some observations:
Jamie Zapata was a Border Patrol Agent assigned to the Yuma, Arizona office before he joined ICE in 2006. Brian Terry, also a BP Agent was assigned to the Nogales, Arizona office. Did they know each other and had they served together on the same Border Enforcement Task Force?
At both murders guns that had been allowed to “walk” were found at the kill site. These were high quality weapons of choice, not cheap Saturday night throw-downs. The murder weapons were obtained from US gun dealers using straw buyers to purchase first class firearms at retail prices and then left on the ground to be found and examined as evidence linking them back to the buyers and their government sponsors.
Why was Jamie Zapata temporarily assigned to the US Embassy in Mexico City in early February 2011? He submitted a report of investigation (ROI) in August 2010 detailing the seizure of 80 weapons between Phoenix and San Antonio establishing the connection between Gunwalking operations in Arizona and Texas (50 of the 80 weapons were identified as Gunwalker weapons purchased by Uriel Patino and Jacob Chambers).
Once in Mexico, why was Jamie Zapata, unarmed and unescorted, detailed to meet ICE agents from Monterey half-way along the road from Mexico City (to pick-up unspecified equipment) after he had been in Mexico only 9 days? Highway 57 was considered so dangerous US personnel were cautioned to travel only in daylight hours.
When Julian Espinosa (El Piolin) was indicted for Jamie Zapata’s murder an affidavit from a federal court reporter was attached which acknowledged he had mistakenly erased testimony given by a special agent investigating the Zapata murder case. Jared Taylor writing for The (Rio Grande Valley) Monitor 12/21/11 reports “that testimony came on April 19th, the same day Espinoza’s indictment was filed.”
Both Brian Terry and Jamie Zapata were sent into dangerous situations unaware of attackers lying in wait who were supplied with superior weapons purchased with the acquiescence, if not at the direction, of ATF, and with the cooperation of elements within DHS and likely the State Department as well.
ropelight (822d42) — 6/18/2012 @ 2:10 pmComment by Kevin M — 6/15/2012 @ 8:54 pm
I hope that he has to appear, as a private citizen, before a Mexican Federal Judge.
AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92) — 6/18/2012 @ 2:39 pmI rerally hate being a cynic but believe it highly likely that Holder already has his signed and sealed presidential pardon in his bank safe deposit box or some other secure nearby location.
Libertarian Advocate (c660ae) — 6/27/2012 @ 9:40 am