Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Mexican Drug Cartel Used "Fast and Furious" Gun in Failed Assassination Plot

Friday, August 10, 2012

Just when you think the news about the disastrous "Fast and Furious" gun-walking operation can't possibly get any worse, a U.S. government report has disclosed that Mexican drug cartel operatives used a firearm from the infamous scheme in a failed attempt to assassinate a high-ranking Mexican law enforcement official. 

According to a recent Daily Caller article, the gun "was seized in Tijuana in connection with a drug cartel's conspiracy to kill the police chief of Tijuana, Baja California, who later became the Juárez police chief."

An August 6, El Paso Times article gives further details:

The firearm was found Feb. 25, 2010, during an arrest of a criminal cell associated with Teodoro "El Teo" García Simental and Raydel "El Muletas" López Uriarte, allies of the Sinaloa cartel.

Tijuana police said they arrested four suspects in March 2010 in connection with a failed attempt to take out Julián Leyzaola, and that the suspects allegedly confessed to conspiring to assassinate the police chief on orders from Tijuana cartel leaders.


The firearm in question was traced back to the "Fast and Furious" operation.

Late last month, U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), and Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released a nearly 2,400-page report--"Fast and Furious: The Anatomy of a Failed Operation"--based on interviews from hearings and reviews of thousands of pages of documents.

The Daily Caller article also notes that, in addition to this latest revelation, the congressional report also revealed new evidence that Obama administration BATFE officials sought to cover up the "Fast and Furious" connection to a death other than that of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

The article reports that Mario Gonzalez, the brother of then-Mexican prosecutor Patricia Gonzalez, was killed in early November 2010.  And according to the congressional report, two of the firearms found at Mario Gonzalez's murder scene were tied to "Fast and Furious."

TRENDING NOW
ATF Announces New Director, Historic Regulatory Overhaul

News  

Thursday, April 30, 2026

ATF Announces New Director, Historic Regulatory Overhaul

April 29 was a big day for Second Amendment supporters in Washington, D.C., as ATF announced the confirmation of a new director, Robert Cekada, and rolled out perhaps the biggest one-day regulatory overhaul in the agency’s ...

More Guns, Less Homicide: Good News for America, Bad News for Gun Prohibitionists

News  

Monday, May 4, 2026

More Guns, Less Homicide: Good News for America, Bad News for Gun Prohibitionists

Homicide rates in the United States, including those where firearms are used, have been declining over the last few years.  According to multiple reports on early projections, 2025 is expected to see the largest decline in ...

Self-Defense: Another “Luxury” the Poor Can Do Without

News  

Monday, May 4, 2026

Self-Defense: Another “Luxury” the Poor Can Do Without

Many years ago, Otis McDonald, a 76-year old retiree living in a high-crime area of Chicago testified that he had “been robbed numerous times in his Morgan Park home; [he’d] witnessed too many crimes to count and ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging U.S. Supreme Court to Hear the Case of Navy Veteran Patrick “Tate” Adamiak

Monday, May 4, 2026

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging U.S. Supreme Court to Hear the Case of Navy Veteran Patrick “Tate” Adamiak

The National Rifle Association joined the Second Amendment Foundation, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Second Amendment Law Center, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in ...

Connecticut Senate Rams Through Unconstitutional Pistol Ban in Dead of Night

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Connecticut Senate Rams Through Unconstitutional Pistol Ban in Dead of Night

Last night, in the early morning hours of May 6th, progressives in the Connecticut Senate passed H5043, the Governor's bill banning future manufacture, sale, and importation of many commonly owned handguns in Connecticut.

Virginia: Spanberger Signs Unconstitutional Gun Bills into Law

Thursday, April 23, 2026

Virginia: Spanberger Signs Unconstitutional Gun Bills into Law

Today, April 23rd, Governor Spanberger Signed HB1525 and SB727/HB1524 into law. 

Anti-gun Officials Target Glock, While Failing to Hold Criminals to Account

News  

Monday, May 4, 2026

Anti-gun Officials Target Glock, While Failing to Hold Criminals to Account

In 2024, the City of Chicago filed a lawsuit against gun manufacturer Glock – the maker of some of the world’s most popular pistols for civilian and law enforcement use (including at one point the Chicago ...

Demonization of Semi-Automatic Long Guns Remains Symbolic, Not Data-Driven

News  

Monday, May 4, 2026

Demonization of Semi-Automatic Long Guns Remains Symbolic, Not Data-Driven

Semi-automatic long guns, such as the AR-15, have been a hot topic of political rhetoric for decades now. And for those same decades, those same firearms have remained statistically under-represented in violent crime, while remaining wildly mischaracterized ...

Pennsylvania: Pair of Pro-Gun Bills Advance In Senate

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Pennsylvania: Pair of Pro-Gun Bills Advance In Senate

Wednesday, May 6 was a big day in Harrisburg for gun owners as the Senate took action on a couple important gun bills.  

NRA Files Amicus Brief Arguing that Firearm Prohibitions for Nonviolent Felons Violate the Second Amendment

Thursday, May 7, 2026

NRA Files Amicus Brief Arguing that Firearm Prohibitions for Nonviolent Felons Violate the Second Amendment

Today, the National Rifle Association, along with the Firearms Policy Coalition and FPC Action Foundation, filed an amicus brief in Atkinson v. Blanche, a challenge to the federal lifetime prohibition on firearms possession by nonviolent felons.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.