Lawyers, Guns And Money, The Stuff Has Hit The Fan

Another piece from Bob Owens of PJM, the government let drug cartels smuggle drugs as well as guns.

A Sinaloa drug cartel member is claiming that the federal government allowed the cartel to smuggle cocaine into the United States in exchange for intelligence information about rival cartels.

Attorneys for Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla claim that in addition to being the drug-trafficking son of a Sinaloa cartel kingpin, Zambada was a Drug Enforcement Administration informant who was assured he could continue smuggling drugs in exchange for information by his DEA handlers. Zambada’s defense team is claiming that because he was an informant and promised immunity, charges against their client should be dropped.

According to the HoustonChronicle, U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo has given the government until September to respond.

While it is common for law enforcement agencies to cut a deal with suspects they have already captured in an effort to bring the suspect’s allies down as well, it is far rarer for an agency to cut a deal with a high-ranking trafficker while he is free and actively smuggling.

A trafficking expert cited in the Chronicle article says the deal, if true, is outrageous:

Bruce Bagley, who studies narcotics trafficking at the University of Miami, said the allegations call into question the sincerity of U.S. efforts to dismantle Mexico’s cartels. Fallout will be felt from Mexico to Washington, he said.

“This is completely unacceptable. You are giving cover to lethal members, deeply involved in the drug trade that is fueling violence in Mexico and the United States,” he said “It looks to me that where there is smoke, there is fire and there was some sort of a deal.”

Zambada’s defense comes at a sensitive time for federal law enforcement, which has recently been rocked by allegations that a multi-agency task force — including agencies from the Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Treasury — allowed straw purchasers and smugglers to “walk” more than 2,000 guns to Mexican cartels, primarily the same Sinaloa cartel of which Zambada is a part.

This is a travesty of American justice and a black eye to our friends south of the border. We did this operation without the Mexican government’s knowledge or consent. There will be international repercussions over this scandal. As Mr. Owens alluded to in a previous article about this mess, there is no way a Special Agent in Charge, either district or regional, would have had the temerity to do this operation on their own. This goes to the upper echelons of the American government. In fact, I’d go out on a limb here and say that this op had the connivance of not only Eric Holder, but help from Janet Napolitano and the President himself.

Smitty at TOM has connected the dots as well and very well thinks this fiasco will be Obama’s downfall. I dunno Smitty, there’s still plenty of room under that bus.

Doug Ross offers an excellent summary of the whole fandango. I still maintain that, as this scandal is rolled out, either it or the threat of it running its course will be the real reason for Obama to resign.The Dems, especially Invertebrate Harry in the Senate, have got to see BHO as a liability. The question becomes at what point the cost/benefit analysis is such that it’s easier to eat the impeachment than drink the fatal political kool-aid of hanging on to him.

I don’t think the Democratic leadership sees it that way. They think they are ten feet tall and bulletproof and that they are above the laws everyday Americans have to adhere to. Also I think that a lot of Americans still exclusively watch the main stream media and won’t even hear about this travesty of American justice.