Zeta 7 Second Capo to implicate ATF

One of the original members of the Los Zetas drug cartel, Jesús Enrique Rejón Aguilar aka El Mamito aka Zeta 7 was busted by the MexFeds. The arrest was ordered for drug trafficking and the attack on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents which occurred February 14 of this year in Santa Maria, San Luis Potosi, where ICE agent Jaime Zapata was murdered.

The Mexican Federal Police authorities released a portion of the interrogation that was conducted July 3, 2011. During the interview several revelations were uncovered. A short excerpt is included hear.
The investigator asked him about weapons and this exchange took place.

Interrogator: And where do you get your weapons?

Rejón Aguilar: From the United States. All weapons come from the U.S.

Interrogator: How are they brought here?

Rejón Aguilar: Crossing the river. We used to bring them through the bridge, but it’s become harder to do that.

Interrogator: Who purchases the weapons?

Rejón Aguilar: They are bought in the U.S. The buyers (on the U.S. side of the border) have said in the past that sometimes they would acquire them from the U.S. Government itself.

Interrogator: And nowadays, who distribute them to you?

Rejón Aguilar: It’s more difficult for us to acquire weapons nowadays, but we find ways. But it’s easier for the Gulf Cartel to bring them across the border.

Interrogator: Why?

Rejón Aguilar: We don’t know why, but they bring them (across the bridge) in the trunk of their cars without being checked (by Mexican Customs). One can only think that they must have reached a deal with the (Mexican) government.

Interrogator: How often are they smuggled?

Rejón Aguilar: Today it’s more difficult so it’s more sporadic, like every month, every 20 days, or every month and a half. It’s done when ever there’s an opportunity.

This interview is significant in the fact that El Manito mentions that the weapons come across the river not over the bridge because of resent difficulties. The next nugget of information is that the Gulf Cartel is involved and they have no trouble bring guns over the bridge and the mention of the Mexican and US government officials are involved.This means that there is a cross border conspiracy going on involving agents of both governments and that the Gulf cartel may have better logistics. El Manito as a member of the Los Zetas organization operated in North Eastern Mexico the same territory as the Gulf Cartel. 

Weapons acquisitions from the US buyers and the US Government, this indicates that ATF in Texas is implicated in Fast and Furious and that the F&F operation was not exclusive to the Phoenix ATF office. Zeta 7 is also the second cartel capo in a month that has mentioned purchasing weapons from the US Government. 

It is understandable that guns move across the river in a clandestine operation so as not to involve customs agents on ether side of the Rio Grand. For the guns to move across the bridge that would mean that the schedule of shipments would need to be coordinated with the personnel schedules on both sides of the border. From the cartel perspective the crossings at Progresso, Los Indios, and possibility Roma would be the softest egress points for money and weapons in to Mexico.

With the possibility of more than one ATF office in the South West being involved, will F&F operations be uncovered in the rest of the country? The drug distribution networks that are controlled by the cartels opens up the possibility of a nation wide strategy to funnel weapons into Mexico. If ATF allowed the gun walking strategy to take place in Phoenix then why not Ft Worth, Laredo, Knoxville, Atlanta, New Orleans or Tampa? How far reaching is this? Are there gun stores in Washington DC?