ATF did not inform Honduran government of "walked" firearms

The latest from Proceso Digital: ATF did not inform Honduran government of "walked" firearms.

Original article HERE

Translation:

Guns Trafficking: Defense and Security Unknown Operation in Honduras

July 14, 2011

Tegucigalpa – In Honduras, the Ministers of Defense and of Security, Marlon Pascua and Oscar Alvarez, said they had no idea that there was present in this Central American country the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) which had organized an operation to infiltrate guns into Honduras using the same tactics of “Operation Fast and Furious” in Mexico.

“We have no idea of the truth of the same, but I can assure you, and we have been insisting for some time, is that the guns that have been appearing here in Honduras and the guns that have been directed to the drug cartels in Mexico and in Colombia, are not guns that have originated from armories of the armed forces nor of the police.”

Reports from the Fox News Network earlier this week indicate that there are reports that the ATF established an operation using the same techniques and tactics as in “Operation Fast and Furious.” The journalistic history by Mike Vanderboegh indicates that his sources in the ATF in Tampa indicate that 1,000 of these guns were sold to gang members in Honduras.

On this subject, Security Minister Oscar Alvarez said that they were not advised of the operation that the ATF would have carried out in Honduras in which, he said, there never was any coordination, either.

“At no time have we been advised, nor have we had any request for any kind of coordination much less have I been in communication with the embassy of the United States here in Tegucigalpa, he emphasized.

Regarding the seizures of arsenals in Honduras, he said that they are going “to analyze the serial numbers and check with technicians in the United States so we can find out where these batches of guns came from,” said Alvarez, in a way that left room for not ruling out the ATF operation in Honduras.

In September of 2010, A. Brian Albritton, an attorney from the United States, held a press conference dealing with those charged in Operation Castaway (four of them Hondurans). At the same time he affirmed that the investigation revealed that guns were trafficked to Honduras so that they could later be distributed to drug trafficking cartels and paramilitary groups.

Albritton affirmed that he did not know if the gun trafficking in question was part of an ATF operation.

[a link in the article goes to the article below]

Department 19

Honduras – United States: Unveil Details of Gun Trafficking

July 12, 2011

Author of the article: Digital Process

Tegucigalpa – According to a Fox News report on Sunday, July 10, there are reports that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in its Tampa division, organized an operation to infiltrate guns into Honduras using the techniques and tactics of “Operation Fast and Furious.”

In the article, Mike Vanderboegh, the journalist who uncovered the history [link to Sipsey Street’s current page], said that his sources in the Tampa office of the ATF indicate that 1,000 guns were sold to members of Honduran gangs.

(MBV: 1000 is an overall guess by one source. 200 is certain.)

On September 21, 2010, attorney A. Brian Albritton had a news conference dealing with those charged in Operation Castaway (four of them Hondurans). At the same time he revealed that guns were trafficked to Honduras so they could later be distributed to drug trafficking gangs and paramilitary groups.

Albritton affirmed that he did not know that the trafficked guns in question were part of the ATF operation.

Following is a rough translation by Digital Process of the relevant extracts of the press conference:

The United States Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) announce the results of an international investigation into the trafficking of firearms.
…
According to court records, a group of accused connected with Hugh Crumpler III engaged in an important gun trafficking operation. Crumpler has trafficked over five years 1,000 guns to various groups and the accused have exported these guns in Central and South America and Puerto Rico.