Senate votes 99-0 to end 'Fast and Furious' scams

Washington – An amendment that would block federal agents from encouraging gun smuggling to break up drug cartels' dealing in weapons passed the U.S. Senate by a unanimous vote.

The amendment offered by Texas Senator John Cornyn would prohibit the type of tactics used by the BATFE in Operation Fast and Furious unless agents “continuously monitor or control the weapons.”

Thousands of firearms were lost in the operation, which the Justice Department has halted, resulting hundreds of pistols and rifles obtained by smugglers with government approval showing up at Mexican crime scenes.

Mr. Cornyn called the measure “just the first step towards ensuring that such a foolish operation can never be repeated by our own law enforcement.”

ATF agents troubled by the operation came forward and blew the whistle to Congressional investigators after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry lost his life in a shootout near Tucson in which two of the weapons authorized for sale to smugglers were recovered.

President Barack Obama said, “We will find out who and what happened in this situation and make sure it gets corrected.”

Certain investigators call the ebb and flow of supply and demand for weapons and illegal drugs just a part of the geopolitical chess game that is played out between the United States and Mexico on a daily basis.