Letter to the Honorable Alan D. Bersin, Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Letter

Senator Chuck Grassley continues to press the administration for answers about the policy that allowed guns to "walk" over the Mexican border. Grassley began questioning the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in January. His requests for information about the involvement of various agencies, including ATF, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection have been stonewalled by the administration.

Grassley is now asking Customs and Border Protection for information about reportedly stopping Blas Gutierrez and Miguel Carrillo near the Mexican border. The two were recently indicted as part of a gun trafficking operation involving the mayor of Columbus, New Mexico. Additionally, Grassley is asking about allegations that Customs and Border Protection stopped Jaime Avila, who was recently indicted as the straw purchaser of weapons found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's murder. In both instances, Border Patrol agents allegedly found the gun runners to be in possession of multiple weapons, but let the suspects proceed for unknown reasons.

"No longer can this administration stand idly by and answer every question by saying that the Justice Department Inspector General is investigating. There is too much at stake. U.S. agents may have been killed because of a tragically ill-advised policy," Grassley said. "The President said a serious mistake may have been made here, and that, if so, he would hold someone accountable. It is clearer every day that serious mistakes were made. Now it's time for accountability."

Grassley's letter to Customs and Border Protection (March 16, 2011) made a specific request for officials knowledgeable about the agency's involvement in Operation Fast and Furious be made available at a briefing that was already scheduled to take place with Grassley staff. Customs and Border Protection did not make officials available and there have been no attempts by the agency to schedule a subsequent briefing when officials would be available to answer the questions in Grassley's letter.

March 16, 2011

Via Electronic Transmission

The Honorable Alan D. Bersin
Commissioner
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20229

Dear Commissioner Bersin:

Since January, I have been investigating the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives (ATF) operation called "Fast and Furious"--part of the broader "Project Gunrunner"
initiative. According to several agents, ATF leadership encouraged gun dealers to engage in
sales of multiple weapons to individuals suspected of illegally purchasing them for resale to
Mexican cartels. Specifically, I am seeking information on whether CBP officials had an
opportunity to seize weapons from straw purchasers on two specific occasions.

First, on March 8, 2011, federal authorities indicted 11 defendants, including the Mayor
and the Police Chief of a small town in New Mexico, for conspiring to smuggle weapons from
the United States into Mexico.1 According to the indictment, on January 14, 2010, Blas
Gutierrez and Miguel Carrillo were pulled over near the border and were found in possession of
eight weapons, including three AK-47-type pistols. 2 Also according to the indictment, two of
the weapons were later smuggled to Mexico, where they were found this month, March 2011. I
understand that CBP may have been the agency that conducted the vehicle stop referenced in the indictment and that some of the weapons may have been connected to Operation Fast and
Furious. However, CBP allegedly let the individuals go, perhaps because it failed to determine
that the weapons or individuals were connected to ATF operation at the time of the vehicle stop.

Second, CBP officials allegedly stopped Jaime Avila near the border in the spring or
summer of 2010. He allegedly had the two WASR-10 rifles in his possession that were later
found at the scene of Agent Brian Terry's murder, along with over thirty additional weapons.
CBP officials contacted ATF or an Assistant United States Attorney who allegedly instructed
CBP to allow Avila proceed without seizing the weapons.

In order to ascertain the extent to which these accounts are accurate, please ensure that
CBP officials are prepared to answer questions about these two incidents in addition to questions about the use of force policy at the staff briefing scheduled for this Friday. If you have any questions about this request, please contact Brian Downey at (202) 224-5225. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member

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