Former US firearms investigator illegally trafficked guns to Mexico, government document alleges

[Judi Lynn]

1. ATF Investigator Smuggled Weapons into Mexico

By Socalj 10/20/2023 10:39:00 PM
"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

A former investigator with the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) is accused of trafficking weapons to Mexico while he was an employee of the bureau in 2017, according to a letter sent to the ATF Director this week by US Senator Charles Grassley.

José Luis Meneses, a Mexican citizen who worked as an investigator for the ATF at the US consulate in Tijuana, BC, Mexico admitted to purchasing firearm parts online as well as at a California gun store and trafficking them to Mexico for the purposes of profit in 2017, according to the letter and a then-agency memo obtained by Reuters. The case has not been reported previously.

The Grassley letter dated Oct. 18, 2023, cites the 2017 ATF memo and information described as “whistleblower disclosures,” accusing the agency of not conducting a full investigation into the matter.
“If these protected disclosures are true and accurate, they illustrate a failure by the ATF to hold its employees accountable for criminal misconduct.”

Grassley’s letter also raised questions about how much information US officials told their Mexican counterparts about the allegations of gun smuggling by the ATF employee, a point that could stoke tensions between the two countries.

More:
https://www.borderlandbeat.com/2023/10/an-atf-investigator-smuggled-weapons.html