So we buy the drugs in the U.S. and send the weapons – and then we blame Mexico for the violence and immigration – wow — Axel

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by Marian Wang
ProPublica, March 4, 2011, 1:49 p.m

In an effort to catch Mexican drug lords, the federal agency responsible for regulating the gun industry and cracking down on gun crime allowed thousands of weapons [1] to pass into Mexico and fall into the hands of criminals, according to a report by CBS News and other outlets this week.

A senior agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—better known as the ATF—told CBS and the Center for Public Integrity that ATF supervisors instructed agents to not intercept weapons [2] made in suspicious sales, but to monitor them to see where the weapons ended up. CBS reported that a number of unnamed agents [3] have made similar allegations.