As the “Fast and Furious” gun-trafficking scandal continues to grow, Congress is now investigating a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) program that was laundering money for Mexican cartels. Meanwhile, multiple cartel leaders and reports continue to suggest that the federal government is deeply involved in the narcotics and arms trades.
According to an article in the New York Times that first revealed the DEA money-laundering scheme to the public, U.S. drug agents supervised by the Justice Department likely laundered hundreds of millions in illegal profits — maybe more. The DEA and other agencies also helped send the illicit cash back across the border to Mexico in operations “orchestrated to get around sovereignty restrictions,” the Times reported in the article, headlined “U.S. Agents Launder Mexican Profits of Drug Cartels.”
“The high-risk activities raise delicate questions about the agency’s effectiveness in bringing down drug kingpins, underscore diplomatic concerns about Mexican sovereignty, and blur the line between surveillance and facilitating crime,” the article stated, noting that the agency often allows cartels to continue operating for years before taking any action.
And the program does not appear to be disrupting the criminal organizations. One former DEA official was quoted by the paper as saying that if the program failed to show results, “the D.E.A. could wind up being the largest money launderer in the business, and that money results in violence and deaths.” And the program has failed to show results, according to analysts.
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