First, Babeu used the word “betrayal” to describe what he thinks of an operation that sent arms to the same criminals responsible of a war that has killed more than 42,000 people in Mexico.
Next, the sheriff of Pinal County acknowledged that these arms have been used in the killings of more than 200 people, a number that could be higher but that it’s impossible to know for sure. Babeu pointed out to Cooper, that the situation is getting out of control, as Bryan Kerry agent of the Border Patrol, was murdered on American soil, with arms provided by an agency of the Federal Government.
“If somebody gives a gun to somebody knowing they’re going to commit murder, guess what we call them? We call them accomplices.” Cooper read this quote of Babeu from an earlier interview with Fox11AZ, and asked him if he thinks the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) have been accomplice to murder, to what Babeu responded with a clear “Absolutely”.
Afterwards, he pointed to the head of the Department of Justice, Attorney General Eric Holder, who was nominated by President Obama himself, as responsible for breaking countless treaties with Mexico, an ally, not an enemy of the US.
At the end of the interview, Babeu said that the US facilitated weapons to criminals that are working to topple the Mexican Government, which is a brave thing to say, as no US authority had made such strong affirmations about the reach of the “Fast and Furious” operation.
The so-called war on drugs, has proven to be an utter failure once and again. People are dying on both sides of the border and our authorities instead of stopping the violence, are arming the criminals responsible for the killings.
Babeu's declarations come after a bipartisan report prepared by US senators Dianne Feinstein y Charles Grassley, showed that the consumption of drugs in the US raised violence in Latin America.
We are in this together, and as Babeu said, we are partners, not enemies in this war. So, if we will ever have a chance to "win the war", we need to work together, and forget about these illegal and undercover operations that undermine the efforts made by our countries against the organized crime.
Our most profound respect to Sheriff Paul Babeu, for putting himself in the center of the controversy with such strong remarks, and for speaking his mind out about an operation that, in his own words, was “pure insanity”.
