The two Republicans leading the investigation into the a controversial federal gun operation want to know more about guns that were used in the killing of an immigration officer.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking what the Justice Department knows about firearms linked to the gun-running operation that were used to murder Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata.
They also asked for information about the Department of Justice’s knowledge of Ranferi and Otilio Osorio, and Kelvin Morrison, straw purchasers linked to weapons used in the killing.
The two also criticized the attorney general, saying that an October 11 response he sent Grassley was six months late and failed to address questions posed by the senator.
They also asked Holder to comment on whether any component of the Justice Department knew how or when the firearm that was used to kill Zapata was taken to Mexico.
Grassley and Issa asked why the Osorio brothers and Morrison weren’t arrested on November 9, 2010, even though undercover federal agents sold the men illegal firearms while local law enforcement officials put them under surveillance and stopped them.
Zapata was murdered on February 15 while en route from Mexico City to Monterrey to assist the Mexican government in its efforts to clamp down on organized crime. The car he was riding in was attacked by gunmen from a drug cartel called Los Zetas, despite the fact that it had diplomatic license plates.
Another ICE Agent, Victor Avila, was also wounded in the attack, but he survived.
