Yesterday Mexico's two largest political parties demanded that a formal extradition request be submitted to the United States government, so that the officers behind Wide Receiver (2006-2007) and Fast and Furious (2009-2011) are compelled to face Mexican criminal justice for arms trafficking. There's zero possibility that their demands will go anywhere, since it would be up to the Calderón administration to process the request. That assuredly will not happen.
Joint resolutions for extradition were offered in the Mexican Senate by PAN (National Action Party) and PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). Those two parties do not often agree on much of anything, but this time they did, since it's politically popular to do so.
Earlier this week U.S. attorney general Eric Holder admitted to a Senate committee that both programs had been major mistakes. But he told legislators that the operations, designed to track drug cartels via homing devices embedded in the firearms, were "a response to, not the cause of," illegal arms trafficking. Holder acknowledged that the U.S. was "losing the war" against the assault weapons trade.
Shortly after Holder testified, president Barack Obama told a group of journalists that there were no plans for new laws on gun sales. "Our plan is to enforce the laws we already have," said the president.
In drug war, "national sovereignty" is little more than antiquated political theory: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2011/11/in-drug-war-national-sovereignty-is.html.
More on Eric Holder's Senate appearance, and related arms sales stories: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/us-ag-to-congress-furious-and-furious.html.
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