Note: "lost track of some guns" ??
Texan Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Guns Tied to Shooting Death of U.S.
Immigration Agent in Mexico
Published November 03, 2011
| The Wall Street Journal
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/03/texan-pleads-guilty-in-shooting-
death-us-immigration-agent-in-mexico/?test=latestnews
AP/Dallas County Sheriff's Dept.
This undated handout photo provided by the Dallas County Sheriff's
Dept. shows Ranferi Osorio.
DALLAS – A member of a gun-smuggling ring linked to the shooting
death of a U.S. immigration agent in Mexico pleaded guilty here
Thursday to federal charges involving the illegal purchase of firearms.
The plea comes at a time when some Republicans in Congress are
raising concerns that the agents in charge of the case in Texas might
have intentionally allowed suspected smugglers to acquire guns, as
other federal agents did in two operations in Arizona. In one Arizona
sting, known as Fast and Furious, federal investigators lost track of
some guns that were then used to commit crimes in the U.S. and Mexico.
In the Texas case, 28-year-old Ranferi Osorio of Lancaster, Texas,
told a federal magistrate judge that he conspired with a crew of
seven other men to buy guns in violation of federal firearm-reporting
laws. He also admitted to possessing weapons with scratched-out
serial numbers.
His brother Otilio, who is set to plead guilty to the same charges
next week, bought the Romarm-Cugir Draco 7.62 pistol that Mexican
drug-cartel members used in a February ambush that killed Jaime
Zapata, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, on a highway
between Mexico City and Monterrey.
A spokesman for the Dallas office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which conducted the Osorio
investigation, declined to comment on the case because it is still
open. In the past, the head of the office has said that his agents
didn't intentionally allow any weapons to cross the border.
Events in the Osorio case took place in 2010 and early this year.
Note: have to wonder where these arms are coming from.
Kenya Raises Concerns Eritrea Arming Somali Rebels
Published November 04, 2011
| Associated Press
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/11/04/kenya-raises-concerns-eritrea-
arming-somali-rebels/
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Kenya's foreign minister summoned Eritrea's
ambassador on Friday and "raised concern" over the possibility that
planes from Eritrea are supplying weapons to Somali militants whom
Kenyan forces are battling in southern Somalia.
Moses Wetangula said if that is the case, Kenya has "a series of
options" to deal with the situation. He did not say what those
options include.
have and information available that there is a possibility that arms
supplies are flowing from his country to al-Shabab," Wetangula said.
"Make no mistake, Kenya will do everything possible to make sure,
one, that if it's in our capacity, supplies to al-Shabab must be
stopped," he said.
Eritrea denied this week that it is arming fighters in Somalia, and
Eritrea's foreign minister is expected in Kenya shortly.
Kenya has said it believes three planes flew into southern Somalia
over the last week with weapons meant for al-Shabab fighters. The
military spokesman said Thursday that the military would shoot down
or bomb on the ground any unidentified planes it believes to be
supplying the Al Qaeda-linked militants.
A July report by the U.N.'s Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea
said that al-Shabab controls two large airports and one former
military airport with asphalt runways. The report also said that
illicit flights with weapons or fighters for Somali militants could
be originating from Eritrea, Yemen or the United Arab Emirates.
The U.N. report said Eritrea consistently denies providing military
support to armed groups in Somalia, but that "new information ... not
only confirms many previous allegations of Eritrean military
involvement, but also offers firm grounds to believe that Eritrea
still retains active linkages to Somali armed groups."
Hundreds of Kenyan troops moved into southern Somalia last month
after a spate of kidnappings by armed Somalis, though officials said
the military incursion had been planned for months.
Militants now face fighting on two fronts -- from Kenyan forces in
the south, and from Ugandan and Burundian troops in the Somali capital.
Al-Shabab has threatened to launch terrorist attacks in Nairobi in
retaliation for the attacks by Kenyan troops.
Meanwhile, officials on Kenya's coast indicated that Kenya's Navy
shot and killed seven men at sea, though three survived the attack.
Relatives said the boat was full of innocent fishermen, though
officials said they were treating the surviving men as possible
insurgents.
A relative of one of the fishermen on the targeted boat, Said
Abdulrahman, said the boat was attacked despite the fact the
fishermen had alerted authorities of their whereabouts.
A local government official, Richard Karani, said he was aware of the
incident. He said three people from the boat had been arrested and
the whereabouts of the other seven were still unknown.
Kenyan military spokesman Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir said he was
gathering information on the incident and couldn't yet comment.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/11/04/kenya-raises-
concerns-eritrea-arming-somali-rebels/#ixzz1ckNoIV1a
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