Yesterday a federal jury convicted Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes of murdering Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in 2010.
"The jury found that Osorio-Arellanes was part of an armed crew of bandits that was looking to rob drug smugglers transporting drugs from Mexico into the United States at the time. Agent Terry’s elite Border Patrol unit attempted to arrest the men in a rural area north of Nogales, Arizona, when the gunfight broke out," the Department of Justice released in a statement. "The defendant was convicted of nine counts, including first-degree murder, second degree murder, conspiracy to effect interstate commerce by robbery, attempted robbery, assault on four Border Patrol Agents and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence."
Arellanes, along with a number of other men, were carrying guns provided to them through Operation Fast and Furious.
“Brian Terry’s family will never have its hero back, but his loved ones now have justice,” Southern District of California U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said. “The jury’s verdict is the right outcome not only for the family, but for the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol who daily put their lives at risk to protect this country.”
Terry's sister, Kelly Terry-Willis, responded to the news on Facebook.
So far, six men have been convicted for their roles in Terry's murder. One more individual is waiting to be extradited from Mexico to the United States for trial later this year.
Operation Fast and Furious was a secret ATF program, overseen heavily at the highest levels at the Department of Justice, which took place between September 2009 and December 2010. ATF agents repeatedly and knowingly allowed individuals working for Mexican cartels to traffic thousands of AK-47s, .50 caliber rifles and handguns into Mexico. The operation ended in 2010 when Agent Terry was murdered and years of coverups surrounding his death and the extent of the operation ensued. Hundreds, if not thousands of Mexican citizens have been murdered as a result of the U.S. government putting guns into the hands of narco-terrorists and a number of firearms trafficked during the operation have been found at additional crime scenes in the United States.
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