Officials trying to stop flow of guns from Austin to Mexico
Federal officials cracking down on potential traffickers.
The surveillance video showed two women leaving Cabela's in Buda and handing three guns they had just bought to a man, who then put the guns in the trunk of his black Lexus, according to a federal criminal complaint.
The purchase and handoff in November piqued the suspicions of Cabela's employees, who alerted federal firearms agents.
According to court documents, the agents soon identified the man as Humberto Fernandez, 47, who splits time between Mexico and the Austin area and who in recent years has enlisted help in purchasing dozens of guns to ship south of the border.
Last week, Fernandez, who has been arrested, and five of his so-called "straw buyers" were indicted in federal court in Austin on firearms conspiracy and other charges. His lawyer declined to comment.
The case is just the type that the Obama administration is pursuing as part of a stepped-up effort to curb the flow of guns from the United States into Mexico — guns that officials on both sides of the border say are being used by Mexican drug cartels to fuel intense violence.
In recent months, according to court records, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been watching Austin gun dealers and the monthly Austin Saxet gun show at the Crockett Center on North Lamar Boulevard carefully, looking for anyone illegally buying guns, including illegal immigrants and straw buyers who may be working with smugglers.
There is no indication in court documents that the guns Fernandez is accused of obtaining through others were intended for drug smugglers — in fact many of those listed in his indictment are common hunting rifles. But Michael Reyes, resident agent in charge of the Austin ATF field office, said because of the recent federal effort, any potential gun trafficking cases are getting close attention. He would not discuss Fernandez's case because it is pending.
U.S. officials have said that 90 percent of the guns seized by Mexican authorities from drug traffickers and submitted to the United States for tracing had originated here. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama have traveled to Mexico in recent months and announced that the United States shares responsibility for the bloody Mexican drug war, in part because many of the guns used by the cartels come from this country and because many Americans have an insatiable appetite for illicit drugs.
The Justice Department in March announced the deployment of 100 ATF agents to the Southwest border states. Reyes said that several new agents are stationed in Austin under the program.
Speaking generally, Reyes described how drug trafficking organizations gather guns in Texas for their trek south of the border. The traffickers send someone north with an order list to cities including Austin, he said. The lists are sometimes hundreds of guns long and include high-powered pistols and assault rifles, such as AK-47s.
They find people to buy guns, often relatives or friends, and give them the money to complete the purchase, as well as a little extra for their trouble. Sometimes the smugglers go to gun shows, where they can buy guns from people who are not gun dealers without filling out a federal firearms form, Reyes said.
The ATF for years has aggressively pursued gun cases in Austin, Reyes said, charging dozens of people a year, including many felons in possession of firearms. He could not say whether there has been an uptick in those who potentially could be buying the guns for gun smugglers but did say "we are looking further into the trafficking cases."
Charged in the indictment along with Fernandez are Claudia Pulido, Yahaira Banda, Laura Caraveo, Humberto Ruben Trevino and Astolfo Garza. None of them could be reached for comment. While Fernandez is being held without bond in federal custody, the other defendants have been issued summonses to appear in court next week.
According to a criminal complaint, Fernandez was suspected of illegally exporting guns to Mexico in 1997, though no charges were filed. A Smith & Wesson revolver he once purchased was used in a crime in Mexico in 2003, the federal complaint said. The complaint said that Fernandez has made many trips between Mexico and the Austin area.
After ATF agents were called to Cabela's, they learned that Banda, 30, bought the guns that were handed off to Fernandez in November, the complaint said. In February, she told ATF agent Daniel Jones that she had purchased 10 guns for Fernandez and was paid $80 per gun, the complaint said. Banda told agents that Fernandez kept a storage locker near U.S. 290 and Interstate 35, where agents seized numerous gun boxes and receipts.
Among the items in the storage locker, the complaint said, were business cards. On them, the complaint said, next to Fernandez's name, was printed "Fernandez Imports & Exports."
skreytak@statesman.com; 912-2946
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/05/15/0515guns.html
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