Thread: Convicted Houston gun trafficker offers tips on Zetas

Hot on the cartel trail
Convicted Houston gun trafficker offers tips on Mexico's Zetas
By DANE SCHILLER
Copyright 2011, HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Jan. 3, 2011, 7:48PM



U.S. agents are armed with the secrets of a convicted Houston gunrunner, information that could lead them to top Mexican drug-cartel bosses and the Texas firearms dealers suppling high-powered weapons.

Christian Garza was sentenced to three years in federal prison as a result of a plea agreement that offered leniency in exchange for telling U.S. officials about his criminal contacts, according to court papers.

"Mr. Garza has also provided assistance and information related to the sale of the firearms in question to highly sought fugitives who are believed to lead one of the most violent Mexican drug cartels, the Zetas," states a paper submitted to a federal judge by his lawyer Connie Williams.

The Zetas cartel, a crime syndicate launched by former members of the Mexican military, thrives across the border from Texas and is battling rival traffickers as well as the Mexican government.

The Zetas are known for being gruesome, aggressive and efficient. Top leaders are dodging capture, despite multimillion-dollar rewards for their arrests by the U.S. and Mexican governments.

Garza was a member of an arms-trafficking group that sent more than 300 military-style weapons to Mexico.

As part of his agreement with the government, he described the inner-workings of his cell and provided grand-jury testimony which "may prove to be critical" in seeking criminal charges against firearms retailers where weapons were purchased, according to the paper filed by Williams.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives contends Houston is the No. 1 spot of origin for weapons that have been traced from Mexican organized crime scenes back to the United States.

Recruited by cousins
Williams stressed that his client was not a member of the Zetas and did not personally meet with any Zetas, nor take guns across the border.

"They (federal agents) were more interested in the higher-ups, the people who could connect them to what was going on down in Mexico," Williams said. "He put his two cents in. There was another layer between him and the Zetas."

Garza became a supervisor after being recruited by two cousins, including one who is a fugitive and believed to be in Mexico.

He is the latest of a dozen Americans, including three brothers, who pleaded guilty in an ATF investigation that has intensified since 2006. It has included multiple indictments. It is unclear to what extent others in the case have cooperated.

The ATF and federal prosecutors declined comment.

The Houston men were convicted for their roles in deceiving firearms dealers in order to buy weapons, many of which were civilian variants of the M16 rifle favored by Mexico's drug cartels.

Garza and others were U.S. citizens with no records so they could purchase guns.

'What did he know?'
A former U.S. intelligence agent said a key factor is the validity of Garza's information. If he only dealt with the cartel on the U.S. side of the border, he would have limited information about what is going on in Mexico.

Still, each little piece could prove important in connecting the dots, he said.

Cartel members pay attention to how criminal prosecutions play out in the U.S., including who is talking. "They will do like everybody does," the ex-agent said, "assess the situation — what did he know?"

Some of the weapons linked to the cell were traced from Mexico crime scenes back to Houston stores. The weapons were discovered by scouring the required records kept by firearms dealers, but their whereabouts remain unknown.

dane.schiller@chron.com



http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 64312.html

Well Mr. Garza, thanks to the US Agents and Houston Chronicle, every ZETA member in Mexico knows who spilled the bans. I guess your days are numbered.