SJL is slightly correct, but of course, only so slightly as to be able to say that she isn't flat-out lying. The first (known) program of this type was started during the Bush Administration, and then known as "Wide Receiver". The plan was to take a few semi-automatic rifles, put tracking devices in them, and then sell them to people who would then take them, unwittingly, to the cartels. The plan almost backfired on the BATFE when the thugs who purchased them disabled the tracking devices. The BATFE, from what I gather, alerted the Border Patrol, who helped interdict the weapons before they crossed the border into Mexico. Move forward in time, multiply the number of guns by a LOT, no attempt to put tracking devices in them, actually let the weapons get to the cartels and have a pure political agenda for doing all of this...that is how "Fast and Furious" was done during the current administration.
