Diana's Border Cafe debuts

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The Department of Justice Office of Inspector General report on "Fast and Furious" released yesterday seemed anticlimatic given the intense interest the controversial operation received since news about it first leaked out. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had some experience with a similar operation called "Wide Receiver" that should have raised red flags in the chain of command before launching Fast and Furious, according to the report. DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz was expected to testify before lawmakers today about his report. In a previous news story, we learned from Stratfor emails disclosed by WikiLeaks that El Paso was a major hub for the arms-traffickers who were being monitored by the Phoenix-based ATF office. We also learned that an unnamed restaurant off Interstate 10 was used to store weapons that were being smuggled to Mexico. (Photo of the border was taken by Times photographer Mark Lambie.)

Comments

[Christian Valle]

i think it is not because of the movie all that bad things are happening. its not just that movie that can inspired drug dealers to do their stuff.
problems of that was already there before that movie, maybe the movie inspired on real life!!!

[Christian Aguilera]

As a resident of El Paso Tx. Such news of a restraunt off I-10 smuggling Fire arms and other illegal substances into Mexico is pretty shocking, because this restraunt might of lurred me in confusing it as a restraunt when in reality it's a safe house for drug smugglers, I mean what might of a happend if anyone would enter? Such news are alamring,since living to situations like these can be anywhere along the boreders of the U.S.

[Cheyenne Phillips]

Blaming a movie for causing trouble such as drugs being smuggled across the border is a bit too abstract. Due to the fact that these problems have been happening way before the movie "Fast and Furious" was released, there is no evidence that drug smugglers have been inspired by this movie.

[Geraldine Salazar]

I have no idea what your trying to say with all of this. How can you compare a movie about cars, with what's going on in real life in the border. It has no relation whatsoever! Life across the border is much more violent, than a silly movie.

[Victoria Hernandez]

Dear Diana Washington Valdez,

I strongly dont agree with the fact that the movie "Fast and Furious" is not a bad influence on the people. Before the movie was made all of what happend on the move was put there before. So its nothing new that we see in a movie.

[Jennifer Sublasky]

Dear Diana Washington Valadez
I honestly don't believe that they should be blaming the movie "Fast and Furious". Tings happen in the world that shouldn't be based on a movie or the actions in the movie. How in many others way is it being a bad influence. I don't understand whats your point on blaming a movie. I see nothing wrong with the movie and i don't see how you could blame all the things are happening off of the movie.

[Miracle Sosa]

I disagree with you because I don't believe that blaming the movie "Fast and Furious" will help anything. What does this movie have to do with drug trafficing and weapon smuggling? That has been around even before this movie. Plus most of the time in this blog that you posted, you make no sense. Sorry but i highly disagree with what you've said.

[Perla Ubanda 350442]

Unfortunately I am unsure what you are trying to covey. I would like to know your actual opinion and what point you are trying to explain to your audience. It seems it's just facts about something controversal about the movie "Fast and Furious"that is affecting the criminal rate?? Please unravel my doubts about this subject.

[Christopher Chavez]

To tell you the truth i have no idea what you are trying to say. I know your trying to fight for something you just have to explain alittle more what you want.

[Andres Ramos]

My opinion to this is that first off I do not understand the point you are trying to come across because of the different points you address to this story you go from one point to the other not explaining your full main idea. You go from the movie to another operation to how El Paso is a major hub for arms-trafficker, if you were to explain a bit more it would help in unerstanding your topic.

[Georgina Villegas]

As a resident of El Paso tx. I know drug smmugling has happened since forever. The movie Fast and Furious may be based on a real life story about drugs and arms its ot that bad things happen here because that movie came out its been happening since a long time ago and I know El Paso is not the first or last to be arm traffiking.!

[Melinda Morales]

To be completly honest i do not understand what you are tyring to say. This paragraph seems too be mentioning fast and the furious and how El Paso is a "major hub for the arms-traffickers". The only thing i have been able to infer is that you are connecting the illegal actions that happen in the movie somehow correspond with what is actually happening in our reality. Please explain more on this subject so that more prople understand.

[Juan De La Torre]

People want a reason to blame ther probles on something. This also happend back in the Dark night movie, where a man when into a theator then shot and kill 11 people. Right after the shooting, many blamed the movie for his inspiration to his actions. No real reasson was found for his actions and peoples later blamed other things. This is the excact situation wher they will blame a movie but later blame something else.

[Josseline Guerrero]

I dont really get what your saying I dont know what your point is but its just a movie oviously people want to see what happens in real life

[Daynaa Diaz]

I dissagree with you because the movie "Fast and the Furious" has nothing to do with the drugs , alcohol and firearms being smuggled to Mexico. That is just a movie and it may have similarities to what is happening with the drug cartels but i dont believe its right to blame a movie for a persons actions.

[Danny Hernandez]

Dear Diana Washington Valdez,

I strongly disagree with your opinion because you make no sense in what you are trying to say. What happened in the movie has nothing to do whats happening in life. Its might just be based on whats happening but thats about it, remeber its just a movie.

[Lindsy Frayre]

I understand what your trying to say, a little. The thing is its not like the movies are trying to give the people in real life the credit the deserve. IT'S A MOVIE! They want to make it exciteding, unexpected, and dramatic. The do take in the thoughts of the people, but they need to do what they need to do to bring in the money.

[Itzel Salazar]

In my opionion, I don't agree with what you're saying, mainly because I don't seem to understand what you're trying to say. What I understand is that you're blaming the movie Fast and the Furious for the recent events when drug smuggling was occurring before that, and this movie isn't necessarily about drugs but about cars as well, in that case we should blame Scarface or Blown for incidents occuring.

[Keyla Chaparro]

To be honest i didn't really understand what you are trying to say. I do know drungs, firearms and explosives are illegal in this country. All of these things are happening before the movie "Fast and Furios" came out. I dont think the movie was trying to tell people about these things.

[Jamie Lee]

I strongly disagree with your blog post, the drug trafficing and weapon smuggling was going on strong way before this movie if anything the movie helped citizens see what is realing going on in their society.

[Yamel Mata]

In my opinion a movie cant be blame on for drug traicing and weapon smuggling.

[daniella Martinez]

I'm disagree with you because just for watcch a movie we as a person we going to do the same thing that occur any movie. We know better of what to do.

[Yazmin Juarez]

In my opinion i dont think the movie "FAst&Furious" should be the cause of all this accidents. We as humans have the control of our actions and anything shoudnt be influence in it. Knowing that drugs firearms and explosives are illegal but still people dont understand that fact we should really think of all of this accidents that affect our lifes.