said "This is a serious violation of international law. What happens if next time they need to introduce trained assassins or nuclear weapons?" Chihuahua state prosecutor Patricia Gonzalez, who had worked closely with the US for years, said, "The basic ineptitude of these officials [who ordered the Fast and Furious operation] caused the death of my brother and surely thousands more victims." Her brother, Mario, had been kidnapped, tortured and killed by cartel hit men in October 2010. Later, two AK-47 rifles found among the several weapons recovered after a gunfight between police and cartel members were traced to the Fast and Furious program. Mexican Congressman Humberto Benítez Treviño, a former attorney general, called Fast and Furious "a bad business that got out of hand". He had also characterized it as "an undercover program that wasn't properly controlled". Like many politicians, Mexican pundits across the political spectrum expressed anger at news of both operations. La Jornada, a left-leaning newspaper, asked "US: ally or enemy?" The paper also argued that after news about Wide Receiver, the Mérida Initiative should be immediately suspended. A right-leaning paper accused the US of violating Mexican sovereignty. Manuel J. Jauregui of the Reforma newspaper wrote, "In sum, the gringo government has been sending weapons to Mexico in a premeditated and systematic manner, knowing that their destinations were Mexican criminal organizations." Allegations of deal with Sinaloa drug cartel High-ranking Sinaloa drug cartel member Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla has claimed in court that the gang was financed and armed by the U.S. government as part of a secret deal to undermine other Mexican drug cartels. The deal allegedly began sometime before 2004 and lasted until at least March 2009. Mexican news outlet El Universal has reported that Fast and Furious was part of a scheme to intentionally arm the Sinaloa cartel so that it could defeat rival drug gangs, as part of a secret 'divide and conquer' strategy of the U.S. government aimed at the long-term goal of wiping out all of the drug cartels, a strategy which had previously been employed in Colombia. It is also alleged that as part of the deal, the U.S. government agreed not to pursue charges against the Sinaloa cartel for drug trafficking in the U.S. See also Mexican Drug War Mérida Initiative Strategy of tension References External links ATF's Fast and Furious Scandal—Los Angeles Times A Primer on the Fast and Furious