Northern Colorado Gazette

Agents ordered to use bean bags against smugglers with automatic weapons

by Jack Minor

Tom Tancredo has been outspoken about current administration policy along the Mexican border. He has called for the resignation of Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, following an armed fight along the border where agents were ordered to use bean bags against AK-47′s.

 Border Patrol agents were attacked with automatic gunfire while tracking armed drug smugglers in December. The area, 15 miles northwest of Nogales, Arizona, is a known drug-smuggling corridor. During the fight, Border Patrol agent, Brian Terry, was killed.

 Border Patrol agents have reportedly been under standing orders to always use non-lethal bean bag rounds before using live ammunition. Tancredo told the Gazette it is outrageous that Border Patrol agents are under standing orders to use non-lethal ammunition before using live ammunition against drug smugglers who have no such restrictions.

 Tancredo told the Gazette that as bad as that policy was, he feels the real scandal is the ATF’s “Project Gunwalker.’ “Project Gunwalker” encouraged gun dealers to sell to Mexicans who wished to buy large amounts of weapons. The dealers contacted the ATF with concerns but were told to complete the transactions.

 Tancredo said it is very possible the rifle used to kill Terry could have been one of the weapons sold as a result of the project. “Not only is it idiotic for the ATF to send guns to Mexico it very well could be the reason Brian Terry is dead.” said Tancredo.

 Tancredo has called for the resignation of Napolitano following the two incidents.  His demands falling on deaf ears in the mainstream press.

 Despite losing the governor’s race, Tom Tancredo is more active than ever in promoting border security and other conservative causes.

 Tancredo has had a consistent message throughout his political career; immigration and border security. After entering the governor’s race in the last election as a third-party candidate, Tancredo had a surprisingly strong showing despite only being in the race four months. The American Constitution party candidate received over 30 percent of the vote while Dan Maes, the Republican nominee received slightly over 10 percent. Maes chose local moderate Tambor Williams as his running mate to insure a disastrous final run.

 In an interview with the Gazette, Tancredo said he would like to offer thanks to all of those who supported him. He especially thanked the political leaders like Bob Beauprez and Bob Schaffer who were willing to “buck” the party and support him. 

 Tancredo said although he was disappointed he did not win, he was pleased with how well he did. “When you consider we were only in the race for a few months and by the time we were really up and running many people had already early voted, we did very well.”

Following the election Tancredo announced he  would rejoin the Republican party. Since then he has become more active than ever on conservative issues. In January Tancredo began hosting a daily radio show on 740, KVOR in Colorado Springs.

 The show titled “Tea Party Radio with Tom Tancredo” features nightly guests and covers state and national politics. Although primarily known for his stand on immigration and national security, Tancredo is a strong fiscal conservative. Regarding the current budget debate in Washington Tancredo told the Gazette he was strongly opposed to raising the debt limit and said the budget needed to be balanced.

 Tancredo is also the Chairman of the Rocky Mountain Foundation and co-chairman of the Team America PAC which was formed to help elect candidates supporting border security and opposing amnesty. He also has a regular column on the number one independent news site on the web, www. WorldNetDaily.

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