The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment Monday charging five individuals in connection with the slaying of Randall Terry, the border agent killed as a result of Operation Fast and Furious, along with a $1 million FBI reward for information leading to the capture of four fugitives still at-large.
Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes and Lionel Portillo-Meza were charged with murder and other crimes related to Terry’s death. A fifth and sixth suspect have been in custody since Dec. 2010.
Justice for Terry was all over the lips of members of both parties during the debate over finding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress on June 28.
“Agent Terry served his country honorably and made the ultimate sacrifice in trying to protect it from harm, and we will stop at nothing to bring those responsible for his murder to justice,” Holder said in a press release announcing the reward.
He also stressed “today’s announcement reflects the department’s unrelenting commitment to finding and arresting the other individuals responsible for this horrific tragedy so that Agent Terry’s family, friends and fellow law enforcement agents receive the justice they deserve.”
Terry’s death sparked a national scandal when House investigators learned that the Justice Department and U.S. law enforcement had facilitated the arming of Terry’s shooters.
They “had illegally entered the United States from Mexico for the purpose of robbing drug traffickers,” according to the Justice Departments records.
Federal officials also revealed for the first time that Terry and his squad of federal agents initially fired bean bags, not bullets, at the heavily armed drug cartel who eventually took his life.
“I applaud what they’re doing, but I condemn the timing. It’s very clear that the timing has everything to do with the House of Representatives holding Eric Holder in contempt,” Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversite and Government Reform Committee, who led the push to hold Holder in contempt, told Fox News.
He questioned the timing of the FBI reward money, saying it was “another example of using politics over good policy.”
