"The only hard facts we have at this time are that no Mexican agency knew about the case."

Borderland Beat: Reporting on the Mexican Cartel Drug War reports -- "Congress Asks Mexican Government to Explain Role in U.S. Operation." That's the Mexican Congress.

The lower house of Congress has asked Government Secretary Francisco Blake (above) to appear before the National Defense Committee to explain what the Calderon administration knew about “Operation Fast and Furious,” a U.S. operation that allowed thousands of firearms to be smuggled into Mexico.

The committee on Wednesday requested that Blake, tax agency chief Alfredo Gutierrez and customs service director Gerardo Perdomo appear before lawmakers.

Congress also wants the officials “to explain what actions are being taken to fight arms trafficking in the country,” National Defense Committee chairman Congressman Rogelio Cerda said.

U.S. agents allowed the smuggling of guns into Mexico in an effort to trace the weapons to the highest levels of Mexico’s drug cartels.

The controversial operation has been harshly criticized by Mexico’s Congress as a serious violation of international law.

Over the weekend, Mexico said it asked the United States for an official explanation of why U.S. agents allowed the smuggling of guns into the country.

Mexico has asked for detailed information about the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, operation, which has been the subject of numerous reports in the U.S. and Mexican media, the Foreign Relations Secretariat said in a statement released on Sunday.

“The Government of Mexico will follow the investigations announced by both the ATF and the Department of Justice with interest,” the secretariat said.

“The (officials’) appearance is so that they can pinpoint what they knew or did not know about this operation. The only hard facts we have at this time are that no Mexican agency knew about the case,” Cerda, a member of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, said. . .

. . . Some Mexican lawmakers are discussing a possible trip to the United States to learn first-hand about the operation.

Mexican Government Says It Knew Nothing of U.S. Gun Operation

The Mexican Attorney General’s Office said President Felipe Calderon’s government and senior officials in Washington bear no responsibility for “Operation Fast and Furious,” a U.S. law enforcement initiative that purportedly allowed thousands of firearms to be smuggled into Mexico.

The Mexican government “was not aware of the existence of an operation that included the controlled transport of and trafficking in weapons to Mexican territory,” the AG’s office said in a statement.

It added that after consulting with several top officials in Washington and after hearing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s criticisms of that operation, “one understands that the United States did not authorize the intentional and controlled smuggling of weapons into national territory.”

Really? Look at the weasel words: "the intentional and controlled smuggling of weapons." Well they got that right. There was little that was "controlled" about Project Gunwalker. But "intentional"? They might want to wait for the Congressional hearings on that one.

Revelations about the controversial ATF operation have caused an uproar in Mexico, with the lower house of Congress demanding that senior officials appear before the National Defense Committee to explain what President Felipe Calderon’s administration knew about it.

In its statement, the AG’s office said the fight against drug traffickers involves ensuring that weapons are not brought into Mexico and that the practice of letting them walk is “unacceptable.”

“The Mexican government has not given and will not give tacit or express authorization, under any circumstance, for that to occur,” the AG’s office said.

The statement added that U.S. authorities’ decision to investigate this case “reflects their willingness to ensure both countries’ commitment to established principles of cooperation.”

The Mexican government will closely follow the probe and has formally requested detailed information from the U.S. government, the AG’s office said.

It also announced that an investigation will be launched to determine what crimes may have been committed in Mexican territory with weapons smuggled in as part of the “Fast and Furious” program.

Mexico reaffirms its commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation to avoid and halt arms trafficking from the United States to Mexico, while acting at all times on the basis of shared responsibility and mutual trust and respect, the AG’s office said.

Right. For you bilingual fellows, here's an interview from Mexican television of Dipurado Rogelio Cerda.