U.S. U.S. and Mexican  government officials stated most guns trafficked into Mexico are  facilitated by and support operations of Mexican drug trafficking  organizations. Available Information Suggests Most Firearms Recovered in Mexico Come from the United States and Are Increasingly More Powerful and Lethal

According to U.S. and Mexican government and law enforcement officials  and data from ATF on firearms seized in Mexico and traced from fiscal  year 2004 to fiscal year 2008, a large portion of the firearms fueling the  Mexican drug trade originated in the United States, including a growing  number of increasingly lethal weapons. U.S. Efforts to Combat Illicit Sales of Firearms and to Stem the Flow of These Arms across the Southwest Border Face Key Challenges

U.S. efforts to combat illicit sales of firearms in the United States and to  prevent the trafficking of these arms across the Southwest border into  Mexico confront several key challenges. First, relevant law enforcement  officials we met with noted certain provisions of some federal firearms  laws present challenges to their efforts to address arms trafficking. Some Federal Firearms Laws Present Challenges to U.S. Efforts to Combat Arms Trafficking to Mexico, according to Law Enforcement Officials

U.S. agencies implement efforts to address arms trafficking to Mexico  within current applicable federal firearms laws. For example, they identified key challenges related to (1)  restrictions on collecting and reporting information on firearms purchases,  (2) a lack of required background checks for private firearms sales, and  (3) limitations on reporting requirements for multiple sales. U.S. Assistance Limited by a Lack of Targeting Resources at Needs and Concerns over Corruption among Some Mexican Government Officials

U.S. law enforcement agencies have provided some technical and  operational assistance to Mexican counterparts to combat arms trafficking  to Mexico. Also, U.S. assistance has been limited due to the incomplete use to date of  eTrace by Mexican government officials. U.S. and Mexican government and  law enforcement officials told us Mexican government officials’ failure to  submit all of the firearms tracing information could be attributed to  several factors, including the following:    Mexican officials only recently began to fully appreciate the long-term  value to Mexico of providing gun trace information to ATF;  the Mexican military serves as the central repository for all seized guns in  Mexico, while the Mexican Attorney General’s office is responsible for  maintaining information on seized firearms, and coordinating access to the  guns in order to collect necessary information has presented some  challenges, according Mexican government officials; the Mexican Attorney General’s office is understaffed and has not had  sufficient resources to clear the eTrace backlog, according to U.S. and  Mexican government officials;   only some of the Mexican Attorney General’s office staff had received  ATF-provided training on identification of firearms and on using the  eTrace system; and   eTrace has been provided only in an English language version. However, these efforts are in the early stages and may take years  to affect comprehensive change, according to Mexican and U.S.  government officials. United States Lacks a Comprehensive Strategy to Combat Arms Trafficking to Mexico

While U.S. law enforcement agencies have developed initiatives to address  arms trafficking to Mexico, none have been guided by a comprehensive,  governmentwide strategy. However, at this point, it is not  clear whether the implementation plan will include performance  indicators and other accountability mechanisms to overcome  shortcomings raised in our report. New National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy Includes Chapter on Arms Trafficking, but It Does Not Contain Some Key Elements of an Effective Strategy

In June 2009, the administration released its 2009 National Southwest  Border Counternarcotics Strategy, which, for the first time, contains a  chapter on arms trafficking to Mexico. To help identify where efforts should be targeted to combat illicit arms  trafficking to Mexico, we have several recommendations to improve the  gathering and reporting of data related to such efforts, including that  the U.S. Attorney General direct the ATF Director to regularly update  ATF’s reporting on aggregate firearms trafficking data and trends; the U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in light  of DHS’s recent efforts to assess southbound weapons smuggling trends,  direct ATF and ICE to ensure they share comprehensive data and leverage  each other’s expertise and analysis on future assessments relevant to the  issue; and  the U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security ensure  the systematic gathering and reporting of data related to results of these  efforts, including firearms seizures, investigations, and prosecutions. To identify key challenges confronting U.S. government efforts to combat  illicit sales of firearms in the United States and to stem the flow of these  arms across the Southwest border into Mexico, we interviewed cognizant  officials from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) ATF, Executive Office for  U.S. To explore challenges faced by U.S. agencies collaborating with Mexican  authorities to combat illicit arms trafficking, we visited U.S.-Mexico border  crossings at Laredo and El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California. To assess the U.S. government’s strategy for addressing the issue of arms  trafficking to Mexico we reviewed strategic planning, internal guidance,  policy, and procedures documents for relevant agencies and departments.
Why GAO Did This Study

In recent years, violence along the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated dramatically, due largely to the Mexican government's efforts to disrupt Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTO). U.S. officials note the violence associated with Mexican DTOs poses a serious challenge for U.S. law enforcement, threatening citizens on both sides of the border, and U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials generally agree many of the firearms used to perpetrate crimes in Mexico are illicitly trafficked from the United States across the Southwest border. GAO was asked to examine (1) data on the types, sources, and users of these firearms; (2) key challenges confronting U.S. government efforts to combat illicit sales of firearms in the United States and stem the flow of them into Mexico; (3) challenges faced by U.S. agencies collaborating with Mexican authorities to combat the problem of illicit arms; and (4) the U.S. government's strategy for addressing the issue. GAO analyzed program information and firearms data and met with U.S. and Mexican officials on both sides of the border.

What GAO Found

Available evidence indicates many of the firearms fueling Mexican drug violence originated in the United States, including a growing number of increasingly lethal weapons. While it is impossible to know how many firearms are illegally smuggled into Mexico in a given year, about 87 percent of firearms seized by Mexican authorities and traced in the last 5 years originated in the United States, according to data from Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). According to U.S. and Mexican government officials, these firearms have been increasingly more powerful and lethal in recent years. Many of these firearms come from gun shops and gun shows in Southwest border states. U.S. and Mexican government and law enforcement officials stated most firearms are intended to support operations of Mexican DTOs, which are also responsible for trafficking arms to Mexico. The U.S. government faces several significant challenges in combating illicit sales of firearms in the United States and stemming their flow into Mexico. In particular, certain provisions of some federal firearms laws present challenges to U.S. efforts, according to ATF officials. Specifically, officials identified key challenges related to restrictions on collecting and reporting information on firearms purchases, a lack of required background checks for private firearms sales, and limitations on reporting requirements for multiple sales. GAO also found ATF and Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the primary agencies implementing efforts to address the issue, do not effectively coordinate their efforts, in part because the agencies lack clear roles and responsibilities and have been operating under an outdated interagency agreement. Additionally, agencies generally have not systematically gathered, analyzed, and reported data that could be useful to help plan and assess results of their efforts to address arms trafficking to Mexico. U.S. law enforcement agencies have provided some assistance to Mexican counterparts in combating arms trafficking, but these efforts face several challenges. U.S. law enforcement assistance to Mexico does not target arms trafficking needs, limiting U.S. agencies' ability to provide technical or operational assistance. In addition, U.S. assistance has been limited due to Mexican officials' incomplete use of ATF's electronic firearms tracing system, an important tool for U.S. arms trafficking investigations. Another significant challenge facing U.S. efforts to assist Mexico is corruption among some Mexican government entities. Mexican federal authorities are implementing anticorruption measures, but government officials acknowledge fully implementing these reforms will take considerable time, and may take years to affect comprehensive change. The administration's recently released National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy includes, for the first time, a chapter on combating illicit arms trafficking to Mexico. Prior to the new strategy, the U.S. government lacked a strategy to address arms trafficking to Mexico, and various efforts undertaken by individual U.S. agencies were not part of a comprehensive U.S. governmentwide strategy for addressing the problem. At this point, it's not clear whether ONDCP's "implementation plan" for the strategy, which has not been finalized, will include performance indicators and other accountability mechanisms to overcome shortcomings raised in our report.