HomeNewsBriefUS Gun Scheme Armed Sinaloa Cartel: Report
BRIEF

US Gun Scheme Armed Sinaloa Cartel: Report

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 27 JUL 2011 BY RONAN GRAHAM EN

Guns that were sold to suspected cartel middlemen under the U.S. government's "Fast and Furious" anti-arms trafficking scheme ended up in the hands of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, according to a Congress report.

Further details were released Tuesday, ahead of a congressional hearing in Washington D.C., of how the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) operation lost track of almost 2,000 weapons. The aim of the botched scheme was to sell firearms to people suspected of links to drug traffickers, in an attempt to trace gun-smuggling routes used by Mexican gangs.

According to sources cited in the report, some guns have ended up in the hands of Sinaloa Cartel, led by Joaquin Guzman, alias "El Chapo," as well as the Familia Michoacana gang and the Tijuana Cartel.

Carlos Canino, the ATF’s acting attache in Mexico, reportedly told the Congress committee, "We armed the [Sinaloa] cartel. It is disgusting." (See video extract from Canino's testimony, below.)

So far, a total of 122 weapons from the program have been recovered at crime scenes in Mexico and more than half of all the weapons sold to suspected traffickers remain unaccounted for.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

MEXICO / 29 JUN 2022

El Chueco has quite the rap sheet, having allegedly killed priests, a tour guide, baseball players and an American tourist.

FEATURED / 27 OCT 2022

In Sinaloa, Mexico, the uptick in forced disappearances is linked to one dynamic more than any other: synthetic drugs.

HONDURAS / 19 JAN 2022

The MS13 has grown rich by controlling the way trash is collected and dumped in parts of Honduras.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.