WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is pressing the Biden administration on its decision to shutter a government operation that successfully identified and dismantled Mexican cartel arms trafficking networks.

Internal government records provided to Grassley through legally protected whistleblower disclosures show Project Thor, a multi-agency effort led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), aided the U.S. government in cracking down on weapons trafficking from the U.S. to Mexico. Project Thor brought together over 16 executive branch agencies in a whole-of-government approach to stem the flow of firearms from straw purchasers in the U.S. to cartels in Mexico, including the infamous Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The project received public and private accolades for its accomplishments before being defunded in 2022.

Grassley today made public records showing Project Thor’s whole of government strategy and sent letters probing each agency’s past participation in the project and current anti-trafficking efforts.

“The public reports and records provided to my office indicate Project Thor’s reported success was due in part to a whole of government information sharing strategy[...],” Grassley wrote. “Reports have described the Biden administration’s U.S. strategy to stop firearms trafficking to Mexico as ineffective, and questions have been raised about law enforcement, intelligence, and diplomatic agencies’ commitment to dismantling cartel gunrunning networks operating across the U.S and in neighboring countries.”  

“The American people deserve to know more about the Biden administration’s strategy to hold all those involved, from straw purchasers to cartel members and leadership, accountable and brought to justice,” Grassley concluded. 

Letters and enclosed ATF records were sent to the following agencies: the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Border Protection, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Background

Grassley is spearheading an extensive oversight push to improve U.S. efforts to combat violent Mexican cartels on both sides of the border. He previously urged ATF to provide a full account of Project Thor’s work and the agency’s reason for defunding the operation. ATF has so far failed to provide a sufficient explanation. Grassley has additionally sought answers regarding reports of agency misconduct, including an ATF agent’s own participation in firearms trafficking.

Grassley led Congress’s investigation of Operation Fast and Furious, an Obama administration program in which ATF agents allowed guns to be trafficked into Mexico.

-30-