WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is demanding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) detail the impact of its policies to address the proliferation of Mexican cartel arms trafficking networks operating in the United States.
“ATF must provide answers concerning Operation Southbound and its overall firearms trafficking prevention strategy to target the leadership and structure of the criminal networks trafficking firearms from the U.S. to cartels in Mexico,” Grassley wrote in a letter to ATF. “…[T]he American people deserve to know why the ATF has chosen to defund Project Thor and use its resources to target [federal firearms license holders] and individual law-abiding gun owners.”
Specifically, and among other items, Grassley is requesting:
Background
Grassley has conducted extensive oversight of U.S. law enforcement efforts to combat violent Mexican cartels on both sides of the border. He previously asked ATF for a full explanation for defunding Project Thor, an ATF-led operation to crack down on cartels’ criminal activity domestically and abroad. ATF’s decision to defund Project Thor comes amid a recent agency rulemaking which would stifle the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens and arms dealers.
Grassley previously sought answers from the ATF following reports the agency failed to fully investigate ATF employees involved in criminal misconduct, including firearms trafficking. Additionally, he demanded answers from ATF and the Justice Department for declining to seek extradition of ATF’s most wanted fugitive, Erik Flores, after discovering his location in Mexico, and failing to provide evidence of Flores’ criminal activity to the Mexican government to investigate. Grassley is also pursuing information on Mexican cartels’ use of drones to target U.S. law enforcement at the southern border.
Read Grassley’s latest letter to ATF HERE.
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