The Department of Justice's Operation Fast and Furious: Fueling Cartel Violence

In late 2009, ATF officials stationed in Mexico began to notice a large volume of guns appearing there that were traced to the ATF's Phoenix Field Division. These weapons were increasingly recovered in great numbers from violent crime scenes. This report explores the effect of Operation Fast and Furious on Mexico. Its lethal drug cartels obtained AK-47 variants, Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifles, .38 caliber revolvers, and FN Five-seveNs from Arizona gun dealers who were cooperating with the ATF by continuing to sell to straw purchasers identified in Operation Fast and Furious.