Following Congressman Dan Goldman's Call for Investigation, Government Accountability Office Finds 73 Percent of ATF Traced Caribbean Firearms Originate in the U.S.
Earlier this Year, Goldman Joined Senator Durbin, Representatives Meeks and Castro in Calling for GAO to Study Role of American Firearms Trafficking in Global Gun Violence Crises
According to Report, at Least 71,500 American-Made Guns were Exported to Caribbean Nations Between 2018 and 2023
Read the Report Here
Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) today announced the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found 73% of Caribbean firearms recovered and traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) between 2018-2022 can be traced back to the United States.
This report follows Congressman Goldman, Senator Durbin (D-IL), Congressman Meeks (NY-05), and Congressman Castro’s (TX-20) request for GAO to study the role that American-made firearms play in Caribbean nations’ gun violence crises.
"American firearms traffickers aren’t just fueling a gun violence epidemic here at home, they’re also arming cartels abroad and contributing to the drug and human trafficking operations at the border, including the fentanyl crisis,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “The GAO's startling report drives home the urgent need to crack down on the trafficking of American firearms abroad. Congress must pass legislation like Congressman Castro's ARMAS Act and my Disarming Cartels Act – to keep these American manufacturers from fueling the crisis at the border.”
In the process of compiling the report, ATF traced 7,399 firearms recovered in crimes in the Caribbean from 2018 to 2022. A GAO analysis of those traces showed that 73 percent of recovered firearms, most of which were handguns, originated in the United States. Available data showed that 71,569 firearms were legally exported from the U.S. to 22 of the 26 Caribbean countries between January 2018 and December 2023.
Congressman Dan Goldman has championed tougher oversight and accountability for arms traffickers throughout his first term in office.
Last fall, Goldman introduced the ‘Disarming Cartels Act’ to curtail the trafficking of U.S.-made firearms and ammunition over the U.S.-Mexico border. Guns originating in the United States power human- and drug-trafficking efforts and other illicit activities by cartels and other transnational criminal organizations in Mexico and beyond.
Last year, Congressman Goldman introduced the ‘Americas Regional Monitoring of Arms Sales (ARMAS) Act,’ legislation that would disrupt firearm trafficking from the United States to Latin America and the Caribbean by implementing stronger transparency, accountability, and oversight mechanisms for U.S. arms exports.
Last month, Goldman cosponsored the ‘Protecting Americans from Reckless Gun Dealers Act,’ which would require the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to publish detailed annual reports on the number of gun dealers that have violated Federal Firearm License law and the outcomes of resulting disciplinary actions.
###