STATEMENT
OF WILLIAM HOOVER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR FIELD OPERATIONS
BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES
BEFORE
THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE
ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SUBCOMMITTEE
ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
February 7, 2008
Chairman
Engel, Ranking Member Burton, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee: I am William Hoover, Assistant Director for
Field Operations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(ATF). I have been an agent with ATF
since 1987, and in my current position I oversee the operations of all of the
Bureau’s field offices, including those along the Southwest Border. It is an honor to appear before you today to
discuss ATF’s current role in the suppression and interdiction of
Before I discuss the issue of
firearms trafficking along the Southwest border, I want to provide you with
background information about ATF. ATF is
a law enforcement agency within the Department of Justice dedicated to reducing
violent crime, preventing terrorism and protecting our Nation. The men and women of ATF perform the dual responsibilities of enforcing
Federal firearms and explosives laws and regulating the firearms and explosives
industries. We are committed to working directly, and through
partnerships, to investigate and reduce violent crime involving firearms and explosives,
acts of arson, and illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products.
ATF has
a strategic role in investigating violent crime along the Southwest border. ATF has statutory authorities to address
violent crime and firearms trafficking in the region as we have regulatory
oversight over Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL), from whom all new guns are
purchased.
ATF is
engaged in the interdiction and abatement of the flow of U.S sourced firearms
into
ATF has
long been committed to investigating and disrupting groups and individuals who
utilize firearms trafficking as a means to facilitate the drug trade on both
sides of the border through the use of firearms illegally obtained in the
Public
safety along the U.S.-Mexico border has deteriorated considerably and
Intelligence
gathered by ATF and other domestic Federal law enforcement entities strongly
suggests that the DTOs have tasked their money laundering, distribution and
transportation apparatuses, all of which reach across the border into the
The
increased incidence of firearms trafficking to
·
The strict prohibition and regulation of
firearms in
·
A readily accessible source of firearms and
ammunition originating in mostly the secondary market such as gun shows, flea
markets and private sales;
·
Illegal “straw purchases” of firearms from FFLs who
are often unwitting participants in these schemes.
In
analyzing the data collected through ATF’s investigative and regulatory
operations that have been focused on the abatement of illegal firearms
trafficking to Mexico, there is more than enough evidence to indicate that over
90 percent of the firearms that have either been recovered in, or interdicted in
transport to Mexico, originated from various sources within the United
States. An in-depth, comprehensive
analysis of firearms trace data over the past three years shows that
Another
challenge ATF faces is the DTOs’ use of “straw purchasers”. The “straw purchaser” is someone who is not
prohibited from purchasing firearms but who illegally purchases firearms by
posing as the actual buyer when really the guns are being purchased for firearms
traffickers employed by the drug cartels.
Although “straw purchasing” is a tactic used by cartels to acquire
firearms through the
In
addition to straw purchases, DTOs understand the ease with which used firearms
can be purchased from individuals without records or background checks.
Until
recently, the DTO’s “weapons of choice” had been .38 caliber handguns. However, recent trace data of firearms seized
in
A
recent seizure that occurred in connection with an ATF case in the Phoenix Arizona
area culminated in the arrest of 16
individuals, the recovery of 16 “weapons of choice” rifles, 19 handguns,
$13,000 in cash, a vehicle, 60 high-capacity magazines for AK-47 variants, and
nearly 10,000 rounds of ammunition. In
addition to the physical acquisitions, a significant amount of intelligence was
gathered on firearms trafficking in
Often, ATF is asked what can be done to significantly decrease
the number of firearms originating in the U.S. that ultimately make their way
into the hands of DTOs in Mexico. ATF
has developed and continues to enhance an extremely effective real-time
intelligence and evidence sharing network with the Mexican Government.
Given current circumstances and increasing volume, however, the system has been
overwhelmed on both sides of the border. ATF has found that merely seizing firearms through
interdiction without thoroughly investigating the supply and trafficking
infrastructure accomplishes little in terms of ‘tangibly’ affecting the flow of
firearms to Mexico. It is imperative to trace each and every firearm
intercepted before it reaches
Thus, an
essential component of ATF’s firearms trafficking investigations is the tracing
of firearms seized in both countries.
Each seized firearm is entered into the ATF Firearms Tracing System
database, which records specific identifying information, i.e., serial number,
manufacturer, importer and caliber, for each weapon seized. Using this information, ATF can work
backwards from the point of seizure to the first retail sale, to determine the original
purchaser information and possibly learn additional pertinent information such
as whether other seized guns were purchased at the same time. Using all of this information, ATF is able to
reconstruct the flow of weapons along the border, how and where they are being
purchased, and who is purchasing them. Without
such information, ATF has no way to trace the source of such firearms. Further,
without being able to trace these firearms, there is no way to tell whether or
not the firearms actually originated within the U.S., nor can we come to know
by what means such weapons were procured and transported to Mexico. Firearms tracing is an essential starting
point for identifying and eliminating illicit sources of firearms in the
As
such, ATF is working with Mexican officials to increase their current usage of
ATF’s eTrace system. eTrace provides web
based access to ATF’s Firearms Tracing System to allow law enforcement both
domestically and internationally the ability to trace data from firearms seized
in connection with a criminal investigation.
eTrace allows law enforcement to access their trace results directly and
offers the ability to generate statistical reports to analyze their trace data
to determine firearms trafficking trends or patterns. In addition, ATF is developing Memorandums of
Understanding with
From FY
2006 to FY 2007, we experienced almost 100 percent increase in the number of trace
requests from
ATF is
also part of the Administration’s recently announced “
ATF’s goal
is to deploy eTrace software to all thirty-one states within the
It is
clear that one of the greatest challenges facing law enforcement officials
today, both on the border and throughout the country, is the increased
incidence of gun-related violence. To
address the overwhelming increase of violence and firearms trafficking along
the Southwest border ATF has initiated “Project Gunrunner”, a comprehensive
strategy that incorporates ATF’s expertise and resources to attack the problem
both domestically and internationally.
Currently,
under “Project Gunrunner”, ATF has approximately 100 special agents dedicated
to investigating firearms trafficking on a full-time basis and 25 Industry
Operations Investigators (IOI) responsible for conducting regulatory
inspections of FFLs. We are expanding
our overall presence at the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) as the central
repository and “clearinghouse” for all weapons related intelligence collected
and developed not only by all of our ATF field and Mexico offices and attaches,
but also by all of the other Federal, State and local law enforcement entities
involved in narcotics interdiction and investigation along the U.S./Mexico border.
Our
increased staffing levels at EPIC, will allow ATF to increase its intelligence
activities with other EPIC law enforcement partners stationed there, including
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)
and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
ATF also works closely with these agencies’ task forces which operate
along the Southwest border, sharing intelligence, and conducting joint
investigations.
ATF is
also focusing our limited industry operations resources on and near the border
region to identify FFLs who may be involved, directly or indirectly, in supplying
firearms to known traffickers. As part
of “Project Gunrunner” we will seek to expand inspection and
compliance activities to include focused forward traces of firearms that,
through historical firearms recovery and trace data have been identified as “weapons
of choice” for the cartels and their enforcers.
These inspections
will also seek to use firearms tracing and proactive investigative measures to
identify and interdict those who pose as legitimate buyers while they are
actually straw purchasing firearms for cartel members and associates who
otherwise are prohibited from purchasing firearms in the
ATF is
also intensifying our education and liaison efforts with the firearms industry
and other law enforcement agencies to reinforce the importance of collaboration
to identify and report suspected straw purchasers and other illicit sources of
firearms intended for
Internationally,
we have enjoyed a strong collaborative relationship with Mexican law
enforcement and other government agencies in
In the
future ATF will look to assign additional special agents and intelligence research
specialists to ATF offices in Mexico, coupled with the deployment of additional
agents and analysts to EPIC who will act as liaison partners with/to the other
U.S. law enforcement entities operating within the Republic of Mexico. ATF is also looking to establish more
pre-identified, specially vetted Mexican police officials that will allow
Special Agents from the ATF field offices in
It January
of 2008, ATF Acting Director Sullivan announced
that an additional twenty-five Special Agents and fifteen IOIs will be
permanently assigned to the Southwest border to curb the illegal export of U.S.
sourced firearms and ammunition to Mexico.
Since
ATF is a relatively small federal law enforcement agency, this accounts for a
significant proportion of total available manpower and directly affects our
ability to address violent crime in other parts of our country. Nationwide, we have about 2,500 Agents and
about 750 inspectors. The FY 2009 budget request provides for 12 new industry
operations investigators operations and $0.9 million to increase our staffing
levels in the ATF field offices along the U.S./Mexico border.
It is
estimated that there are over 6,647 FFLs along the U.S./Mexico Border compared
to approximately 35 IOIs and 100 special agents stationed along the border and dedicated
to investigating firearms trafficking. It
is a major challenge for ATF to adequately identify and disrupt the illegal
sources of firearms and ammunition, while participating in the interdiction of
shipments firearms and ammunition destined for
In
inviting ATF to appear today, this Committee asked about whether the
Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking
in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and other related materials (CIFTA) was in
compliance with ATF regulations. While
ratification is up to the Senate, ATF programs and regulations comply with the
primary obligations required under the CIFTA, such as licensing of, manufacture
and importation of firearms.
There should
be no question that firearms trafficking is a priority for this Bureau and that
it will be a priority until this issue is adequately addressed. The expansion of
our “Project Gunrunner” will assign additional manpower and investigative
resources to our border offices to specifically work to dismantle the criminal
infrastructures that exist to procure the “deadly tools of the trade” and
enable DTOs to engage in increasingly violent turf battles.
I would
like to conclude by again stating that ATF has developed and is actively implementing
our “Project Gunrunner” initiative which is modeled upon our border successes
over the years, and that is designed to actively
disrupt, deter and dismantle the criminal enterprises and infrastructures
seeking to ensure a continued and viable supply of U.S. sourced firearms for criminal
purposes to Mexico, but which is also designed to address and eliminate the
actual sources of the firearms and ammunition that have become so readily
available for criminal purposes in both
Although
it has proven exceptionally difficult to reduce the demand for
I would
like to thank the Committee for its time and for the honor of allowing me to
testify on this subject, and I look forward to any questions you may have. I would ask that my written statement be
entered into the record.