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Press Release

ATF Seizes Thousands of Illegal Firearms Bound for Cartels in Mexico

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Share For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 4,359 firearms and an average of 1,600 rounds per day kept out of the hands of violent drug gangs since President Trump’s Inauguration. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced that since January 20, 2025, it has seized 36,277 illegal crime guns and 2,317,999 rounds of ammunition from prohibited persons, gang members, and suppliers for transnational criminal organizations.

4,359 of these seized firearms were bound for Mexico, where they would have been used by violent drug cartels and gangs.  648,975 rounds of the seized ammunition were bound for Mexico, which averages to over 1,600 rounds per day.

Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, ATF has led an aggressive nationwide effort to dismantle the domestic and international networks that arm violent criminals.

“Illegal crime guns increasingly originate from every state in the country. This is not a southwest border problem, it is a national threat,” said ATF Deputy Director Robert Cekada. “ATF agents are aggressively targeting gangs, cartels, and transnational criminal organizations that illegally traffic firearms and turn American streets into war zones. We will dismantle these networks at every level, cut off their access to weapons, and hold every criminal fully accountable under the law”.

ATF protects America’s communities by confronting violent crime driven by the illegal use of firearms, explosives and acts of arson.  Our special agents concentrate on identifying and dismantling illegal firearms traffickers who fuel violence by arming prohibited persons, gang members, drug cartels, illegal aliens and terrorist organizations.

Through advanced Crime Gun Intelligence (NIBIN, firearms tracing, and touch DNA), ATF partners with state and local law enforcement to investigate, identify, and prosecute violent offenders.  At the same time, we safeguard lawful commerce and uphold the Constitution.

More information about ATF and its programs is available at www.atf.gov.

Updated February 18, 2026 Component Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Press Release Number: 158

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