Democratic lawmakers seek data on US gun exports linked to cartels, criminal violence

Two Democratic members of Congress are pressing the Commerce Department for detailed data on U.S. exports of semi-automatic weapons, citing concerns that legally exported American firearms are fueling criminal violence and arming cartels across the Western Hemisphere.

Reuters reviewed the letter sent on Sunday by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Representative Gregory Meeks of New York to Under Secretary of Commerce Jeffrey Kessler.

Warren and Meeks, the top Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, respectively, invoked their oversight authority under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to demand a sweeping accounting of semi-automatic firearm export licenses approved since January 2025.

The request covers semi-automatic rifles, pistols, shotguns and associated accessories, and asks the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security to disclose the number of licenses approved, the countries receiving the exports, the types of purchasers cleared to receive them, and details of any monitoring conducted to prevent diversion into illegal markets.

The letter requested a response and a full briefing to the committees by April 13. 

The lawmakers cited data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives showing that legal U.S. firearm exports account for nearly 20% of crime gun traces in Central America and more than 37% globally outside of North America.

The letter is the latest move by Warren to scrutinize the flow of U.S.-made weapons into criminal hands.

Warren in early March introduced legislation to stop an Army-owned ammunition plant in Missouri from selling military-grade bullets to civilians, asserting that some rounds have been diverted to Mexican drug cartels and used in more than a dozen American mass shootings.

In 2023 the Commerce Department paused export licensing of most civilian firearms and ammunition for months to assess the "risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal activities."

U.S. companies that sell firearms include Sturm Ruger & Co and Smith & Wesson Brands.