U.S. Teenagers Supplying Guns to Mexican Cartels

By David Okafor

Mexican criminal organizations are increasingly enlisting teenagers and young adults from U.S. border states, particularly Arizona, to supply them with firearms, according to a recent report by The New York Times. These individuals, often high school students, are involved in purchasing, stealing, and smuggling weapons across the border, driven by financial incentives and social status.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report indicates that between 2020 and 2024, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) traced 39,299 firearms recovered in Mexico to unknown U.S. sources. Of these, 13,838 were long guns, 24,347 were handguns, and 1,114 were other types of firearms.

The GAO report further reveals that the majority of U.S.-sourced firearms recovered in Mexico originate from the four southwestern border states: Texas, Arizona, California, and New Mexico. Specifically, 77% of these firearms were traced back to these states, with Arizona being a significant source. From 2018 to 2025, 1,587 federal firearms licensees in Arizona were linked to 15,413 firearms later recovered in Mexico.

In response to the growing issue of gun trafficking, the ATF has implemented several initiatives. The Anti-Firearms Trafficking Public Safety Campaign, launched in 2021, seeks to curb the flow of firearms into Mexico through public outreach and enforcement efforts along the southern border. Additionally, Operation Southbound, an interagency enforcement initiative started in 2020, has seen the ATF spend over $105 million to combat gun trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Efforts to address this issue have also included revoking the licenses of two federal firearms dealers in Arizona in 2025 for violations of the Gun Control Act, as reported by the GAO.