Congressman Castro Leads Bicameral Introduction of Comprehensive Arms Trafficking Legislation

Congressman Castro Leads Bicameral Introduction of Comprehensive Arms Trafficking Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), Congresswoman Norma Torres (CA-35), Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10), and Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20) led the bicameral introduction of the Americas Regional Monitoring of Arms Sales (ARMAS) Act, legislation that would mobilize resources across the federal government to disrupt firearms trafficking from the United States to Latin America and the Caribbean and implement stronger transparency, accountability, and oversight for U.S. arms exports.

"Our country's broken gun laws have global consequences-they have destabilized nations and fueled violence in the streets of Mexico, the Caribbean, and across the Western Hemisphere for decades," said Congressman Castro. "The ARMAS Act is a necessary step to curbing the flow of U.S. made weapons to Latin America and saving lives. The Trump administration's unregulated export regulations spread terror far beyond our own borders. It's time to stop this carnage and hold the State Department accountable for regulating gun exports."

"Every year, hundreds of thousands of American-made guns are illegally trafficked into Latin American countries. These guns are then used by cartels and gangs to commit violence and sow instability that has real consequences for us here at home. Our bill would overhaul the current system for approving firearms exports, increasing transparency and making it harder for dangerous people to get their hands on illegally trafficked guns," said Senator Murphy.

"For too long, dangerous American made firearms have been allowed to flow beyond our borders with far too little oversight, fueling violence, displacement, and instability throughout Latin America and the Caribbean," said Congresswoman Norma Torres. "As someone who has spent years working to combat firearms trafficking and its devastating impact on communities in the Northern Triangle, I know that transparency and accountability save lives. The ARMAS Act restores strong State Department oversight of U.S. arms exports, brings federal agencies together to shut down trafficking networks, and ensures our policies do not undermine the safety of our neighbors or our own national security."

"Transnational criminal organizations, especially drug cartels, rely on American-made guns to control their human trafficking and drug smuggling operations by force," said Congressman Dan Goldman. "We must take every avenue possible to ensure that American weapons do not get into the hands of the cartels, who use them to threaten the safety and prosperity of the entire Western Hemisphere. It's incumbent upon American leadership and a strong federal response to keep weapons of war out of the hands of the cartels. The ARMAS Act is a key component of that much-needed response."

"Weapons trafficked through the United States are fueling Haiti's escalating gang violence and deepening the country's instability," said Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Co-Chair of the House Haiti Caucus. "Strengthening transparency, accountability, and oversight of U.S. arms exports is essential to addressing this regional challenge and preventing firearms from falling into the hands of dangerous criminals."

The ARMAS Act will address these challenges by:

• Transferring small arms authority from the Department of Commerce back to the Department of State to ensure greater accountability and transparency;
• Requiring the development of a comprehensive interagency strategy and program to disrupt arms trafficking;
• Providing congressional notification, review, and oversight of certain small arms exports;
• Requires the submission of an annual report by the State Department and relevant agencies that will allow Congress to understand the challenges and successes of current efforts to address illegal arms trafficking and inform future strategies;
• Tracing the origin of firearms captured from criminals by increasing the adoption of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms' e-Trace platform by foreign law enforcement agencies;
• Prohibiting the Department of Commerce from promoting small arm sales globally throughout the transfer of authority period.

Background:

Congressman Castro has been a longtime leader in efforts to prevent gun violence and stem the illegal trafficking of U.S. firearms across the Western Hemisphere. Recent efforts include:

• In October 2025, Reps. Castro, Gregory Meeks (NY-05) and Senators Warren (D-MA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), wrote to the Department of Commerce and the State Department pressing for answers about the Trump administration's elimination of a rule that was stemming the export of dangerous weapons to cartels and criminal organizations around the world.
• In February 2025, Reps. Castro, Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Maxwell Frost (FL-10) and Senator Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Stop Arming Cartels Act, legislation that aims to address the sale and trafficking of firearms from the United States to transnational criminal organizations abroad.
• In March 2024, Reps. Castro and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), along with Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), introduced the Caribbean Arms Trafficking Causes Harm (CATCH) Act, legislation designed to curb illicit arms trafficking from the United States to the Caribbean.
• In December 2023, Reps. Castro, Norma Torres (CA-35), Dan Goldman (NY-10), and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20) led more than a dozen of their colleagues to introduce the Americas Regional Monitoring of Arms Sales (ARMAS) Act, legislation that would mobilize resources across the federal government to disrupt firearms trafficking from the United States to Latin America and the Caribbean and implement stronger transparency, accountability, and oversight for U.S. arms exports.
• In September 2023, Reps. Castro, Norma Torres (CA-35), and Dan Goldman (NY-10), along with Senator Warren, sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, seeking answers on Commerce's lackluster oversight of assault weapons exports and its failure to release data on its approvals of these exports.
• In April 2023, Reps. Castro (TX-20) and Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), along with Senator Dick Durbin (IL), wrote to the Comptroller General of the U.S. Government Accountability Office calling for a federal probe into the consequences of firearms trafficking from the United States to the Caribbean. The report, which was subsequently released in November 2024, found that 73% of guns recovered in the Caribbean can be traced back to the United States.
• In 2022, Congressman Castro voted to pass, and President Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun violence prevention reform in nearly three decades. Among its many provisions, the law created new federal criminal offenses for firearm straw purchasing and trafficking.

The ARMAS Act is co-sponsored by Reps. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), and Rob Menendez (NJ-08).

The ARMAS Act is endorsed by the Newtown Action Alliance, Stop U.S. Arms to Mexico (a project of Global Change), and the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC).

Read the full bill text here.