Victor Varela,alleged Juarez drug cartel gun smuggler leader of a firearms trafficking network operating in the Southwest, was arrested by ATF agents in Arizona. Varela and his so-defendants, who acted as "straw purchasers", purchased a number of firearms in Arizona for the purpose of supplying them to drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. Michael A. Golson Sr., ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Dallas Division stated in a news release that "this is evidence of the cooperation by ATF and Mexican authorities to combat illegal gun trafficking and the violence that ensues from it. It also shows the importance of gun tracing and our increased focus to do so on both sides of the border, as the majority of firearms used in border violence originate in the United States."
