Guns Across the Border: How and Why the U.S. Government Smuggled Guns into Mexico: The Inside Story

by Mike Detty, Sharyl Attkisson (Foreword), David Codrea (Introduction)

Conducted under the umbrella of Project Gunrunner, intended to stem the flow of firearms to Mexico, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) ran a series of “gun walking” sting operations, including Operations Wide Receiver and Operation Fast & Furious. The government allowed licensed gun dealers to sell weapons to illegal straw buyers so that they could continue to track the firearms as they were transferred to higher-level traffickers and key figures in Mexican cartels.

Motivated by a sense of patriotic duty, Tucson gun dealer and author Mike Detty alerted the local ATF office when he was first approached by suspected cartel associates. Detty made the commitment and assumed the risks involved to help the feds make their case, often selling guns to these thugs from his home in the dead of night. Originally informed that the investigation would last just weeks, Detty’s undercover involvement in Operation Wide Receiver, the precursor to Operation Fast & Furious, which was by far the largest “gun walking” probe, stretched on for an astonishing and dangerous three years.

Though the case took several twists and turns, perhaps the cruelest turn was his betrayal by the very agency he risked everything to help.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[Fran Henderson]

This was a bonkers book that I would not have read had it not been free. First off so strange that a gun salesman would choose to work with the police and think he would get preferential treatment: secondly such an odd mindset to think of himself, a gun seller, as so much better than Mexican dealers. Third it’s comical every woman is a stereotype, a nag, whore or bitch! I thought this would be a book about why so many guns crossed the border. He says it’s because of Obama wanting to ban guns, but this book was pre Obama for the most part…

[Matthew Gibb]

This book reads like a diary. It recounts the double life of a gun salesman that also worked as a confidential informant for the ATF. I thought I would learn more about why guns flow south and drugs and humans flow north. About 5 minutes is dedicated to Mike's supposition at the end. He had a contentious relationship with the DA in Arizona, Ms. Beavertooth, and he believes that the ATF was letting many guns walk across the border as a precursor to Obama's desire to ban assault rifles. Surely, it can't be that simple and the Narcos are said to control all three enterprises: guns, drugs and people. The reason why migrants keep coming has to do with their being the 3rd priority. Paul Theroux's book, On the Plane of Snakes, offers more revealing possibilities. Good title, great cover, so so story. I am sure Mike does a great job writing articles for gun magazines. As for long form narratives,he is out of his depth.

[Gregg C]

At Last! What really happened and why

Well written. Lots of detail on the ins and outs of the whole gun walking scheme.
How ot started and ended.

[Craig]

This is interesting, but kind of a hard read in that the first 3/4`s is so detailed that it becomes rather boring. The payoff is in the last 100 pages as he tells of the government double cross and the deceit of the ATF and their willingness to continue the lies even to the floor of the Senate. I now better understand the guns to Mexico schemes known as "wide receiver" and "Fast and Furious" and I pray that someone in our government brings the perpatrators to justice if only to renew our faith in the system and cause any future political numbskulls to think twice before trying to pull something like this off again.

[Ken]

Guns across the border

Guns across the border

the book was a fantastic, eye opening read. I enjoyed it immensely and thank the author for his courage in bringing this information to the attention of the public.
I would recommend a better job of proof reading. as a person with very limited education, I found many spelling and grammatical errors.