Stopping illegal flow of guns to Mexico needs support from U.S.
Illegal arms trafficking from the United States to Mexico poses a serious challenge to the security of both countries. The violence unleashed in Mexican territory is largely due to the smuggling of weapons from the United States to Mexico, which, according to estimates by the
Center for American Progress, would amount to more than 213,000 weapons a year, placing the annual murder rate at 20.5 per 100,000 people. The evidence available to the authorities shows that the supply of weapons to members of organized crime in Mexico relies on the ease with which they are acquired in the U.S. market.
As Secretary Marcelo Ebrard says, “Mexico faces a phenomenon of transnational crime.” A very clear fact is that 70% of confiscated or secured weapons and ammunition comes from the United States market, the other 30% comes from Europe. For the government of Mexico, there is co-responsibility in combating the illicit flow of arms from North to South and cooperation is of great importance to direct the action of both nations. In other words, only a binational approach that strengthens cooperation and raises levels of collaboration can deliver positive results. It is necessary for both countries to join as strategic allies, sharing responsibilities, assuming commitments and reinforcing controls on the illicit arms trade to Mexico.
According to estimates by the Mexican Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA), in the last decade, between 2,500,000 and 3,000,000 weapons would have entered Mexico illegally and, in that same period, around 193,000 were seized. SEDENA estimates that an average of 22 weapons enter the country every hour through the northern border. Statistics collected by the Mexican consulates located along the US border indicate that between November 2019 and February 2020 more than 166 thousand cartridges were seized in addition to 949 loaders, 139 long weapons, 125 short weapons, and 1 rocket launcher, among others.
Furthermore, it is estimated that more than 15 million illegal weapons circulate throughout Mexican territory, compared to 300 million in the United States. The origin of the weapons that arrive in Mexico are concentrated from Texas (40%); California (20%); and Arizona (15%). The remaining enters through various ports in Mexico and to a lesser extent through Central America.
How is it that illicit weapons and ammunition enter Mexico? First of all, the lack of control at ports of entry makes it possible to do the “hormiga - ant” arms trafficking, hidden in bags, toys, courier packages, or in secret compartments of motor vehicles. Secondly, by separating weapons into pieces and later assembling them in Mexican territory, that circumvents the trafficking laws and does not constitute a crime, however this must be controlled. The authorities of both countries must make a formal commitment to combat the illicit flow of arms parts and components. In addition, the so-called straw buyers also provide a venue for purchasing weapons and ammunition at gun fairs or exhibitions with the help of US citizens.
The issue of trafficking in arms and magazines to Mexico occupies one of the most urgent issues to attend to in the complex relationship with the United States. Among other reasons, because the extreme ease with which these supplies are acquired in the US market has a negative impact in terms of deaths, bloodshed and pain on the other side of its border. In the four states bordering Mexico (California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas) there are more than 22,689 authorized gun shops and more than 22 thousand licenses for sales in markets, specialized stores and the internet. In 2004, when the government of President George Bush lifted the ban on the sale of assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons, the problem was made more acute by entering into a kind of arms competition among organized crime groups.
Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to affirm that one of the first actions in terms of joint responsibility between both countries could be that the United States Congress discourages this trade and resolves to legislate again on the matter, making the acquisition of this type of lethal weapon more restrictive and ban it if its destination is across the border. It starts with measures that make it more difficult to purchase arms for illegal purposes and to expand to a greater extent the application of filters in the background check.
Mexico does not intend to limit or curtail the right granted by the Second Amendment to American citizens to acquire and bear arms, but to control the illicit flow that permeates the southern border which together with large sums of money that are involved in the arms and ammunition trade, become the cause of the high number of violent deaths and insecurity. The initiative proposed making joint responsibility and cooperation the basis for the action of both nations, is a realistic way that will increase and strengthen results. Some significant steps have been taken but they must be redoubled until the goal of substantially reducing the illicit traffic of arms to Mexico and the cycle of violence they generate is achieved.