Arms smuggling, like drug trafficking, are two of the biggest problems facing the governments of Mexico and the United States on their common border, and the same organized crime groups are responsible for both crimes.
While the border authorities are stepping up their efforts daily to detect the arsenal entering Mexican territory, it seems that this is not enough, according to an investigation by the newspaper Milenio, based on statistics Customs and Border Guard (Pulp and paper industry).
And this is what, while the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that About 200,000 weapons cross the border every year.corporations of the two countries confiscated a total of 1398 pieces at various customs posts.
These figures represent only 0.7% of the volume of reserves crossing the Rio Grande.compared to the illegal traffic estimated by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Milenio and based on the US fiscal year, which includes months from October last year to September 2022, at border checkpoints CBP agents seized 982 long and short firearms..
In contrast, 416 weapons were seized in the Mexican border states during the same months, mostly short-barreled weapons, according to the National Customs Agency.
Taking into account these figures and the calculations of the Mexican government, 548 weapons are crossed illegally every daybut the border guards manage to detain only four of them every 24 hours.
It was also announced that this year the areas where the highest number of weapons seizures were achieved were in Laredo, Tucson, and San Diego, California.that is, border areas with the Mexican states of Baja California, Sonora, and Tamaulipas.
It should be recalled that a few weeks ago a US judge dismissed a lawsuit in which the Mexican government sought compensation for damages caused by the arms trade from the US.
“The vast majority of weapons crossing the border are powerful rifles., which are banned in our country, for which the Mexican government asks the Arizona court to impose adequate sanctions on gun stores. Why do we insist on this? Because if we don’t stop this huge flow of weapons into Mexico, how are we going to stop the violence here?” said Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard at the time.
Source: La Opinion
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