The Illegal Traffic of Firearms on the U.S.-Mexico Border:

A Problem of Governance?

Jose L. García Aguilar

Professor of International Studies

Division of Social Sciences

Universidad de Monterrey

Overview

To say that the United States and Mexico have a very complex relationship is to state the obvious. Indeed, our integration is deepening and covers not only trade aspects, but also environmental issues, energy, labor mobility and of course security among others. The latter is perhaps the most pressing challenge that both nations have to confront. For example, at the press conference that took place after the meeting of the three leaders of North America in Guadalajara, México, last August 10th, Felipe

Calderon from Mexico said to the press that:

“The struggles we have led in Mexico for the rule of law and the security of our

Mexican people forces us to stop the traffic of weapons and of money that go from north to south that strengthen and nourish organized crime gangs”1

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama recognized the United States’ responsibility in this matter:

“We will work to make sure Mexico has the support it needs to dismantle and defeat the cartels, and the United States will also meet its responsibilities by continuing our efforts to reduce the demand for drugs and continuing to strengthen the security of our shared border, not only to protect the American people, but to stem the illegal southbound blow of American guns and cash that helps fuel this extraordinary violence”2

The illegal traffic of arms in the border between Mexico and the United States has reached levels not seen before. In a testimony before the Subcommittee on the Western

1 “President Obama Holds a News Conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.” The Washington Post, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2009/08/10/AR2009081001627_pf.html 2 Ibid Hemisphere, Committee of Foreign Affairs of the United States House of

Representatives, Jess T. Ford, Director of International Affairs and Trade of the General

Accounting Office, said:

“Available evidence indicates a large proportion of the firearms fueling Mexican drug violence originated in the United States, including a growing number of increasingly lethal weapons. While it is impossible to know how many firearms are illegally trafficked into Mexico in a given year, over 20, 000 or around 87%, of firearms seized by Mexican authorities and traced over the past 5years originated in the United

States, according to data from ATF. Over 90% of the firearms seized in Mexico and traced over the last 3 years, have come from the United States3

These figures only show the regional dimension (the U.S.-Mexico border) of a serious problem of global scale. This paper explores the trends of the illicit trade of firearms in the border between Mexico and the U.S. as a part of a global crime threat, but mostly it will concentrate in the governance side, in other words in those legal and political areas of which the criminals take advantage to continue with their illegal activities. Although cooperation between both countries has increased in particular since the beginning of the Obama administration which has recognized theta the United States has to more in order to curb the demand of drugs and to have a better control of guns,4 sometimes we see the lack of cooperation between the two countries to curb the problem. This uncooperative situation is the result of current laws, sometimes the result of corruption, but in any case, the problem reaches levels that constitute a real threat to the security to the countries in both sides of the border.

3 “Fireams Trafficking. U.S. Efforts to Combat Arms Trafficking to Mexico Face Planning and Coordination Challenges”, GAO, June 19, 2009, available at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09781t.pdf 4 “Clinton Says U.S. Feeds Mexico Drug Trade” The York Times, March 26, 2009 This problem it also is a reflex no only of a bigger pattern (the global illicit trade of weapons) but also it responds to a very specific dynamics of the two countries; their laws, their enforcement institutions and the way in way both countries deal with guns, legal or illegal, in the context of a deep interdependence and an increasingly adverse situation of the threat posed by criminal organizations interested in this kind of activity.

Transnational Crime As Global Security Threat

Crime and criminal networks have been in the states’ agenda for a long time. The links between illicit activities and certain policy objectives are well known. The mujahideen in Afghanistan were allowed to continue the trade of opiates in order to maintain their fight against the Soviets. The FARC in Colombia developed ties with narco traffickers and there are indicators that the Basque separatist movement in Spain known as ETA has ties with Spanish criminal groups.5

As in any business, the criminals tend to obtain gains from the markets, in this case, global markets of illicit goods. The world has become a truly global market for any kind of illegal trade: drugs, human beings, endangered species, diamonds, firearms, among others. To deal with this phenomenon it is required to have a comprehensive approach in order to cover all the aspects of this complex international security issue.

After the Cold War, different approaches to define security began to emerge. The global confrontation between the major super powers was the defining element concerning international security. From a scenario of war inter-states, now the new situation started to unveil the struggles intra-states. Among these conflicts we can mention ethnic rivalries, sometimes with catastrophic results such as the Rwanda case,

5 “Saviano dice que ETA es ‘paramafiosa y trafica con cocaína.” El País.com, available from http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/Saviano/dice/ETA/paramafiosa/trafica/cocaina/elpepucul/2009083 1elpepucul_5/Tes the revival of nationalism (as in the former Yugoslavia) and radical religious groups.

This does not mean that the aforementioned problems did not exist, but the Cold War somewhat covered them.

In the context of an increasingly rapid globalization, with the advent of a global scale trade and technology, other threats began to surface too. Clearly, crime was one of them along with the environmental degradation and social conditions such as poverty.

The nature of these threats is that they are not state-centered, in spite of the fact that some of them are originated within some states. Their true nature is that they are transnational, eroding the traditional concept of state sovereignty.

Globalization has created the conditions of a network society. People just get in touch with other with similar interest in order to attain certain goals. The networks can have legitimate social or political objectives such as some NGO’s like Human Rights

Watch, Greenpeace, Amnesty International or the World Wildlife Fund among others.

With the internet technology, these networks also can organize global protest against, ironically, globalization itself, like the protests against the World Trade Organization in

Seattle, WA in 1999. Some authors say that these networks are the expression of a truly global society.6

But not all of these transnational networks are necessarily benign. Some of them like terrorist groups or crime organizations are taking advantage of the situation constituting real threats to international security. This situation became clearer after the attacks to the World Trade Center in New York and Washington, D.C. in September

11th, 2001. Al Qaeda is a very complex network of loyalties to a borderless web of

Muslim extremist that the same are in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen or London and whose more visual member is Osama Ben Laden.

6 See for example, Ronnie Lipschutz, “Reconstructing World Politics: the Emergence of Global Civil Society” in Millenium: Journal of International Studies. Vol. 21, No. 3, 1992, pp. 389-420. Transnational crime organizations act alike. The national identification of these groups in well known in the literature: Italian mafia, Chinese mafia, Russian mafia,

Japanese yakuza, Mexican and Colombian drug cartels, Somali pirates, just to mention some of them. Ironically, these organizations are not “nationals” in the sense that they only operate in their own national territories. They have networks around the world, they create strategic alliances with other criminal organizations in order to get new markets or to fight against other organizations for turf control, they develop new distribution routes, they establish economies of scale and diversify their “portfolios” of activities.7

Although some of them specialize in certain activity such as drugs, they also tend to cooperate with some other criminal networks in order to be more efficient. Thus, some bands specialize in stealing of cars to commit other crimes such as kidnapping. Some make alliances to sell drugs and human beings usually for prostitution. Others transport and sell weapons to those who are involved in wars against other criminal groups or against the forces of public order.

Those activities can not achieve without taking advantage of law loopholes and help from corrupt local and national authorities. Indeed, corruption is endemic in some countries that host these organizations. The lack of a truly rule of law, fragile governance and permissive institutions, and a weak social capital that promotes the creation of wealth as quickly as possible, tend to create the conditions of widespread corruption practices.

7 See, for example, Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni and Calvert Jones, “Assessing the Danger of Illicit Networks” in International Security, Vol. 33, No. 2, Fall 2008, pp. 7-44. There is a plenty of good literature on illicit markets and transnational crime, see, for example, Moisés Naím. Illicit. How Smugglers, Traffickers and Copycats are Hijacking the World Economy. Doubleday, New York, NY, 2005, and Berdal Mats and Monica Serrano (comps.), Transnational Organized Crime and International Security: Business as Usual? Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder, CO, 2002. Such are the complexities of an increasingly global security threat. How the international community has responded to that? It is very interesting to see that a global regime to fight transnational crime is emerging. The United Nations since the year 2000 adopted The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and came into force in the year 2003. There are other international instruments related with this issue, such as the Convention Against Corruption, the United Nations Convention

Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and, in particular, the United Nations Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of Trafficking in

Firearms.8

At the institutional level, we can see efforts like the creation of INTERPOL,

EUROPOL, and the World Customs Organization among others to create an international to fight criminal groups. Agencies such as INTERPOL are vital, for example, in sharing intelligence, essential element to fight transnational crime.

At the regional level, there are plenty of examples of such international cooperation:

Europe is well known in dealing with criminal organizations since they long have suffered from terrorist organizations, some of them with transnational ties with other terrorist groups or with criminal organizations.

Under the auspices of the Organization of American States, in the year 2001, The

American Convention on Crime was signed. This is big step since our continent suffers from the organizations that try to take advantage of the proximity of the big market: the

United States. For several reasons, most of them coming from domestic politics, the

United States has not ratified such legal instrument. We will discuss the complexities of gun politics later on.

8 See, for example, http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/index.html. Illegal Global Trade of Firearms

One of the most worrisome problems in contemporary international security is the illegal global trade of firearms. Indeed, the Executive Director of the UN Office on

International Crime, said in a statement: “Another threat to world security is the illicit trade in weapons which generates huge profits for merchants of death, enables other crimes (like terrorism and drug trafficking), and causes millions of death every year”9

According to the Small Arms Survey, at least there are 640 millions of arms in the world and around two thirds in the hands of civil population.10 Regionally speaking, this kind of criminal trade shows more incidences in regions which states have can be categorized as “failed states.” The Americas present problems of proliferation.

Countries such as Venezuela and Ecuador have increased their military spending but there are signals that in the case of Venezuela it has contributed to arm the FARC.11

Illegal Weapons Trade on the Mexico-U.S. Border

Perhaps the most prominent illegal trade of firearms takes place along the border between Mexico and the United States. The flow, so big that some authors have called it the “Iron River”, amounts to around 2,000 weapons per day.12 To continue describing the flow, 95% of the guns capture in Mexico in violence related crimes were trafficked from the United States and around 7,700 firearms found in Mexico were purchased in the United States in drug related incidents.13 In words of Hillary Clinton, Secretary of

9 Antonio Maria Costa, United Nations Information System, available at http://www.unodc.org/india/unis_140408.html 10 Small Arms Survey, available at http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/portal/issueareas/inventories/inventories.html 11 “Chávez freezes ties with Colombia. Venezuela recalls ambassador and freezes relations in protest at claims it supplied arms to Farc rebels” The Guardian, available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/29/chavez-venezuela-freezes-ties-colombia 12 Kevin Jonson, “ATF takes aim at deep ‘iron river’ arsenal” U.S.A Today, March 19, 2009. Also Veronica Sandoval, “Ingresan 90% de armas por frontera de EU”, Milenio.com, 11/11, 2008 13 Dennis Wagner, “Law Officials Testify on Border Violence”, U.S.A Today, 2/26/2009 State, “our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians.”14

This flow has several sources, according to William Hoover, Assistant Director for

Field Operations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives:

The strict prohibition and regulation of firearms in Mexico; coupled with the increased enforcement efforts by the Mexican government and the increased demand for firearms by the DTOs; a readily accessible source of firearms and ammunition originating in mostly the secondary market such as gun shows, flea markets and private sales; Illegal ‘straw purchases’ of firearms from FFLs who often are unwitting participants in these schemes.15

The availability of weapons on the U.S. side is enormous and a big temptation to criminal organizations. The guns are just “over there.” For example, “there are 6,600 licensed gun dealers along the southern U.S. border alone, vastly outnumbering a relative handful of federal investigators assigned to Mexican smuggling.”16 Even more, according to an article from the New York Times, “in 2007 the firearms agency traced

2,400 weapons seized in Mexico back to dealers in the United States, and 1,800 of those came from dealers operating in the four states along the border, with Texas first, followed by California, Arizona and New Mexico”17

We can clearly say that getting a gun in the United States is easier than in Mexico.

This is due to a certain gun culture that was shaped back to the times of an expanding

14 “Taking on the Narcos, and their Guns”, The Economist 390, No. 8625, p. 42-43, Academic Search Complete, EBSCO Host (accessed August 8, 2009). 15 William Hoover. “Statement before the United States House of Representatives.” Committee oon Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, February 2, 2008. 16 Spencer S. Hsu and Joby Warrick. “U.S. Stepping Up Response to Mexican Drug Violence. No New Troops Or Funding in Obama’s Plan”, The Washington Post, March 25, 2009, accessed March 25, 2009. 17 James C. McKinley Jr. “U.S. Is Arms Bazaar for Mexican Cartels” The New York Times, February 26, 2009, available from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/us/26borders.html, accessed July 28, 2009. frontier. Guns belong to a frontier culture and an epic sense of individual liberty. As has been documented, gun control has been an intense political issue in the country. 18

There are basically two ways in which criminals can get their guns: a) the so-called

“straw purchases” and b) the “ant-trafficking.” The straw purchase is a process “… in which a legitimate purchaser serves as a surrogate for someone barred from purchasing from a licensed dealer.”19 What’s more, according to a confidential source, straw purchases:

…are the most common method used to acquire weapons for eventual cross-border trafficking… (T)he process involves having a “straw buyer” who is “clean” (legally able to buy weapons) purchase one or multiple weapons on behalf of someone else, in exchange for a fee. These straw men include all types of people, from close associates to DTOs to occasional buyers to homeless people and single mothers, ans in case even a high school band teacher out for extra cash. Often straw buyers will receive lists of weapons to buy from members of Drug Trafficking organizations as well as cash with which to buy them. Straw buyers typically make about $50 to $100 profit per gun, but sometimes $200 or more.20

The same confidential source mentions that “ant-trafficking” alludes to a:

Continuous and systematic small-scale smuggling of weapons across the border by perhaps thousands of individuals. Each ‘ant’ carries only shipment of weapons (ranging from five or fewer to several dozen) either in a vehicle or on the person if crossing the border on foot. Because the sheer number of people crossing the U.S.-Mexican border everyday makes it impossible to comprehensively search every person and vehicle, this method ensures a steady if slow and diffuse flow of weaponry to DTO’s in Mexico. The

18 Tom Carver, “Americas’s Gun Culture.” BBC News World Edition. April, 25th, 2000 aired at 12:22GMT 19 Bill Weinberg, “Report: Guns” NACLA Report on the Americas, Mar/Apr 2008, pp. 24 20 Confidencial source. method of ant-trafficking is most likely the primary reason that an estimated 99 percent of arms trafficking into Mexico is successful.21

Current Gun Laws in the United States and Mexico

One of the most important factors that allow this complex situation is the legal framework that governs the manufacture, acquisition, selling, possession and deposit of firearms in the United States and Mexico.22 Both countries have radically different laws regarding guns. For example, in the Unites States the right to bear arms is found directly in the Second Amendment of the Constitution. However, there are different laws pertaining to gun control, including the National Firearms Act, the Gun Control Act of

1968 and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993.23 The federal government through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) runs the national registration (which traces the sale and possession of certain guns by state) of guns which each owner should comply with at the moment to buy the gun.

Several other laws governing a gun regime are found in local laws and they tend to vary. Indeed, states such as Massachusettes or Hawaii California tend to have better controls than the federal standards. Some have “moderate” gun laws such as California or New York. In contrast states like Arizona and Texas have laxer gun laws.24 For example in some states the law permits certain practices such as the so called “private selling” in gun shows or the “Saturday night specials.” There are some “gray” areas in

21 Confidental source. Also see GAO Report, op. cit. 22 Phillip J. Cook, Wendy Cukier and Keith Krause, “The Illicit Firearms Trade in North America”, Criminology and Criminal Justice, available from: http://crj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract79737265-a 23 For further information, see CRS RL Report RL32842, Gun Control Legislation by William J. Krouse. 24 “Gun Control in the United States. A Comparative Survey of State Firearms Laws.” Open Society Institute. March 200, Available from http://www.soros.org/initiatives/usprograms/focus/justice/articles_publications/publications/gun_report_2 0000401/GunReport.pdf which gun regulations are not clearly defined, for example to buy guns by the “bulk” or do not have a specific provision to buy an assault weapon.25

Such practices are supported by organizations such as the National Rifle Association

(NRA), a very powerful lobby that defends the guns industry and gun owners. Although it is not the only one pro gun entity, it is the most visible and organized. According to the Washington, D.C. based Center for Violence Policy, the NRA has launched a media campaign in order to cover the responsibility of the lax U.S. gun laws. There are certain provisions, including the so called “Thiart Amendment”, which are real obstacles to trace the guns sold in the U.S. and ended in Mexico.26 The NRA has said otherwise.27

Even more, President Obama has found certain difficulties to limit that provision.28

To complicate matters further, one of the biggest problems in regard with gun control is the lack of inter-agency cooperation and coordination. However, there are two federal agencies that are involved in curbing the illegal trade of firearms: the Justice

Department in particular the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

(ATF) and the Homeland Security Department, specifically the Immigration and

Customs Enforcement (ICE). Both agencies have launched the operation “Gunrunner” and the Federal government also presented the Southwest Border Counternarcotics

Strategy that includes important elements to fight the smuggling of firearms to Mexico29

25 “Indicted. Types of Firearms and methods of Gun Trafficking from the Unites States to Mexico as Revealed in U.S. Court Documents.” Violence Policy Center, Washington, DC, April 2009, available from http://www.vpc.org/studies/indicted.pdf 26 Indicted, pp. 4-5. The Tiahrt Amendment refers a provision sponsored by the Kansas Representative Todd Tiahrt which keeps confidential the information obtained from guns used in crimes. 27 See “The ‘Tiahrt Amendment’ on Firearms Traces: Protecting Gun Owners' Privacy and Law Enforcement Safety. Nacional Rifle Association. Institute of Legislative Studies, available from http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=208 28 See “Promises in the Firing Line. The President can do more in the push for sensible gun laws.” The Washington Post, available from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2009/05/12/AR2009051203231.html 29 Josh Meyer, “Gun Flow South Is A Crisis for Two Nations”, Los Angeles Times, available from http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-arms-smuggling18-2009jun18,0,4097841.story On the Mexican side, the laws pertaining to gun control are stricter than those in the in the U.S.. Indeed, it is the Mexican military that assumes all the responsibility for guns in Mexico. Even more, the federal law not only sets the models and calibers, but also requires registration which is very difficult to get, takes time and red tape. Of course, this practice was designed on purpose to discourage people to get guns. In sharp contrast of the United States practices, all the system was designed to facilitate gun possession and with exceptions, to have control over guns. However, the right to possess guns is the article 10 of the constitution which says:

The inhabitants of the Mexican United States have the right to possess arms in their homes, for their security and legitimate defense, with the exception of those prohibited by the federal law and those for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, Air Force and

National Guard. The federal law will determine the cases, conditions, requisites and places in which the inhabitants can be authorized to bear arms.30

The law goes to specifics. For example, the “Federal Law of Firearms for the

Exclusive Use of the Army” establishes clearly and unambiguously the registration, the publicity to sell, the permits to bear firearms and on what conditions, acquisition, robbery, loosing, destruction and interdiction of guns, the number of guns to be in possession and the rules for storage.31

Some reports have pointed out that some of the guns taken from criminals were stolen or taken from military deposits, but even the figures reported are vague and inconclusive. Even more, the federal law not only sets the models and calibers, but also requires registration which is very difficult to get, takes time and red tape as the following table can show:

30 Constitución Mexicana, available from http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed/9/11.htm?s=, translation from Spanish by the author of this paper. 31 Reglamento de la Ley Federal de Armas de Fuego y Explosivos (current, 1972), available from http://www.sedena.gob.mx/pdf/leyes/ley_rfa.pdf.

Armas autorizadas por Leyi Armas que podrán Armas, municiones y en los términos y con las limitaciones autorizarse a los deportistas de tiro o materia para el uso exclusivo del establecidas cacería Ejército, Armada y Fuerza Aérea Pistolas de funcionamiento Pistolas, revólveres y rifles Revólveres calibre .357 semi-automático de calibre no superior al calibre .22, de fuego circular. Magnum y los superiores a .38 Especial .380 (9mm.). Revólveres en calibres no Pistolas de calibre .38 con Pistolas calibre 9 mm. superiores al .38, los ejidatarios, fines de tiro olímpico o de competencia Parabellum, Luger y similares, las .38 cumuneros y jornaleros del campo, fuera Super y Comando, y las de calibres de las zonas urbanas, podrán poseer y superiores. portar un arma de las ya mencionadas, o un rifle de calibre .22, o una escopeta de cualquier calibre, excepto las de uso del ejército. Las armas que podrán Escopetas en todos sus Fusiles, mosquetones, carabinas y autorizarse a los deportistas de tiro o calibres y modelos, excepto las de cañón tercerolas en calibre .223, 7 mm., 7. 62 cacería de longitud inferior a 635 mm. (25), y mm. y carabinas las de calibre superior al 12 (.729 ó 18. 5 calibre .30 en todos sus modelos. mm.). Las que integren colecciones Escopetas de 3 cañones en Pistolas, carabinas y fusiles de armas. los calibres autorizados en la fracción con sistema de ráfaga, sub- anterior, con un cañón para cartuchos ametralladoras, metralletas y metálicos de distinto calibre. ametralladoras en todos sus calibres. Rifles de alto poder, de Escopetas con cañón de repetición o de funcionamiento semi- longitud inferior a 635 mm. (25), las de automático, no convertibles en calibre superior al 12 (.729 ó 18. 5 mm) automáticos, con la y las lanzagases, con excepción de las excepción de carabinas calibre, 30, fusil, de uso industrial. mosquetones y carabinas calibre .223, 7 y 7. 62 mm. y fusiles Garand calibre .30. Rifles de alto poder de calibres Municiones para las armas anteriores y superiores a los señalados en el inciso cartuchos con artificios especiales como anterior, con permiso especial para su trazadores incendiarios, perforantes, empleo en el extranjero, en cacería de fumígenos, expansivos de gases y los piezas mayores no existentes en la fauna cargados con postas superiores al 00 nacional. (.84 cms. de diámetro) para escopeta.

Las demás armas de Cañones, piezas de artillería, morteros y características deportivas de acuerdo carros de combate con sus aditamentos, con las normas legales de cacería, accesorios, proyectiles y municiones. aplicables por las Secretarías de Estado u Organismos que tengan injerencia, así como los reglamentos nacionales e internacionales para tiro de competencia. Proyectiles-cohete, torpedos, granadas, bombas, minas, cargas de profundidad, lanzallamas y similares, así como los aparatos, artificios y máquinas para su lanzamiento. Bayonetas, sables y lanzas Navíos, submarinos, embarcaciones e hidroaviones para la guerra naval y su armamento. Aeronaves de guerra y su armamento. Artificios de guerra, gases y substancias químicas de aplicación exclusivamente militar, y losingenios diversos para su uso por las fuerzas armadas. En general, todas las armas, municiones y materiales destinados exclusivamente para la guerra. Las de este destino, mediante la justificación de la necesidad, podrán autorizarse por la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional, individualmente o como corporación, a quienes desempeñen empleos o cargos de la Federación, del Distrito Federal, de los Estados o de los Municipios. Pistolas calibre 9 mm. Mausser,y similares en otras marcas

Armas decomisadas por autoridades Colt, Norinco, Marlin Firearms, Bushmaster Firearms, mexicanas dentro del paísii Beretta U.S.A Corp, Pietro Beretta, Browing, Raven Arms, Remington Arms, Smith&Wesson, Romarm/Cugir, Llama Gabilondo & Cia, Mossberg, Jennings Firearms, Glock GMBH Armas decomisadas por autoridades Pistolas 9MM, super pistolas .38, pistolas de 5.7 mm, .45 norteamericanas dentro del territorio calibre de pistolas, AR-15 tipo de rifle. Y AK-47 tipo de rifle. de EE.UU.iii

Of course, the law was created to discourage people from getting guns. In sharp contrast of the United States practices, the entire system was designed to facilitate gun possession and with exceptions, to control tightly the possession of guns. In any case, and in the words of former Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora: “(F)or

Mexico, the No. 1 priority is guns. The No. 2 priority is guns. The No. 3 priority is guns… Cartel members buy hundreds of assault-style rifles, handguns and even .50 caliber sniper rifles – some capable of downing helicopters from a mile away – at U.S. stores and gun shows”32

Indeed, the Mexican government has made quite clear that the fight against criminals should have the cooperation of the United States government in trying to curb the illegal flow of weapons towards Mexico. In a document released by the

Procuraduría General de la República (Mexican equivalent of the Department of

Justice), the Mexican government recognizes the lack of precise information related to the number of guns that enter illegally to Mexico, but the number of interdicted guns can give an idea of the flow: between December 2006 and April 2009, the federal forces

i Ley Federal de armas de fuego y explosivos, articulo 10°. ii “Trafico de armas México-U.S.A”, Gobierno Federal, 30 de abril 2009. iii “ATF Fact Sheet, Project Gunrunner”, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Available from www.atf.gov 32 Chris Hawley, “Mexico Focused on Guns, Guns, Guns”, U.S.A Today, available from http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-04-15-mexicoobama_N.htm have confiscated 38,404 weapons. Of those, and this is a very disturbing figure, 22,308 are assault weapons with 4,000,000 rounds of ammunition and 3,009 grenades.33

In this regard, Mexico’s biggest problem is corruption. Just to put an example, corruption at Mexican customs has always been legendary. There have been several attempts to put some limits to corrupt practices but during the Calderon administration, there was an overhaul of the customs police, substituting around 700 elements of that organization and putting in their place new cadets with better personal and educational records.34

Criminal organizations take advantage of the situation created by the permissiveness of the U.S. law, in particular to get weapons and ammunition that are that military style, such as assault weapons, grenades, bazookas among others. More and more, the intensity of crime related violence is showing an increasingly amount of firepower, mostly between the drug trafficking organizations and the forces of the Mexican government and those with other competitors. Oftentimes, the criminal organizations have better guns and ammunitions than municipal or state police.

Recommendations

1. For the United States:  Promote better gun control, in particular eliminating “private selling” and to

renew the ban on the retail of assault weapons in gun shows.

 The United States should ratify the OAS Convention of Firearms

33 Procuraduría General de la República. “Tráfico de Armas México-U.S.A.” Gobierno Federal, abril 2009, available from http://www.pgr.gob.mx/prensa/documentos.asp 34 Manuel Lombera Martinez, “Aduanas Destituye a 400 elementos. Dicho personal se Suma a los 700 Inspectores Fiscales Aduaneros que ya Abandonaron el Cargo”, El Universal. El Gran Diario de México, martes 18 de agosto, 2009, available from http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/finanzas/72946.html.  The U.S. Government should increase better inter-agency cooperation and to

increase its efforts to have a better gun control in the border. More police both

ATF’S and ICE will be needed. The security of the border not only is illegal

immigration. It is also the illegal trade of guns and other merchandises.

 Improve the tracking system of guns. This means that registration should be

compulsory for all gun related transactions.

 Continue to improve intelligence gathering to curb the “straw and ant markets”

 Continue to cooperating with the Mexican government sharing information.

Operation “Armas Cruzadas” should be strengthened.

2. For Mexico:  Mexico must improve its practices, mostly in customs, to reach international

standards.

 Improving transparency in vital, but also it is very important that improve the

quality and conditions at work of the personnel involved in fighting contraband.

 Have a better surveillance of the border in the south. That border also should

constitute a national security preoccupation for the illegal trade not only of

weapons from different countries, but also for other illegal activities such as the

trade of persons.

 Most importantly, the Mexican government should maintain or increase its

levels of bilateral cooperation. Merida Initiative is a solid platform, despite the

recent criticisms that the Initiative got from some human rights advocacy

groups. The Mexican government should address this kind of preoccupation to

safe guard the good image that the Mexican army has among the Mexican

population.  Merida Initiative also it requires more “fine tuning” in those areas still incipient

in security cooperation, for example in police training. The announcement of the

Canadian government regarding the training of some Mexican local forces is a

very good sign in this regard

 It is necessary the begin changing our state of mind regarding sovereignty.

Transnational crime takes advantage of the vertical and frequently rigid

structures of governments. It is necessary to move ourselves towards the

creation of a North American security perimeter, with security regimes

communities that could promote common security practices in customs, identity

identification trade and health inspections. We need to explore common military

exercises, intelligence sharing and cover action in order to curb crime.