A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE COVERAGE OF GUN TRAFFICKING ALONG THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER A Dissertation by OMAR CAMARILLO Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Holly Foster Committee Members, Sarah N. Gatson Jane Sell Alex McIntosh Head of Department, Jane Sell May 2015 Major Subject: Sociology Copyright 2015 Omar Camarillo ABSTRACT This dissertation analyzed how the media on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border portrayed the issue of gun trafficking’s into Mexico and its impact on Mexico’s border violence. National newspapers from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border were analyzed from January 2009 through January 2012, The New York Times for the U.S. and El Universal for Mexico, which resulted in a sample of 602 newspaper articles. Qualitative research methods were utilized to collect and analyze the data, specifically content analysis. Drawing on a theoretical framework of social problems and framing this study addressed how gun trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border impacted the drug related violence that is ongoing in Mexico, how gun trafficking was portrayed as a social problem by the media, and how the media depicted the victims of drug related violence. This study revealed six framing devices, “the blame game,” “worthy and unworthy victims,” “positive aspects of gun trafficking,” “negative aspects of gun trafficking,” “indirect mention of gun trafficking,” and “direct mention of gun trafficking” that were utilized by The New York Times and El Universal to discuss and frame the issue gun trafficking into Mexico and its impact on Mexico’s border violence. Gun trafficking into Mexico was found to have met all three of Jamrozik and Nocella’s criteria for a social problem. It had a societal origin in the media of 2008, constituted a threat toward the freedoms and values of the citizens of Mexico, and was found to be amendable to solution through cooperation between the U.S-Mexican governments. In ii the end, this dissertation understands that gun trafficking into Mexico along with the supply and demand of drugs are social problems that needs to be addressed by both the American and Mexican governments in order to prevent further drug related violence. iii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate my dissertation to my parents, Greg and Guadalupe Camarillo, and my dog, Darwin, for always being there for me especially throughout these past several years of graduate school at Texas A&M University. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee chairs, Dr. Foster and Dr. Gatson, and my committee members, Dr. Sell, and Dr. McIntosh, for their guidance and support throughout the course of this research and my time in the Sociology graduate program at Texas A&M. I would also like to thank the late Dr. Kaplan for all his guidance, support, and words of wisdom and for being a mentor to me. A big thanks also goes out to my friends and colleagues and the Sociology department faculty and staff for making my time at Texas A&M University a great experience. I would like to personally recognize Carlos Beck, James Chouinard, Eric Gamino, Eric Sepulveda, Andy De La Cruz, Marco Montanez, April Garcia, Megan Collins, Daniel Delgado, Chad Scott and Chyllis Scott for being great and supportive friends and for making my experience at Texas A&M a great and wonderful experience. In addition, thank you to the Criminal Justice and the Sociology Departments from UTPA for all their support and encouragement from my undergrad to graduate school. I would like to thank Dr. Guerra, Dr. Richardson, and Dr. Su from the UTPA Sociology Department for giving me an opportunity to sharpen my skills as a Sociology instructor. Finally, thank you to my mother and father, Guadalupe and Greg Camarillo, and my brother, Greg R. Camarillo, for their encouragement and support. I would also like to thank my dogs, Darwin, Randal, Weber, and Kara, for their patience, loyalty, and understanding when I was hell bent on writing before I would take them to the dog park. v NOMENCLATURE AECA Arms Export Control Act ATF Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives BORSTAR Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue CBP Customs and Border Protection DEA Drug Enforcement Agency DOJ Department of Justice DTO Drug Trafficking Organizations FFL Federal Firearms License FCC Federal Communications Commission FOPA Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986 GAO Government Accountability Office GCA Gun Control Act of 1968 NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement NFA National Firearms Act of 1934 NRA National Rifle Association vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................. v NOMENCLATURE ...................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................. vii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................ x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 1 Theoretical Framing .......................................................... 8 Definitions ......................................................................... 15 II LITERATURE REVIEW I .................................................... 17 Drug Cartels ...................................................................... 17 Gun Running/Firearms Trafficking ................................... 20 International Arms Trafficking ......................................... 36 Globalization and NAFTA ................................................ 40 United States Gun Policies ................................................ 44 Mexican Gun Policies ....................................................... 48 Enforcement of U.S. Gun Laws ........................................ 50 ATF Operations ................................................................. 51 Possible Solutions to Gun Running ................................... 55 III LITERATURE REVIEW II ................................................. 57 Media Theory: Framing ................................................... 57 Moral Panic ...................................................................... 61 Media as a Medium .......................................................... 65 vii Propaganda Model ........................................................... 66 Worthy and Unworthy Victims ....................................... 73 Summary ......................................................................... 75 Research Problem ............................................................ 77 Research Objectives and Hypotheses .............................. 81 IV METHODOLOGY ................................................................ 83 V THE IMPACT OF GUN TRAFFICKNG ............................. 103 Frame 1: Blame Game ...................................................... 107 Frame 2: Worthy and Unworthy Victims ......................... 121 Frame 3: Positive Aspects of Gun Trafficking ................. 158 Frame 4: Negative Aspects of Gun Trafficking ............... 168 Summary .......................................................................... 183 Endnotes ........................................................................... 187 VI IS GUN TRAFFICKING INTO MEXICO A SOCIAL PROBLEM?........................................................................... 191 Frame 5: Indirect Mention of Gun Trafficking ............... 217 Frame 6: Direct Mention of Gun Trafficking .................. 227 Summary ......................................................................... 237 Endnotes .......................................................................... 243 VII CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 245 REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 267 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................... 284 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................... 305 viii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: Cartel Territories and Drug Routes ................................................ 3 Figure 2: Who is to Blame for Mexico’s Border Violence and Gun Trafficking Problem ............................................................................... 120 Figure 3: Victims of Mexico’s Border Violence ........................................... 156 Figure 4: Fear of Violence............................................................................. 157 Figure 5: Positive Aspects of Gun Trafficking ............................................. 167 Figure 6: Negative Aspects of Gun Trafficking ........................................... 182 ix LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Frames and Their Components ....................................................... 106 x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Drugs, violence, and corruption are all problems that have been synonymous with Mexico for the last few decades. It is speculated