“So much money is invested in weapons, in uniforms. And it´s other countries that invest so that we will be killed.” – Teodomira Rosales Sierra, Morelos Human Rights Centre.
The project Stop US Arms to Mexico initiated by the international human rights organization Global Exchange seeks to contribute to a substantial reduction of US legal arms sales and illegal gun trafficking to Mexico. By publishing several videos and articles with the opinion of experts they aim to attract more attention to the issue.
According to the Mexican government, at least 17,000 homicides in 2019 were linked to arms trafficking. Authorities estimate that more than 2.5 million guns have crossed the southern border of the United States in the last decade.
In 2021 the Mexican government filed a lawsuit against major U.S. arms manufacturers and distributors in federal court in Boston, arguing their negligent business practices have sparked bloodshed in Mexico by marketing to the country’s criminal underworld, “facilitating the unlawful trafficking of their guns to drug cartels.” But the Boston court ruled that gun companies were protected by the U.S. Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
“Guns are the lifeblood of the cartels. That is what gives them power. That is what enables them to do their criminal enterprises, to engage in violence,” explains Jonathan Lowy, founder of the initiative Global Action against Gun Fires. Indeed, Mexico has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world which makes it virtually impossible for criminals to obtain guns lawfully.
The United States is the leading source of guns in Mexico. But it´s not only US-American companies that export weapons to Mexico, although Sig Sauer produces its guns in the United States, it is still a German cooperation profiting. Criminal organizations most likely to engage in illicit firearms trafficking are contributing to the high level of violence in Mexico: since 2006, organized crime has been responsible for over 150,000 murders in the country, many of which are connected to cartels and gangs.
United States and Mexico: The Same Guns Are Killing Us – Global Exchange (YouTube) STOP U.S.-Fueled Violence in Mexico – Stop Arms to Mexico ‘Not normal’: Big flow of U.S. arms to Mexico ‘can’t be denied,’ author says – NBC News Foto Silvia Minguzzi
