HomeNewsAnalysis2,000 Illegal Weapons Cross US-Mexico Border Per Day: Report
ANALYSIS

2,000 Illegal Weapons Cross US-Mexico Border Per Day: Report

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 22 JAN 2015 BY DAVID GAGNE EN

A new study suggests the number of guns trafficked from the United States to Mexico is higher than previously believed, underscoring the uncertainty that surrounds the cross-border weapons trade, as well as its impact on violence in Mexico.

According to a recent report (pdf) on arms trafficking by Mexico's governmental research service, known as the CESOP, an estimated 2,000 weapons illegally enter Mexico from the United States every day. The report says 85 percent of the approximately 15 million weapons that were in circulation in Mexico in 2012 were illegal.

The report -- which is based largely on numerous international studies and reports -- highlights the large number of cheap military and assault-style weapons available in the United States, in addition to lax US gun laws, as the main reasons for the high number of arms smuggled into Mexico. Some 40 percent of firearms used by drug traffickers in Mexico come from Texas alone, the report stated. 

The report identifies straw purchasing -- in which individuals legally buy weapons in the United States, before smuggling them into Mexico and selling them on the black market -- as the most common form of arms trafficking.

The report does not, however, mention Mexican security forces, which InSight Crime found in a 2011 study to be a large source of black market weapons. 

The CESOP report also does not explain where it sourced its estimate that 2,000 weapons illegally cross the US-Mexico border every day. According to Clay Boggs, a specialist on Mexico and gun trafficking at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), this figure may be a relic from the era of former President Felipe Calderon, who was a vocal critic of the perceived inaction of the US on stemming the flow of guns illegally entering Mexico. 

“Two thousand is a number Calderon frequently used, but it was a projection because no one knows how many guns cross the border,” Boggs told InSight Crime.

SEE ALSO: Mexico News and Profiles

A 2013 study (pdf) by the University of San Diego and the Igarape Institute in Brazil -- and a follow-up to that report published in 2014 -- estimated that, on average, 212,887 firearms were bought in the US every year between 2010 and 2012, by purchasers who intended to traffic them. This represents some 580 weapons a day -- just 29 percent of the figure provided by CESOP.

While arms trafficking on the US-Mexico border is undoubtedly big business, the discrepancy between the two estimates highlights the uncertainty of just how many weapons are being trafficked into Mexico.

"Getting a firm grasp on the scope and scale of arms trafficking across the US-Mexico border is exceedingly difficult," Robert Muggah, an author of the joint 2013 study, told InSight Crime.

According to Muggah, there are three primary ways to track arms trafficking: 1) "gun-walking", which is when authorities purposefully allow arms dealers to sell to straw purchasers, then tracing the weapon across the border, 2) assessing seized weapon stocks, and 3) estimating arms trafficking using statistical models. However, none are even close to perfect, Muggah said. 

One reason why it's hard to get a handle on the US-Mexico illegal arms trade is the difficulty in tracing confiscated weapons to a source country. Firearms purchased at gun fairs or private auctions in the United States that require no registration -- or weapons with missing serial numbers seized by Mexican authorities --  are nearly impossible to track. In 2012, US authorities admitted they could not identify the source country for 30 percent of the seized weapons suspected of being used for a crime in Mexico.

Even if the number of firearms illegally crossing the US-Mexico border is significantly lower than 2,000 per day, evidence suggests the flow of illegal guns into Mexico is increasing. The number of weapons seized along the US southwest border by the Department of Homeland Security from 2010 to 2012 increased 189 percent compared to the years 2006 to 2008. In addition, the University of San Diego study found a growing percentage -- nearly half -- of licensed US gun dealers are financially dependent on Mexican consumers. 

SEE ALSOCoverage of Arms Trafficking

Despite studies showing that tightening legislation on US gun purchases can have a direct impact on violence levels in Mexico, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has proven more hesitant than his predecessor to call for stricter laws in the United States. The issue is politically charged, and US-Mexico relations are strong -- in part due to various captures of high-level drug traffickers such as Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in February of last year -- so Mexican authorities may not want to stir the waters. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 3 JUN 2022

Seizures of military-style assault weapons in the Dominican Republic are raising concerns that criminal groups are accessing powerful firearms smuggled…

FENTANYL / 22 FEB 2023

The misuse of the term "cartel" by US lawmakers at a recent hearing on fentanyl prompts us to ask: should…

DISPLACEMENT / 22 MAY 2023

Drone attacks carried out by the Familia Michoacana forced hundreds of residents of towns in Guerrero, Mexico, to flee their…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.