HomeNewsBriefNewsBrief: Mexico's Guns Smuggled From Central America, Says WikiLeaks
BRIEF

NewsBrief: Mexico's Guns Smuggled From Central America, Says WikiLeaks

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 30 MAR 2011 BY INSIGHT CRIME EN
  • According to a U.S. State Department cable released by whistleblower site, WikiLeaks, via La Jornada, the most lethal weapons used by the Mexican cartels come from Central American arsenals, not from the U.S. La Jornada cites one cable, reference ID 09MEXICO808, reportedly drafted as a briefing for agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), following an arms trafficking conference that took place April 1 and 2 in Cuernavaca, Morelos. La Jornada reports that the cable states that 90 percent of the high-power weapons, submitted by Mexico law enforcement to the U.S. for tracing, were in fact traced to Central America arsenals. Another State Department cable, released by WikiLeaks and dated January 25, 2010, also discusses the problem of arms trafficking across the southern border. "While there are 30,000 U.S. CBP officers on the 1,926 mile Mexican/U.S. border, only 125 Mexican immigration officials monitor the 577 border with Guatemala," the cable notes.
  • El Espectador reports that former High Peace Commissioner, Luis Carlos Restrepo, is due to testify before the Prosecutor General about whether a rebel front, which allegedly demobilized from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) in March 2006, was actually faked. Two demobilized guerrillas have declared that the demobilization was staged, in order to earn benefits from Colombia's Justice and Peace law, which gives certain immunity to rebel commanders who opt out of the conflict.
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