05/30/11 – Civil organizations in Mexico and the United States are working together to urge President Obama to stop the southbound flow of arms from the U.S. across the border into Mexico. This campaign has become known as “Alto al Contrabando de Armas” (A Stop to the Smuggling of Arms) and it seeks to significantly reduce drug violence in Mexico, as well as increase security in the border region. Some of the main organizations leading this movement are Alianza Cívica (Civic Alliance), Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social (Cencos), Evolución Mexicana (Mexican Evolution), and Propuesta Cívica (Civic Proposal). According to Milenio, from 2004 to 2008, 84% of weapons found in crime scenes in Mexico were imported from the U.S.
There are three main policies that the campaign “Alto al Contrabando de Armas” has proposed. The first policy calls for the “immediate detention and prohibition of imported arms into the U.S.” The second policy calls on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to closely monitor people who are buying multiple arms at once. Salesmen are urged to report to the ATF when such an instance occurs. The last policy involves giving the ATF an increased role in border state regions so that they can better regulate the arms that are brought into Mexico. Sergio Aguayo, an academic and head of the Alianza Cívica, has stated that although these efforts will not end violence, they will have a significant positive impact on reducing the amount of violence that Mexico experiences and it will make it harder for organized crime groups to equip themselves with such high powered weapons.
Sources:
EFE. “Exigen a Obama frenar tráfico de armas.” Univisión. May 29, 2011.
González, María de la Luz. “Exigirán a Obama frenar tráfico de armas.” El Universal. May 29, 2011.
You might want to insist that the elected federal representatives of both countries investigate the sordid and murderous scandal known as “Project Gunrunner” before giving more power to the same agency (ATF) which, by the testimony of its own agents, facilitated the smuggling of thousands of weapons south of the border. This official government policy of depraved indifference to murder has cost the lives of (at a minimum) hundreds of Mexican citizens and at least two U.S. federal law enforcement agents.
Or was the circumscription of the rights of honest American gunowners the ONLY thing you had in mind?
If it is, then have the honesty to say so and don’t try to cloak it in phrases of well intentioned horse excrement.
You know, it would be a lot easier to just tell the ATF to stop smuggling weapons into Mexico instead. Their own agents admitted to smuggling between 1,500-2,000 weapons to Mexico since 2008.
CBS news, LA Times, Center for Public Integrity, Fox News, and many smaller organizations have all reported on this.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/04/1300-guns-bought-illegally-suspect-buyers-atfs-gunrunner-program/
And you have a comment pending moderation from the guy who broke the scandal.
Lets try that before we start calling for restrictions on anyone’s civil liberties.
We appreciate the commentary, as we have also amply covered Operation Fast and Furious in our monitoring of relevant news in Mexico. Keep in mind that the purpose of this blog is “to disseminate information about events in the Mexican justice sector, as well as other relevant developments reported in news stories, reports, and other sources.” To the extent that guns —from whatever source— are a critical driver of Mexico’s recent problems of crime and violence, we consider stories on this topic as relevant to our coverage.
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Great post! This is a very difficult issue, but the fact remains that these guns are a major factor with violence in Mexico. 8,000 guns and amo dealers on the Mexico and US border should make both countries nervous.