Illegal weapons are smuggled from the US into Mexico every day, contributing to Mexico’s high levels of gun violence with 100,000 gun deaths over the past decade. Despite only having one licensed gun dealer in Mexico, an estimated 580 guns are smuggled out of the US daily. 70% of guns recovered by Mexican law enforcement agencies between 2011 and 2016 were purchased from US gun dealers and private sellers. Mexican citizens must go through a long process to purchase a gun at an army base.
Smuggling along the US-Mexico border is, quite literally, a two-way street. Much publicity has been given to American efforts to curb the flow of illegal drugs and illegal immigrants from Mexico into the United States. Less publicized is the fact that hundreds of illegal weapons are smuggled from the United States into Mexico every day. Mexico is seeing unprecedented levels of gun violence, with 100,000 gun deaths over the past decade. This is all the more shocking when you consider that there is only one licensed gun dealer in all of Mexico: a guarded military store near Mexico City. This shop actually sells very few guns – an average of 38 firearms a day – but at the same time, an estimated 580 guns are smuggled out of the United States every day.
Exporting violence:
Mexico’s constitution guarantees the right to bear arms, but the government also has the power to “determine the cases, conditions, requirements and places” of the possession of weapons.
To purchase a gun at an army base, Mexican citizens must go through an arduous process that includes months of background checks and reams of paperwork.
About 70% of the guns recovered by Mexican law enforcement agencies between 2011 and 2016 were purchased from gun dealers and private sellers in the United States.
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