Smuggling of firearms into Mexico
Mexicans have a right to own firearms,[1] but legal purchase from the single Mexican gun shop in Mexico City, controlled by the Army, is extremely difficult.[2] Guns smuggled into Mexico are sometimes obtained at gunshops in the United States and carried across the US-Mexico border.[3][4] In other cases the guns are obtained through Guatemalan borders[5] or stolen from the police or military.[6] Consequently, black market firearms are widely available. Many firearms are acquired in the U.S. by women with no criminal history, who transfer their purchases to smugglers through relatives, boyfriends and acquaintances who then smuggle them to Mexico a few at a time.[7] The most common smuggled firearms include AR-15 and AK-47 type rifles, and FN 5.7 caliber semi-automatic pistols. Many firearms are purchased in the United States in a semi-automatic configuration before being converted to fire as select fire machine guns.[8] Mexico seized in 2009 a combined total of more than 4,400 firearms of the AK-47 and AR-15 type, and 30% of AK-47 type rifles seized have been modified to select fire weapons, effectively creating machine guns from assault weapons.[9]
There are multiple reports of grenade launchers being used against security forces,[10][11][12][13][14][15] and at least twelve M4 Carbines with M203 grenade launchers have been confiscated.[16] It was believed that some of these high powered weapons and related accessories may have been stolen from U.S. military bases. [17][18] However, while many U.S. military grade weapons such as grenades and light anti-tank rockets are acquired by the cartels through the huge supply of arms left over from the wars in Central America and Asia, a report from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) found combination weapons that were counterfeits whose specific courses could not be identified. [19] It has been reported that there have been 150,000 desertions from the Mexican army during 2003 to 2009. Stated another way, about one-eighth of the Mexican army deserts annually.[20] Many of these deserters take their government-issued automatic rifles with them while leaving. Some of those weapons originate from the USA.[21] It has been determined that at least some of the M203 grenade launchers and M16A2 assault rifles cited above are of counterfeit origin manufactured for the cartels, possibly to resemble the weapons carried by the Mexican Special Forces.[22]
Gun origins
The U.S. government, primarily through ATF, ICE and Customs and Border Protection, is assisting Mexico with technology, equipment and training.[23] Project Gunrunner is part of the ATF's effort to collaborate with the Mexican authorities and its "cornerstone" has been the expansion of eTrace, a computerized system to facilitate tracing guns which were manufactured in or imported legally to the U.S.A.[24]
"According to [U.S.] Justice Department figures, 94,000 weapons were recovered from Mexican drug cartels in the five years between 2006 and 2011, of which 64,000 -- 70 percent, according to Jim Moran -- come from the United States."[25] The percentages pertaining to the origin of weapons confiscated from organized crime and drug cartels may not be accurately reported. Said numbers represent only firearms Mexican authorities asked the US to trace (7,200 firearms) and that the ATF was able to trace (4,000 on file, of which 3,480 from US). US ATF Mexico City Office informed Mexican authorities ATF had eTrace data only on firearms made in or imported into the US and told them not to submit firearms that lacked US maker or US importer marks as required by US law. The guns submitted for tracing were only firearms that appeared to be US origin. The remaining guns were not submitted for tracing, or were not able to be traced. "In fact, the 3,480 guns positively traced to the United States equals less than 12 percent of the total arms seized in Mexico in 2008 and less than 48 percent of all those submitted by the Mexican government to the ATF for tracing. This means that almost 90 percent of the guns seized in Mexico in 2008 were not traced back to the United States." [26]
Since 1992 (and as recently as 2009), the Congressional Research Service has stated that the ATF tracing system (eTrace) was not designed to collect statistics.[27][28] Nevertheless, on February 2008, William Hoover, Assistant Director for Field Operations of ATF, testified before Congress that over 90% of the firearms that have either been recovered in, or interdicted in transport to Mexico originated from various sources within the United States.[29] However, following a review by the U.S. Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on September 2010, the ATF admitted that “the 90% figure cited to Congress could be misleading because it applied only to the small portion of Mexican crime guns that are traced.”[24] During this 2010 review by the OIG, the ATF could not provide updated information on the percentage of traced Mexican crime guns that were sourced to (that is, found to be manufactured in or imported through) the United States.[24] The November 2010 OIG analysis of ATF data suggest a low percentage of successful weapons traces, ranging from 27% to 44%.[30] In February 2011, Stratfor Global Intelligence calculated the number to be situated between 12% and 48%, and reported almost 90 percent of the guns seized in Mexico in 2008 were not traced back to the United States.[31] The OIG analysis of ATF data concluded that ATF's attempts to expand gun tracing in Mexico have been unsuccessful.[32] While the United States is not the only source of firearms and munitions used by the cartels, ATF says that it has been established that a 'significant' percentage of their firearms originate from gun stores and other sources in the U.S.[33] ATF also says it is well-established that firearms traffickers often use the same routes as drug traffickers. Increasingly, ATF finds that Mexican cartels transport firearms and munitions into Mexico from Guatemala, situated on Mexico's southern border.[33]
Although the number of trace requests from Mexico has increased since February 2006, most guns seized in Mexico are not traced.[32] Moreover, most trace requests from Mexico do not succeed in identifying the gun dealer who originally sold the gun, and the rate of successful traces has declined since the start of Project Gunrunner. Most Mexican crime gun trace requests that were successful were untimely and of limited use for generating investigative leads.[32] Senior Mexican law enforcement authorities interviewed by U.S. OIG officers do not view gun tracing as an important investigative tool because of limitations in the information tracing typically provides and because ATF has not adequately communicated the value of gun tracing to Mexican officials.[32]
If ATF or Mexican police does not collect tracing information quickly, it becomes unavailable.[34] In accordance with Mexican law, all guns seized by the Mexican government must be surrendered to the Mexican Army within 48 hours. It was determined that after the Mexican military obtains custody of the guns, ATF or Mexican federal police are unlikely to gain timely access to them to gather the information needed to initiate traces.[34] Mexican Army officials interviewed by OIG personnel said their role is to safeguard the weapons and that they have no specific authority to assist in trafficking investigations. To gain access to the weapons, ATF officials must make a formal request to the Attorney General of Mexico for each gun, citing a specific reason that access is needed, demonstrating that the requested information is related to a Mexican criminal investigation, and providing a description of the gun with the serial number. Yet, if ATF had the gun description and serial number, ATF officials would not need to request access to the gun.[34] Due to these barriers, ATF and wider Department efforts to gain access to weapons in Mexican military custody have not been successful.[34] Because many weapons are transferred to the military before basic information is collected, and many weapons for which information is available are not traced, the majority of seized Mexican crime guns are not traced.[34] The report states that the poor quality of the tracing data and the resulting high rate of unsuccessful traces suggest that the training is insufficient, training has been provided to the wrong people or there are other unidentified problems with Mexican law enforcement's crime gun tracing.[35]
The final OIG report, which was released on November 2010, concludes that because ATF has not been able to communicate the value of gun tracing to Mexican law enforcement officials, they are less likely to prioritize their efforts to obtain tracing information from seized crime guns and enter it into eTrace.[36] This hinders ATF's plans to deploy Spanish eTrace throughout Mexico. Because the expansion of tracing in Mexico is the cornerstone of Project Gunrunner, this presents a significant barrier to the successful implementation of ATF's Gunrunner strategy. The OIG report also revealed ATF has been unable to respond to many training and support requests from Mexican government agencies, and ATF's backlog of requests for information from Mexican authorities has hindered coordination between ATF and Mexican law enforcement.[37] In addition, it was found that ATF has not staffed or structured its Mexico Country Office to fully implement Project Gunrunner's missions in Mexico.[37]
In 2009, Mexico reported that they held 305,424 confiscated firearms,[38] but submitted data of only 69,808 recovered firearms to the ATF for tracing between 2007 and 2009.[8] Some analysts claim the sample submitted for tracing is preselected to represent the guns that Mexican authorities suspect are US origin.[39] The US Congress has been informed that ATF agents working in Mexico routinely instruct Mexican authorities "to only submit weapons for tracing that have a likelihood of tracing back to the U.S .... instead of simply wasting resources on tracing firearms that will not trigger a U.S. source." This policy skews the pool of weapons submitted for tracing to weapons already suspected of being US origin.[40] Gun-rights groups use the absolute number between seizures and traces to question whether the majority of illegal guns in Mexico really come from the United States.[41] Gun control advocates use the 48% to 87% successful US origin trace rate to call for re-enactment of the sunsetted Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994-2004.[42]
A significant source of Mexican cartel weapons is legal sales by U.S. gun companies to the Mexican military and police, sales approved by the U.S. State Department which after they arrive in Mexico end up in cartel hands. In 2011 CBS News reported "The Mexican military recently reported nearly 9,000 police weapons "missing."" A 2009 U.S. State Department audit showed 26 percent of guns sold legally to governments in Mexico and Central America were diverted to the wrong hands.[43]
Project Gunrunner
ATF Project Gunrunner has a stated official objective to stop the sale and export of guns from the United States into Mexico in order to deny Mexican drug cartels the firearms considered "tools of the trade".[44] However, since 2006 under Project Gunrunner, Operations "Fast and Furious", "Too Hot to Handle", "Wide Receiver" and "White Gun" [45][46] (all together satirically dubbed "Operation Gunwalker"), are alleged to have done the opposite by ATF permitting and facilitating 'straw purchase' firearm sales to traffickers, and allowing the guns to 'walk' and be transported to Mexico. This has resulted in considerable controversy.[47][48]
According to ATF agents, Mexican officials were not notified, and ATF agents operating in Mexico were instructed not to alert Mexican authorities about the operation.[49] Some ATF agents and supervisors strongly objected, and gun dealers (who were cooperating with ATF) protested the sales, but were asked by ATF to complete the transactions to elucidate the supply chain and gather intelligence.[47][50] The gun-rights group Gun Owners of America accused the ATF of attempting to "boost statistics of seized firearms with American commercial provenance from Mexican crime scenes."[51]
In 2011, KNXV-TV reported that weapons linked to the controversial ATF strategy were recovered in four police seizures of drugs and guns in the Phoenix area (two in Glendale, two in Phoenix).[52]
As of 2011 report, total of 372 Fast and Furious firearms were recovered in the United States, and 195 were recovered in Mexico.[53]
In 2010, Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was murdered in a shootout in Arizona with drug cartel members. Cartel member Manuel Osorio-Arellanes pleaded guilty in 2012 to first-degree murder in the case and was sentenced in 2014 to 30 years in prison; according to Osorio-Arellanes, four other cartel members perpetrated the attack. Two rifles from the "Fast and Furious" operation were found at the scene of the crime, but there is no evidence proving that Terry was killed with either of those guns.[54]
Trends in U.S. firearms trafficking
Although there are about 78,000 gun dealers in the U.S.,[55] ATF suggested that gun shows, thefts and private sales may be a greater source of trafficked Mexican guns than licensed dealers.[33] Gun smugglers are known to coerce[56] or pay U.S. residents or citizens to purchase semi-automatic rifles and other firearms from gun shops or gun shows and then transfer them to a cartel representative.[8][57][58][59][60][61] This exchange is known as a straw purchase.[62]
There currently is no computerized national gun registry in the United States, but the Firearms Tracing System is partially automated thanks to registration records with individual names and addresses, along with other identifying information. ATF agents first query the five databases at the National Tracing Center by make, model and serial number. In addition, agents use another computer system (Access 2000) with an automated interface to 100 or more manufacturers, importers and distributors.[63] If these methods do not help identify the gun, the agents telephone the manufacturer or importer, then work their way down the supply chain first by computer, then by telephone and as a last resort, by demand letter or in person. Tracing guns rarely relies on an actual paper trail, except with the first retail sale. Agents rarely pursue disposition of firearms beyond the first suspect (first purchaser), although the gun may have been resold several times since the first purchase. The average age of traced guns is over 10 years, and over 15 years for guns seized in Mexico.[64][65][66][67][68]
It has been reported that more than 500 Romanian manufactured AK-47s (WASR-10) smuggled to Mexico were legally imported into the United States from Europe by Century Arms International[69] despite a U.S. ban on the importation of certain configurations of semi-automatic rifles and full-auto rifles [8][70] Other types of AK-47s were also recovered in 2009; for example, according to the Violence Policy Center, Mexico seized 281 Chinese Norinco Type 56s from January 1 to June 30, 2009,[8] however, Chinese guns have not been imported into the United States since May 1994.[71]
Legislation
The United States House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved a bill (H.R. 6028) that would authorize $73.5 million to be appropriated over three years to increase ATF resources committed to disrupting the flow of illegal guns into Mexico.[72] Lawmakers included US$10 million in the economic stimulus package for Project Gunrunner, a federal crackdown on U.S. gun-trafficking networks. As part of this effort, ATF outlined a path to full U.S. firearms registration in which it referred to web-based registration as the 'Gold Standard' of tracing.[73]
In June 2009 Rep. Connie Mack called for increasing the number of federal agents on the Mexican border.[74] U.S. President Barack Obama has proposed to ratify an inter-American treaty known as CIFTA[75] to curb international small arms trafficking throughout the Americas. The treaty makes the unauthorized manufacture and export of firearms illegal and calls for nations in the Western Hemisphere to establish a process for information-sharing among different countries' law enforcement divisions to stop the smuggling of arms, adopt strict licensing requirements, and make firearms easier to trace.[76]
In October 2010, a spokesperson from the Violence Policy Center (VPC) declared that significant progress in limiting foreign weapon sales to straw purchasers could be made by enforcing existing gun control laws, such as the Gun Control Act of 1968.[77]
Sources of weapons
Weapon | Primary Source |
---|---|
AK rifle variants (semi-automatic) | United States[8][78][79] |
AK rifle variants (select-fire) | Central America, South America, Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia[80][81] |
AR-15 rifle (semi-automatic) | United States[8][82] |
M16 rifle (select-fire) | purportedly Vietnam[83] |
Fragmentation grenades M61/M67/MK 2/K400 | United States,[84][85][86][87][88][89][90] Central America, South Korea,[91] Spain, Soviet bloc, Guatemala,[92] Vietnam,[83] Unknown[92][93] |
RPG-7 /M72 LAW / M203 Grenade launchers | United States,[94] Asia, Central America/Guatemala,[92] North Korea[93][95][96][97] |
Barrett M82 | United States.[8][92][93][97][98][99][100][101] |
M2 Carbine (select fire) | Vietnam[83] |
Research has shown that many weapons and arms trafficked into Mexico are from gun dealers in the United States via straw purchasers.[102] In response to a 2009 GAO report, the DHS pointed out that the "majority" were 3,480 U.S. origin guns of 4,000 successfully traceable by ATF. These were the arms investigated out a total of 30,000 firearms seized in Mexico 2004 to 2008.[103] Most of the weapons end up in the hands of cartels.[104] [105]
See also
References
- Thompson, Barnard (2010-05-21). "An Inside Look at Mexican Guns and Arms Trafficking". Mexidata.info. Archived from the original on 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
The inhabitants of the United Mexican States have the right to have arms in their domicile for their protection and legitimate defense
- "At Mexico's Lone Gun Shop, Army Oversees Sales". NPR. 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- "American citizen in Mexican custody on arms-trafficking". CNN. 2011-09-06. Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
- "American citizen in Mexican custody". Borderland Beat. 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
- "Mexican Cartels Get Heavy Weapons from Central America, U.S. Cables Say", Latin American Herald Tribune, La Jornada, and Wikileaks.
- "State Police Arsenal Raided in Chihuahua City". Borderland Beat. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- Kevin Johnson (August 24, 2009). "Gun traffickers recruiting women as buyers". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- Colby Goodman; Michel Marizco (September 2010). "U.S. Firearms Trafficking to Mexico: New Data and Insights Illuminate Key Trends and Challenges" (PDF). Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego. The Woodrow Wilson Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- Castillo, Eduardo; Michelle Roberts (May 7, 2009). "Mexico's weapons cache stymies tracing". The San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
- Jr, James C. McKinley (10 May 2008). "Caught in a Swirl of Drug Violence, Mexico Vows to Fight Back". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- Jr, James C. McKinley (26 October 2006). "With Beheadings and Attacks, Drug Gangs Terrorize Mexico". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- "Caught in a Swirl of Drug Violence, Mexico Vows to Fight Back". Nytimes.com. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- Grillo, Ioan (25 January 2008). "Mexico's Narco-Insurgency". Time.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- "Los narcotraficantes se enfrentan con granadas en Nuevo Laredo". Elpais.com. 30 July 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- Grillo, Ioan (2008-06-28). "Civilian Victims in Mexico's Drug War". TIME. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- La Jornada (2008-01-23). "Armas robadas en EU, en poder de narcos". Jornada.unam.mx. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- "The US Arms Both Sides of Mexico's Drug War". Fas.org. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- "ATF Uncovered Counterfeit Colt M16A2 Rifles and M203 Grenade Launchers in Mexico". 13 January 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- Hector Tobar, "A cartel army's war within", Los Angeles Times, May 20, 2007.
- Dave Kopel (August 2010). "The Mark of "C"". Second Amendment Project. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
- Alex Kruthaupt (12 March 2010). "Mexico: Counterfeit Colt M16A2 Ri fles and M203 Grenade Launchers" (PDF). BATFE.
- Colby Goodman; Michel Marizco (September 2010). "Working Paper Series on U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation" (PDF). USA: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "Review by the Office Inspector General (OIG) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) implementation of Project Gunrunner" (PDF). U.S.A.: U.S. Department of Justice. November 2010: 1. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "Jim Moran says 70 percent of traced firearms in Mexican drug crimes come from U.S." politifact. 2012-05-29. Retrieved 2015-05-17.
- "Mexico's Gun Supply and the 90 Percent Myth". Stratfor. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- "Setting The Record Straight On BATF Firearms Traces". NRA - ILA. 2004. Archived from the original on 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
- William J. Krouse (May 27, 2009). "Congressional Research Service". Congressional Research Service. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - Hoover, William (February 7). "STATEMENT AT THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE". ‘’Statement by William Hoover, Assistant Director for Field Operations, Bureau of ATF’’. Washington, D.C.: UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2008-08-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link). Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- "Review by the Office Inspector General (OIG) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) implementation of Project Gunrunner" (PDF). U.S.A.: U.S. Department of Justice. November 2010: 76 Figure 8. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - Scott Stewart (February 10, 2011). "Mexico's Gun Supply and the 90 Percent Myth". Stratfor Global Intelligence. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- "Review by the Office Inspector General (OIG) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) implementation of Project Gunrunner" (PDF). U.S.A.: U.S. Department of Justice. November 2010: 73–79. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "A Cartel Focused Strategy" (PDF). U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2012-03-04. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "Review by the Office Inspector General (OIG) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) implementation of Project Gunrunner" (PDF). U.S.A.: U.S. Department of Justice. November 2010: 75. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "Review by the Office Inspector General (OIG) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) implementation of Project Gunrunner" (PDF). U.S.A.: U.S. Department of Justice. November 2010: 77. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "Review by the Office Inspector General (OIG) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) implementation of Project Gunrunner" (PDF). U.S.A.: U.S. Department of Justice. November 2010: 79. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "Review by the Office Inspector General (OIG) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) implementation of Project Gunrunner" (PDF). U.S.A.: U.S. Department of Justice. November 2010: 81. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "Mexico's weapons cache stymies tracing". Tuczon Citizen. Associated Press. May 7, 2009. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
- Scott Stewart, "Mexico's Gun Supply and the 90 Percent Myth", STRATFOR Global Intelligence, 10 February 2011.
- Memo Archived 2012-01-26 at the Wayback Machine to Kenneth Melson, Acting Director ATF, from Sen Charles E. Grassley, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 16 June 2011.
- Study: U.S. lacks strategy to fight arms smuggling into Mexico. Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine CNN News. June 18, 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-07
- "U.S. Guns Are Fueling Mexican Drug Violence" Archived 2012-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Brady Campaign.
- Sharyl Attkisson, "Legal U.S. gun sales to Mexico arming cartels", CBS News, 6 Dec 2011.
- "Project Gunrunner". BATFE. BATFE. 2011-02-17. Archived from the original on 2011-02-20. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- "Another ATF weapons operation comes under scrutiny - latimes.com". 16 February 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- Richard A. Serrano, "Another ATF weapons operation comes under scrutiny", Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan 2012.
- Sharyl, Attkisson (2011-02-23). "Gunrunning scandal uncovered at the ATF". CBS News. CBS News. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
- Attkisson, Sharyl (2011-03-08). "Documents point to ATF "gun running" since 2008". CBS News. CBS News. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
- Attkisson, Sharyl (2011-02-24). "Mexico responds to CBS News investigation". CBS News. CBS News. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
- Hugh Holub (23 February 2011). "Inside ATF…an ugly picture …how many dead bodies are out there as a result of Project Gunrunner?". The Tucson Citizen. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- Hugh Holub (24 February 2011). "More calls for an investigation into ATF's Project Gunrunner scandal". The Tucson Citizen. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- Gliha, Lori (2011-07-01). "Weapons linked to controversial ATF strategy found in Valley crimes". KNXV-TV, ABC15.com. KNXV-TV, ABC15.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- "Fast and Furious Investigation" (PDF). BATFE. U.S. Department of Justice. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-02-20. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
- Mary Kay Mallonee (April 13, 2017). "Man arrested in 2010 killing of Border Patrol agent, DHS says". CNN.
- McKinley Jr., James C. (April 15, 2009). "U.S. Stymied as Guns Flow to Mexican Cartels". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- JJ Hensley (March 4, 2010). "Authorities: Young women used as straw buyers of weapons". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- Ross, Brian; Richard Esposito (April 22, 2008). "U.S. Guns Arming Mexican Drug Gangs; Second Amendment to Blame?". ABC News. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- "Mexico: U.S. Must Stop Gun Trade At Border". CBS News - Dallas. Associated Press. February 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- "Obama's too cool on gun restrictions". The Christian Science Monitor. April 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- DANE SCHILLER (April 17, 2009). "Houston man gets 8 years for selling guns to drug lords". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- Greyson, George (April 16, 2009). "Mexico: Dealing With Drug Violence". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- Greg Flakus (May 20, 2009). "US Agents Break up Ring Smuggling Guns to Mexico". VOA News. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- "Iacp Leim Etrace -Fts Atf Doj". Scribd.com. 2003-09-15. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- eTrace: Internet-based Firearms Tracing and Analysis, Department of State Fact Sheet, April 2009
- Prosecutor’s Guide to the ATF, Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, 2003
- Setting the record straight about firearms trace data, MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN, Acting Director, ATF, Monday, April 30, 2007
- The Uses And Limitations Of ATF Tracing Data For Law Enforcement, Policymaking, And Criminological Research by Paul H. Blackman, Ph.D, 1998
- ATF's database fires four barrels, Government Computer News, Mar 04, 2003
- Schmitt, Rick; Rick Young (2011-02-03). "Romanian Weapons Modified in the U.S. Become Scourge of Mexican Drug War". Center for Public Integrity. Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- "EU arma a la delincuencia de México con AK47 de Rumania". Excelsior (in Spanish). 9 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- "Pre & Post Ban Chinese AK47 Rifle Overview". Ak-47.us. Archived from the original on 2011-01-14. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- William J. Krouse, ed. (May 30, 2008). "CRS Report for Congress" (PDF). Assets.opencrs.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 18, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012. *"ICE INITIATIVES TO COMBAT SOUTHWEST BORDER VIOLENCE". U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). July 6, 2007. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2012-03-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) “Structures And Institutions Necessary To Support The Effective Operation Of A Firearms Tracing Mechanism”, a paper presented to the 'United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research' in Geneva, Switzerland, 2003, by Gary L. Thomas, Chief, Firearms Programs Division, ATF.
- Meyer, Josh (June 20, 2009). "Report on arms smuggling to Mexico called incomplete". Los Angeles Times.
- CIFTA is an acronym for: "Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials."
- Tapper, Jake; Sunlen Miller (April 17, 2009). "President Obama to Face Opposition from Gun Lobby, Possibly Democrats, to Ratify Treaty on Firearms Trafficking". ABC News. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- Georgina Olson (October 24, 2010). "Obama solapa el tráfico de armas por temor a votantes". Excelsior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- "Project Gunrunner". U.S. Bureau of ATF. 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- "AK-47 Varieties Made in U.S.A". AK47.US. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- Small Arms Survey, Switzerland and National Firearms Centre, Royal Armouries, United Kingdom. (2009). "Kalashnikov AKM (& close derivatives)" (PDF). Weapons ID. Retrieved 2009-03-20.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Small Arms Survey, Switzerland and National Firearms Centre, Royal Armouries, United Kingdom. (2009). "Kalashnikov AKM (& close derivatives)" (PDF). Weapons ID. Retrieved 2009-03-20.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- "AR15 Manufacturers & Builders". AR15.US. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-03-08. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- Brian Wood; Johan Peleman. The ARms Fixers (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2010.
- "U.S. man nabbed for smuggling grenade parts to Mexico cartel". Reuters. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- "Mexico: U.S. Man, Jean Baptiste Kingery, Smuggled Grenade Parts For Drug Cartel". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Evan Pérez, CNN (24 October 2013). "ATF probes possible ties between grenade In Mexico and American". CNN. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- "Mexico Says U.S. Man Smuggled Grenade Parts for Sinaloa Cartel". Foxnews.com. 6 September 2011.
- "American citizen in Mexican custody on arms-trafficking allegation". Cnn.com. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- "American arrested in Mexico for smuggling grenade parts he bought on the Internet". Speroforum.com. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- "Mexico says US man smuggled grenade parts". Yahoo News. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- "Mexico, U.S.: A New Weapon in the Cartel Arsenal". The Stratfor. February 10, 2009. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- Ellingwood, Ken; Tracy Wilkinson (March 15, 2009). "Drug cartels' new weaponry means war". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- "Traffickers Advantage in Arms (Grafic)". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- "Borderland Beat: Mexican Drug War". Borderlandbeat.com. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- PETER T. KING (CHAIRMAN) (August 16, 2006). House Hearings (PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. pp. 21, 32.
- "Testimony of Chris W. Cox, Executive DIrector of the N.R.A. before the U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). March 12, 2009: 4. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - Sanchez, Matt (February 4, 2009). "Mexican Drug Cartels Armed to the Hilt, Threatening National Security". Fox News. Archived from the original on March 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- "Mexico violence prompts new look at US gun laws". The San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. March 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- Burton, Fred; Scott Stewart (November 12, 2008). "Worrying Signs from Border Raids". Stratfor Global Intelligence. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-22.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- Griffin, Drew; John Murgatroyd (March 26, 2008). "Smugglers' deadly cargo: Cop-killing guns". CNN News. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- "Criminal Use of the .50 Caliber Sniper Rifle". Violence Policy Center. 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-12-02. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- United States Government Accountability Office, Report to Congressional Requesters, Firearms Trafficking, June 2009, Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Homeland Security. "Numerous problems with the data collection and sample population render this assertion as unreliable."
- Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico's Drug Wars
- Longmire, Sylvia. Cartel: The Coming Invasion Of Mexico’s Drug Wars. 2011. ‘Moving Guns South’ p. 77. Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 0-230-11137-8 Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico's Drug Wars
Bibliography
External links
- Devon Maylie and Leighton Walter Kille, Estimating firearms trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border, Journalist's Resource (Last updated May 20, 2015)