Report: U.S. lax in preventing gun flow to Mexico

“The Second Amendment was never designed to arm criminal groups.” These comments were made by Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora to “60 Minutes” earlier this year reflected the ire Mexican officials have over how easily drug gangs obtain weapons from the U.S. Medina Mora’s concerns were surely strengthened by a U.S. government report released today:

The General Accountability Office investigation released today (pdf) cites Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives data that approximates 87 percent of firearms seized by Mexican authorities and submitted to the U.S. for tracing in the last five years came from the U.S., and found that roughly one quarter of the guns seized are high-caliber, high-powered assault style weapons, including AK-47s and AR-15s.

Most of the illegal weapons that cross the border are intended to support Mexican drug cartels, lending added firepower to an already lethal Mexican drug war.

Investigators concluded that uncoordinated government efforts have hampered efforts to stop the gun flow.

"Individual U.S. agencies have undertaken a variety of activities and projects to combat arms trafficking to Mexico, but they are not part of a comprehensive U.S. government-wide strategy for addressing the problem," according to the report.

The report acknowledged that it’s difficult to collect accurate data from the U.S. and Mexico yet blasted the ATF and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for ineffectively coordinating their efforts as well as corrupt elements in the Mexican government. The study also cited the southern border states of Texas, California and Arizona as supplying most of the arms to Mexico; according to the New York Times, over 500 guns confiscated in Mexico last year can be traced to Arizona.

In 2008 over 6000 Mexicans were killed due to violence related to the country’s drug gangs. That amount may be surpassed this year as there have been 2900 deaths so far this year.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- CNN, The Latin Americanist, UPI, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times