InsightCrime, August 31, 2019
by Parker Asmann
The problem of US-sourced firearms finding their way into the hands of Mexico’s organized crime groups is a market issue. The United States has a glut of weapons — especially high-powered ones — and lacks strong control mechanisms. At the same time, criminal actors in Mexico are in constant search of such weaponry.
Experts agree that the United States can implement a variety of strategies to slow the number of US firearms illegally trafficked across the southern border, while also safeguarding legal international sales of firearms… “There’s a resource issue and a political will issue,” John Lindsay-Poland told InSight Crime. “You can put more resources into an agency, but if the political will isn’t there to actually prevent weapons from getting to bad actors, it’s not going to make that much of a difference.”
