Andrés Rodríguez, El País
October 16, 2026
John Lindsay-Poland of Stop US Arms to Mexico says the region’s dense concentration of gun stores, combined with the war in Sinaloa, has fueled a growing flow of weapons through Sonora
Maricopa County, in Arizona, has emerged as the “main epicenter” of illegal arms trafficking into Mexico, according to John Lindsay-Poland, coordinator of Stop US Arms to Mexico, an initiative that studies the illicit flow of weapons between the two countries.
The region contains multiple ZIP codes associated with large numbers of firearms that are trafficked into Mexico and later recovered in crimes there, according to records obtained through public-information requests. The phenomenon is fueled by permissive gun laws and a high concentration of firearms dealers. Data provided and analyzed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) show that a significant share of these weapons, particularly assault-style rifles and large-caliber firearms, cross the border shortly after being legally purchased in the United States and ultimately end up in the hands of organized crime groups in Mexico.
