By Elia Castillo Jiménez and Patricia San Juan Flores
El País, July 15, 2025
The security tensions between Mexico and the United States marking the second Trump era appear to stem from Mexico’s failings, according to the logic of the rarely self-reflective northern neighbor. Fentanyl and migration are a problem, but arms trafficking is not. The U.S. sends around 200,000 weapons to Mexico each year, according to analysts’ estimates, a figure that demonstrates the lack of interest in combating illegal arms sales, much of which are destined for the drug cartels that have been classified as terrorist organizations by the Republican president himself.
The main arms trafficking routes identified by the Mexican government between November 2024 and May 2025 originate in the states of Arizona, California, and Texas, according to a report presented to Congress by the Ministry of Citizen Security. At least 74% of illicit weapons reach organized crime groups through these routes. These data are consistent with those of the U.S. Department of Justice, which, in its latest report on the subject, revealed the same points of origin and predominance, with one addition: New Mexico. A smaller budget north of the Rio Grande and greater laxity in security operations point to one conclusion, experts say: combating arms trafficking is not on the U.S. government’s agenda.
