US weapons, many of them legally exported, are flowing into Latin America in an “iron river” ending up in the hands of drug cartels and abusive security forces, activists said Monday, calling for greater legal and law enforcement oversight. United States federal agencies.
More than half of the weapons related to criminal activities that are recovered and traced in Central America come from the United States, according to the US arms control agency ATF. This level is close to 70% for Mexico and around 80% throughout the Caribbean.
“It’s called the river of iron and it’s flooding the countries of the South,” Elizabeth Burke of the US nonprofit Global Action on Gun Violence said at an event organized by the Center for American Progress in Washington.
Burke called for rules that prevent manufacturers from selling to dealers with lax distribution practices. Manufacturers should also stop selling armor-piercing weapons and pistols that can be easily modified to fire hundreds of rounds at a time, he said.
Activist John Lindsay-Poland of Stop US Arms to Mexico added that lax licensing and enforcement rules help facilitate the cross-border flow of weapons, including military-grade weapons that the cartels want.
“Why would we be arming the very people we say we are fighting against?” he said, calling for more controls at the beginning of the supply chain.
Sixteen US states and a handful of Caribbean governments last month expressed their support for Mexico’s appeal in a civil lawsuit against US arms manufacturers, which seeks to hold them accountable for facilitating the deadly weapons trade.
American gun manufacturers have maintained that they legally sell firearms to Americans who pass a background check, and their lawyers have argued that holding them accountable opens the door to other lawsuits, such as the deaths of Russians killed by their guns in Ukraine.
US government figures show that last year revenue from legal firearms shipments to Latin America rose 8%, with most sales going to Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia.
The National Rifle Association and the State Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
[Con información de Reuters]
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