A River of Weapons Flowing from the United States into Mexico

An iron river of weapons flows from the United States to Mexico, empowering criminal organizations and accelerating forced migration through chaos and violence. The river of guns has its headwaters in the United States, originating from hundreds of gun manufacturers, passing through thousands of local U.S. gun dealers before eventually finding its way into Mexico.

In reaction to the flow of illicit weapons, a firearms race has developed, in which gun companies export more and increasingly militarized weapons to Mexican police and military forces.

As a result of the flood of weapons, the number of lives lost or disappeared through violence in Mexico continues to increase, while migrants fleeing through Mexico have become understandably more desperate to get to safety. Political discourse focuses on the U.S.-Mexico border. But the unregulated, massive and militarized U.S. gun market that feeds the violence, drug trafficking, and displacement is growing – and often ignored.

The Stop US Arms to Mexico project obtained finely grained data, never before disclosed, on the origins of guns trafficked and exported to Mexico and Central America from the United States since 2015. This data, and the visualizations assembled, provide a clearer picture than ever before of the extent of the weapons being sold and trafficked.

The full report is available here: stopusarmstomexico.org/iron-river.
You can help us slow this river of weapons. We have a critical opportunity to make a real difference in the fight against gun violence and arms trafficking by organizing support for the ARMAS Act (H.R. 6618) and Stop Arming Cartels Act (H.R. 8427 / S. 2926).

Join us! Call or Write your Congress Member and ask them to co-sponsor these two life-saving bills!

Gun violence in Mexico, the United States, in Central America, Haiti and other countries in the Americas has created chaos and heartache on an unimaginable scale. We can do something to stem the tide of violence.

Can you take a moment and send a message in support of legislation to reduce the use of U.S. sourced weapons in violence throughout the hemisphere?

The Iron River can be stopped with the courage and commitment of people like you. Thank you.

We share the shock and grief at the horrendous mass shooting in Las Vegas that took the lives of at least 58 people and left more than 500 hospitalized with injuries. We hold the victims and their friends and family in the light as they search for healing.

In just over a year, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history has been eclipsed by another, then another. This is not normal.

This violence is the outcome of gun laws and policies that permit most people in the United States to freely obtain military-style assault weapons, such as that used in Las Vegas. Currently proposed federal legislation, contained in the SHARE Act, would even deregulate silencers and flash suppressors, making even more difficult the detection and location of shooters like the one in Las Vegas.

Join us to support the call for humane and sensible gun laws by stopping sales of military-style assault weapons, no deregulation of silencers, and resisting proposals to make it easier for anyone to carry a concealed firearm, by signing this emergency petition from CREDO.

While it is rarely reported in the United States, U.S.-sourced assault rifles are also responsible for many killings, kidnappings, and other violence against ordinary people across the border in Mexico. The same ease with which the Las Vegas shooter obtained rapid-fire weaponry allows people to buy assault weapons in Texas, Arizona and other states to supply organize crime in Mexico.

Just last week, gunmen armed with AK-47 assault rifles – which are not legally available in Mexico and were likely purchased in the United States* – killed 15 people at a drug rehabilitation center in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Stopping the retail sale of these weapons contributes to stemming the bloodshed among all of our neighbors. Sign the petition today.

* Seventy percent of firearms recovered at crime scenes in Mexico and traced were purchased in the United States, according to data published by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

It was a drizzly morning; the drops of rain were undeniable despite the fact that we’d had beautiful sunny weather for weeks. Our End Gun Violence Vigil involved 26 tiny pairs of shoes representing Sandy Hook massacre victims and the testimonials of three victims of gun violence in California. We weren’t sure we’d have enough mass and visuals to have any impact in the rain. But our four week old Community United Against Gun Violence agreed that we would show up and if nothing else, huddle together in the rain.

At 3 o’clock we showed up with our signs, a suitcase full of shoes, little rubber boots, sneakers, etc. and the crowd began to form around two big banners: “SF United to End Gun Violence” and one in Spanish saying “No Estamos Hasta La Madre” with a splash of red paint representing the blood spilled by over 60,000 victims of the war on drugs in Mexico.

Gathering at the Federal Building plaza in San Francisco, people passed on their way home from work and stopped to ask what this was all about; the little shoes and a sign that made no sense if you only had high school level Spanish.

Latinos, the fastest growing demographic in California, passed by chuckling and gave the thumbs up as we explained that it meant something on the order of “Enough Already!!…..

The Terrifying Facts:

Over 34 people are killed a day by gun violence in the United States, fast approaching a level of terror we find unacceptable anywhere else in the world. And there are 90 guns for every 100 Americans! In fact the US has 5% of the worlds’ population and 50% of the world’s guns.

Statistics like that can make you mad, but the stories of the victims move you to action. So last Thursday we laid the shoes out as we called out the names of the murdered children and teachers of Sandy Hook elementary school.

We also listened to a few California parents who had lost their own children to gun violence here on the west coast. Karen Pandula spoke about getting the phone call from the hospital and the magical thinking she engaged in as she rushed to the hospital hoping that her daughter Kristina was just incapacitated and unable to speak for herself.

From the heartbroken mother we were called to support our Representative Pelosi in her key role to support Obama’s initiative to:

Ban Assault Weapons
Ban High Capacity Ammunition Cartridges
Make all gun buyers pass a background check

Finally the Reverend Allen of the Third Baptist Church reminded us that though we are non-violent warriors, this will be a fight that we must commit to if we are to heal the country. Though the group was small, it was spirited and dedicated and I heard more than one person say “this is just the beginning, a seed has been planted.”

TAKE ACTION!

~Check out and share our End Gun Violence Vigil photos on Facebook.

~Join us as we continue to expand our Community United to End Gun Violence — next meeting is Wednesday – February 20^th at the Global Exchange office. Or start your own Community to End Gun Violence by signing up with Move-On.org.