| | |  Americas & Beyond | February 2009 
US Guns Blamed for Violence in Mexico
 Gary Martin - San Antonio Express-News
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The United States should do more to curb the trafficking of guns to Mexico that have armed narcotics cartels and fueled violence that threatens border cities, according to a report released Friday.
The report by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars examines a series of policy options on security cooperation, economic integration, migration and border management.
But the 72-page study - "The United States and Mexico: Towards a Strategic Partnership" - said one of the highest priorities for both countries is the growing problem of organized crime at the U.S.-Mexico border.
"The U.S. can do far more to address demand and disrupt the flow of money and weapons to Mexico, while Mexico faces the critical challenge of strengthening its judicial and police institutions," said Andrew Selee, director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson center.
President Obama met with Mexico President Felipe Calderon in Washington last month. Obama pledged to increase efforts to stop the flow of weapons from the United States to Mexico.
The two leaders also voiced support for the Merida Initiative, a 2007 agreement worked out by Calderon and former President George W. Bush that calls for $1.6 billion over three years in U.S. aid to Mexico to fight the drug cartels.
Despite the agreement, violence stemming from the narcotics trade in Mexico accounted for 5,700 deaths in Mexican border cities last year.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called this week for congressional investigations into the border violence to help combat the threat of the cartels.
"This issue has serious implications not only for Texas, but for our national security as well," Cornyn said after a Thursday meeting with Arturo Sarukhan, Mexican ambassador to the United States.
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio; Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., filed companion bills in the House and Senate to crack down on illegal gunrunning.
The bills call for $30 million over the next two years to hire 80 agents for a Justice Department program to investigate and prosecute people trafficking guns to Mexico.
"We are a long way from keeping people along the border as safe as they deserve to be," Rodriguez said.
In a panel discussion to release the Woodrow Wilson Center report, Denise Dresser, professor at the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, said 2,000 weapons cross the border into Mexico every day.
Texas is the source of the majority of guns smuggled into Mexico, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. California is second among states where guns to Mexico originate.
Dresser said that if the United States and Mexico want to strengthen the bilateral relationship, dealing with gun trafficking "has to become a priority." |
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