MEXICO CITY, May 22 (Prensa Latina) Mexico seized 29,680 firearms during the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but they continue to come from the United States, the Ministry of Public Security reported today.
This is 67.1 percent more than the same period of the previous Enrique Peña Nieto government, which was 17,761, although it is estimated that an average of 230,000 weapons enter the national territory each year.
The Secretariat states that the highest number of weapons seized occurred in 2020 with 9,648 and in 2019 with 9,049 weapons, while in 2021 it was 7,422 according to official figures from its units.
In June 2020, the State Department reported in the Mexican Foreign Policy Review that 2.5 million guns entered Mexico illegally over the past decade.
Among those with the highest lethal capacity, the defense secretary announced that he had procured several for the exclusive use of the armed forces, such as: 50 caliber AR-15 rifles made in Arkansas; 50-caliber Browning M2 machine guns, made in Virginia.
Add to this list anti-aircraft rocket launchers, AK-47 rifles, grenade launchers and grenades from the United States, Africa and Colombia.
In 2021, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard reported that the government was suing arms manufacturers, accusing them of engaging in commercial and negligent practices that facilitate illicit trade.
jha/lma