Mexican federal police present weapons and ammunition along with Anahi Beltran, whom they arrested during their seizure, at a news conference at the federal police center in Mexico City April 14, 2009. Beltran was arrested in Santa Ana in Mexico's state of Sonora. (Daniel Aguilar/Reuters)

Record number of guns in Mexico traced to the US

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The number of confiscated weapons that originated in the US is on the rise.

By Todd Bensman — GlobalPost

Published: April 24, 2009 10:07 ET

SAN ANTONIO — In 2008, a year during which more than 7,000 Mexicans were killed in drug violence, a record number of weapons confiscated in Mexico were traced to U.S. retailers, according to the latest available government data obtained by GlobalPost.

The number of traced firearms that originated in the U.S. — 12,073 — is by far the most ever recorded in one year since the U.S. Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives began tracing Mexico's seized guns in 2005.

The 2008 figure is more than the last three years combined, and it brings the total number of guns confiscated in Mexico and traced to American sources to 22,848.

The tracing numbers, which the ATF plans to officially release in a report next month, are significant in that they provide the only statistical indication of the extent to which American guns might be arming Mexico's cartels.

The ATF uses the results of traced weapons, which reveal an original seller, as starting points for investigations into “straw buyers,” who legally qualify to purchase firearms but then turn them over to smugglers who don’t.

ATF officials say the banner number of weapons last year reflects an improvement in U.S.-Mexico cooperation, a new political emphasis in Mexico to conduct more traces so that American agents can arrest more smugglers, and more firearm seizures from drug traffickers. Texas was the state with the largest percentage of guns smuggled to Mexico, at 41 percent, followed by California and Arizona.

“We basically educated everyone on the importance of tracing and how we can use this as a system to get leads and stop these traffickers,” said J. Dewey Webb, special agent in charge of the Houston ATF division, which covers a long swath of the Texas border. “Also, there could be more guns on the market down there right now (than) in the previous year. There was a big push and increase in fighting among the drug trafficking organizations, and they’re going to have a higher demand for weapons.”

In recent weeks, ATF tracing statistics have become increasingly politicized within the U.S. as gun control advocates cite them as grounds for new legislation. Second Amendment rights activists have challenged whether the traces prove American guns make up a large enough percentage of the total number of guns confiscated in Mexico to warrant gun control laws.

Fueling the domestic debate is the fact that no one can really say how many guns in total Mexico has seized, making it impossible to place the number of U.S.-traced weapons in the larger context of Mexican weapons seizures. Mexican authorities have provided widely varying numbers of total guns confiscated.

Comments:

5 Comments.

Posted by malcolm beith on April 24, 2009 13:52 ET

calculating numbers on gun flow is complex, and the figures are harder to believe when the first line in a story like this one cites a number that is wrong. About 6,300 people died in mexico from drug violence in 2008, according to the authorities. most media estimates put the number at about the same. Where does more than 7,000 come from? and are the firearms numbers below in the story accurate?

Posted by malcolm beith on April 24, 2009 13:53 ET

Posted by spooky926 on April 24, 2009 19:19 ET

Malcolm, you're right...the 7,000 figure includes drug related deaths from January 2008 to the present: "The bloody drug war, which has caused 7,000 deaths in 16 months..." quoted from the New York Times. I can also tell you that the firearm numbers from the ATF are accurate. You'll never get the same numbers from two different Mexican agencies, especially between the locals and the feds, and sometimes you'll get different numbers from the same agency if you ask on two separate days.

Posted by spooky926 on April 24, 2009 15:32 ET

Todd, this is really nice work...I'm a fan of your research and writing. I'm getting pretty sick and tired of the sensationalist pieces that fuel the controversy over the seizure and trace stats. I have to deal with that headache on a daily basis in my non-blogging job, and I'm so happy to see a journalist explaining the problem in layman's terms without politicizing it. Thanks for the insight!

Posted by Jarhead1982 on April 27, 2009 05:58 ET

LOL, Yep, it is the same number from the ATF, so now comes the acid test for your data Todd. Especially as your picture depicts all military grade full auto weapons which of course are so regulated, expensive, it limits their sale on the open market in the US. You are actually going to have people believe that the ATF doesn’t keep a tight rein on all full auto weapons sold to civilians in the US, LOL, yeah right! What is it with you journalists that you wish to talk and comment about a subject (semi-auto) rifles, yet you cant even post a picture of REAL evidence (oh yeah, got to have evidence to post it, don’t you?), pathetic that so many dumbed down Americans actually believe what you have to say, isn’t it?

How many of those traced weapons were semi-auto civilian legal weapons which the anti gun crowd calls assault weapons, and how many were actually military grade combat rifles and weapons?

You see that is what all the hoopla is about, using gross numbers that while they may be true, the details will tell the real truth. The real truth that over 11,600 of those weapons would be traced back to our government selling them "real assault weapons" to the Mexican government, and then those same weapons were illegally sold or stolen. How then is that the average law abiding gun owners fault, it isn’t is it?

As you did not post that level of detail, one of two things must be true; 1) you do not want the public to know that the government is the source for over 90% of those weapons ending up in the cartel 2) You don’t have the evidence/data otherwise you would have posted it to further your point on more gun control. Which one is it Todd, or do you have the guts to admit it?

Todd, have you ever bought a weapon on the black market? How much is an already full auto, not needing a kit to change to full auto AK 47 going for, try $300, all day long out of Central America. How much is a semi-auto evil looking rifle which would require a conversion kit in the US? Prices for the weapons purchased in the US before the run on weapons were 2 to 3 times more, now 5 to 7 times more. If you bought a class 3 weapon in the US, the cost jumps to 10 to 15 times the price, this is true, so please explain why the cartels would be buying such weapons, at such costs versus the easily available cheaper full auto weapons on the black market? My sources are more reliable than the ATF which is a politically motivated entity who has no concern for the US citizens rights. My sources are ex military, many who served in the undeclared war in Central America in the 1970's to 1980’s!

Having worked in Mexico, and having had to pay lots of "grease" to get things accomplished in the business world, the ever prevalent "graft" is no different in any kind of business in Mexico, politics, gangs, you name it, corruption is rampant in Mexico. Just as fear mongering and half truths of propaganda are rampant in our liberal media. Your article smacks of government issued propaganda Todd and no, your article is not well researched or well written. Otherwise the details I asked for would have been presented, and you call yourself a professional, yeah right!