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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2007 
Mexico Swaps Computers for Guns
 Associated Press
| | A woman, right, hands over a handgun to a Mexican Army official during a new Mexico City's government program to trade guns for computers in the working-class neighborhood of Tepito in Mexico City, Tuesday, March 27, 2007. (AP/Gregory Bull) |
Police in the Mexican capital have kicked off a campaign to exchange guns for computers and other gifts in an attempt to reduce firearm deaths.
On the first day of the program in Tepito, a neighborhood known for drug dealing and street markets rife with contraband, officers collected 29 guns Tuesday and gave out several desktop computers along with packets of food and cash.
"Imagine how Mexico City would be if there were no guns," Mexico City Public Safety Secretary Joel Ortega said. "This is a barrio known for boxing champions, and now it has turned into a barrio where there were 32 murders last year."
The gun exchange program is part of a crackdown on crime by Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, who has sent in thousands of police to tackle crime gangs in Tepito and other rough neighborhoods.
The campaign comes as President Felipe Calderon has led an offensive against crime on a national level, sending more 24,000 police and soldiers to areas where drug gangs have been fighting. |
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