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 Editorials | September 2007 
Binational Effort Needed to Stop Smuggling
 El Paso Times
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 |  | It's in the interests of neither Mexico nor the United States to have cartel members and others running loose along the border armed with lethal weaponry. |  | |
Mexican authorities are becoming increasingly concerned about the flow of firearms into their country, weapons that mostly end up in the hands of violent drug cartels.
This also is a concern for U.S. authorities. With drug trafficking-related violence rampant along the border and in border cities in Mexico, it's not hard to figure out where a lot of those weapons, if not most, end up. And there's always a danger that violence along the border in Mexico could affect or spill over into this country.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives estimates that thousands of firearms, including automatic weapons, are brought into Mexico every week. That's not every year, but every week! Bureau spokesman Tom Crowley, from the Dallas division, said, "It's been a constant flow of firearms going south. Historically, it's pure supply and demand."
It's up to the Mexican government to take care of the demand side of the problem. Mexican officials have to find a way to get a handle on the drug cartels that rule the border and promote violence. Until that happens, there will be constant demand for smuggled-in weaponry.
But as with most matters that affect the United States and Mexico, binational cooperation is key, and part of that cooperative effort is U.S. officials clamping down on the smuggling of weapons across the border. To that end, the bureau has started the Southwest Border Initiative which, according to Crowley, is intended "to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico and thereby deprive the narcotics cartels of their deadly weapons."
It's in the interests of neither Mexico nor the United States to have cartel members and others running loose along the border armed with lethal weaponry that includes, according to Crowley, such things as fragmentation grenades and armor-piercing bullets.
The flow of weapons into Mexico must be shut down, and that will happen with strong efforts on both sides of the border. |
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