NCJ Number
228827
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 36 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2009 Pages: 10,12,14,16,17
Date Published
September 2009
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the extent of arms trafficking and its impact on law enforcement's efforts to curtail the flow of weapons within the borders of the United States and Mexico.
Abstract
The continued flow of southbound cash and guns and northbound narcotics and migrants overwhelms and compounds problems for both the United States and Mexico and the efforts of law enforcement. In Mexico, the heavy artillery is being used, not to defend an ideology, but a business topping $58 billion a year. Santa Ana, positioned at the intersection of two major Mexican highways, is a main artery for the movements of three cartels providing legitimate commerce, human smuggling, and drug trafficking. In the United States, Arizona is at the heart of the storm. With its liberal gun laws, there is an ease with which guns can be purchased, thereby incapacitating American law enforcement. The cartels work both sides of the line where law enforcement agencies are often limited and sometimes fractured. In addition, with the United States' lack of an arms trafficking strategy, individual agencies, such as Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) lack clear law enforcement roles.