U.S. attorney general announces stepped up effort to stem weapons trafficking to Mexico

U.S. attorney general announces stepped up effort to stem weapons trafficking to Mexico

Posted on Jan 16, 2008 in Narco Wars by PMC 1 Comment

The United States is giving Mexico access to an electronic database to help trace weapons smuggled from the U.S. into the hands of well-armed Mexican drug gangs, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Wednesday.The database, known as e-Trace, has already been installed at U.S. consulates in the northern cities of Monterrey and Hermosillo and in the western city of Guadalajara. It will be expanded to the remaining six consulates by March, and should be available in Spanish soon.

Mexican police will be able to use the system to determine the origin of weapons seized from criminals and then notify U.S. authorities. Officials north of the border would “figure out what dealer that came from, and then target that dealer,” Mukasey said.

“Inevitably we’ll find people who are not doing what they ought to do, and they’ll be prosecuted,” he told foreign correspondents.

Mexico has long complained that its northern neighbor isn’t doing enough to stop the flow of illegal weapons into Mexico, where drug traffickers and other organized gangs sometimes outgun police. Since taking office a little over a year ago, President Felipe Calderón has urged Washington to do more to battle the illegal arms trade.

Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora welcomed the announcement, calling it “indispensable that we establish common criteria to solve this problem.”

Mukasey also said the United States has hired more firearms agents to check the records of gun dealers along the border.

“I can certainly foresee a tightening up of the way gun dealers distribute guns,” he said.

On his first visit abroad as attorney general, Mukasey met with Medina Mora, Calderón and other officials in Mexico for talks on increased anti-drug joint operations, intelligence sharing and some kind of diplomatic status for some U.S. agents here.

Mukasey said Mexican and U.S. officials have discussed recent incidents near the border city of Tijuana, in which U.S. Border Patrol agents fired tear gas into Mexican territory to protect themselves against rocks and other projectiles hurled at them from the Mexican side.

“We’re trying to deal with it. We’ve talked to the Mexicans about it, and they’re trying to deal with it,” Mukasey said. “What happens is that there is organized rock-throwing to divert border guards, who then become involved in whatever exchanges they’re involved in, then you get a bunch of backpackers running across the border with backpacks full of marijuana. So it’s drug-related.”

Mukasey urged U.S. lawmakers to approve the proposed Merida Initiative, a multiyear, $1.4 billion package to fund training, equipment and other aid for Mexico’s anti-drug effort. The proposal is stalled in the U.S. Congress, as Washington focuses on the current presidential race.

Authorities have blamed drug violence for the shooting deaths of three police officials and one of their wives in Tijuana earlier this week. Two federal agents were killed and three more injured when they clashed with a group of suspects in the border city of Reynosa just days before.

Tags: e-TRACE, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, illegal weapons, Mexican drug gangs, Monterrey