With at least 378 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, it’s easy to forget that rising gun violence is a global problem. The people of the U.S. and Mexico both suffer from the same scourge, and it has a common origin: the U.S. is a known supplier of illegal guns trafficked abroad.
It’s the major source of illegal guns running to Mexico and the Caribbean, driving up their gun violence and homicide rates. Under the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico is seizing illegal guns at twice the rate of the previous administration — more than 17,000 in the past year. According to data from Mexico’s Security Ministry, 70 percent of those guns came from the U.S.
Most illegal guns trafficked across the U.S.-Mexico border come from American gun shops supplied by American gun manufacturers. Recognizing that U.S. guns are flowing across the border, in late September, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a first-of-its-kind joint U.S.-Mexico initiative with new cooperative efforts to combat the problem.
Click here to read the complete original article by Jonathan Lowy on The Hill
Source: The Hill
