Mexico: Firearms flowing from U.S.

Officials say 99.4 percent of criminals’ weapons come from the U.S.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities are sounding the alarm about an influx of assault rifles, armor-piercing pistols and fragmentation grenades from the United States, weapons that they say are increasingly being used to kill police and soldiers fighting drug cartels.

U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials report a sharp increase in both the flow and firepower of U.S. weapons across the border. Particularly worrisome are assault rifles and “cop-killer” pistols.

Mexico has strict firearms laws, few gun stores and a mere 4,300 private licensed gun holders among its 105 million people. The United States, with nearly as many guns as people, has more than 100,000 licensed gun sellers, an industry that makes about 2.8 million small arms a year, and gun laws so loose that arms traffickers easily pick up any weapons they need.

Mexico said 99.4 percent of the weapons in the hands of Mexican criminals are suspected of coming from the United States.

Numbers

At least 11,752 U.S.-sold guns have been found in Mexico since January 2003 — a tiny fraction of what remains on the streets, according to the report.

One indicator of a new gun glut is the fact that hit men drop their guns at crime scenes rather than be caught with them afterward, knowing they are easily replaced, a senior U.S. law enforcement official in Mexico said on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Particularly worrisome are U.S. sales of Belgian-made FN-57 pistols. These fire bullets that “will defeat most body armor in military service around the world today,” according to the Remtek weapons site on the Internet. They sell for $800-$1,000 each at dozens of gun stores within a day’s drive of the border.

The weapons were unheard of in Mexico until they were used to kill at least a half-dozen police officers this year.In all, about 100 Mexican officers have been slain since President Felipe Calderon launched an ambitious nationwide crackdown on the drug trade this year.