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June 14, 2011

Mexico: Majority of Guns Come From U.S., Hearing Begins on U.S. Efforts To Sell Weapons To Cartels 
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A new report released by three U.S. senators finds some 70 percent of
guns seized in Mexico from 2009 to 2010 came from the United States. Of
the nearly 30,000 guns seized in Mexico during the period, more than
20,000 came from the United States. Meanwhile, Congress held its first
hearing Monday on a once-secret U.S. government plan to encourage U.S.
gun shops to sell thousands of guns to middlemen for Mexican drug
cartels. The United States was hoping to use the middlemen to gain
access to senior-level figures within Mexico's criminal organizations.
The so-called gun walker scandal was orchestrated by the U.S. Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Hundreds of the guns that were sold to
the cartels were later found at crime scenes in both countries,
including two at the murder scene of a U.S. border patrol agent.



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