Analysis by Parker Asmann @ InsightCrime.org, Aug. 31

[...] Some experts estimate that more than 210,000 weapons are smuggled across the US-Mexico border each year.

The problem of US-sourced firearms finding their way into the hands of Mexico’s organized crime groups is a market issue. The United States has a glut of weapons — especially high-powered ones — and lacks strong control mechanisms. At the same time, criminal actors in Mexico are in constant search of such weaponry.

“Criminal actors in Mexico are using weapons to control whatever happens economically in their territory, and to dispute territory between each other,” John Lindsay-Poland, a researcher and activist at Global Exchange, told InSight Crime. “The demand side of the market has not changed, and dynamics on the supply side are really perfect to meet that demand.”

One of the most common ways that US firearms make their way into Mexico are through straw purchases [....]