Operation to stop flow of firearms to Mexico
By Chris Roberts / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 01/17/2008 12:21:14 AM MST


Taking aim at smugglers supplying weapons to Mexican drug cartels, federal law enforcement officials on Wednesday announced they are strengthening efforts to identify people and routes involved in the illegal trade.
Michael J. Sullivan, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, traveled from Washington, D.C., to announce that the bureau will spend more than $10 million annually to add 35 special agents and 15 investigators to its Southwest border operations. In the past two years, the bureau has dedicated about 100 agents and 25 investigators to the region, officials said.

"Drug trafficking organizations have made life on the border increasingly dangerous," Sullivan said during a news conference at the

El Paso Intelligence Center, known as EPIC. "We've done a lot over the last couple of years, but clearly this public safety threat requires that we do more."
Additional personnel will be used in part to inspect the border's 7,000 licensed U.S. gun dealers, some of which have not been audited in 10 years, Sullivan said. The goal is to inspect dealers every three years, he added.

In most cases, traffickers send drugs north into the U.S., often using vehicles with hidden compartments, and then reload them with guns and money, which are sent back to Mexico, one of the agents responsible for Texas said. The agent said that El Paso, because of its heavy commercial traffic, is a major smuggling corridor.

Field agents from the border states spoke at the news conference on the condition that they not be directly quoted or identified by name.
The expansion of "Project Gunrunner" also will provide access to a weapons-tracing system, called eTrace, to six more U.S. consulates in Mexico by March 2008, Sullivan said. The system is already available in three consulates and is the source of the relatively sparse information that is now available.

Although officials say they don't know the problem's true scope, about 90 percent of the approximately 12,000 confiscated weapons Mexican authorities provided in the past three years were traced back to the U.S.

However, many firearms confiscated in Mexico are not submitted for tracing, Sullivan said, which also makes it impossible to determine trends.

Also on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and his Mexican counterpart Eduardo Medina Mora were in Mexico City to announce a Spanish version of eTrace, according to an Associated Press report. Sullivan said the new system, which is expected to improve accuracy, will cost between $2.5 million and $4 million to develop.

From the data available, it appears demand is increasing for combat-style weapons with more punch and capacity, officials said. The trend to more powerful weapons has been attributed to turf wars among drug cartels and an increased official effort in Mexico to confront drug smuggling and gang activity.

EPIC, a multi-agency law enforcement center situated at Biggs Army Airfield, will receive an additional three ATF agents for a total of 10 and an additional investigator for a total of four. Others will be stationed in Mexico and spread throughout the U.S. border states.

"This will allow us to identify some of these individuals that director Sullivan mentioned who are sending these guns south," said EPIC Director Arthur Doty.

Federal agents also will be focusing on people who participate in what are called "straw" purchases. A person who works in the smuggling operation typically walks into a gun store to see what is available, agents said. Then that person recruits people who are qualified to make the purchases and pays them to buy the guns.

Gun store customers must fill out a form stating that the guns are for their own use. Although Sullivan admits that the cases generally are "more complicated and complex" to prosecute, he said there are serious consequences for what agents call "lying and buying."

A person convicted of providing a false statement on the form can face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, an agent said.

Despite the expanded efforts, one American tradition -- the gun show, where federal reporting requirements are significantly looser -- has been identified as a "potential vulnerability," Sullivan said. He said President Bush has indicated he would support a measure in Congress to close that loophole.

"You want to see results immediately," Sullivan said when asked whether it will take time to see the full benefit. Then he added: "Clearly this is a long-term investment."


Chris Roberts may be reached at chrisr@elpasotimes.com; 546-6136.






Mexico's penalties for gun possession
Part of Mexico's effort to combat gun violence includes laws that make guns illegal in most cases. That includes a prohibition on tourists bringing their personal firearms into Mexico. Ignorance of the law generally doesn't result in leniency.
If you are caught with firearms or ammunition in Mexico:

You will go to jail and your vehicle will be seized.

You will be separated from your family, friends and your job, and probably suffer substantial financial hardship.

You will pay court costs and other fees ranging into the tens of thousands of dollars to defend yourself.

You may get up to a 30-year sentence in a Mexican prison if found guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of State.

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