Latin American Program in the News: "Gun smuggling to Mexico dented, but hardly slowed, by border searches"
This article on smuggled weapons coming into Mexico features quotes from Eric Olson.
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At least 2 of every 3 firearms confiscated in Mexico from 2007 to 2011 were purchased in the United States and smuggled south, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Many of the weapons ended up in the hands of criminal organizations and were used against the military, journalists and civilians.
"In the last six years, they had over 70,000 people murdered in drug-related violence, and a vast majority were using very sophisticated firearms that came from the United States," said Eric Olson, associate director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington. "It's having a dramatic impact on Mexico."
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About the Author
Eric L. Olson
Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Seattle International Foundation
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
