Mexico City, Mexico — Both the U.S. and Mexico have agreed to bring illegal arms traffickers to justice. They have also affirmed that they will work to increase the confiscation of weapons and ammunition.
U.S. Ambassador, Ken Salazar, stated that if the governments of Joe Biden and Andrés Manuel López Obrador do not achieve societies in which people can live without fear, then neither Mexicans nor Americans will be able to live in freedom.
“The United States did not see it as a problem, but now, President Biden sees it as a problem because the weapons that are bought in the U.S. come here and cause violence,” he said.
After the meeting, both parties affirmed that they will work to increase the confiscations of weapons and ammunition destined to be sold illegally in Mexico, and bring illegal arms traffickers in both countries to justice.
“Those who traffic arms are going to pay in both countries,” said Ambassador Salazar.
“The instruction we have from Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez is that we send a simple message: arms dealers will face higher costs for their illegal actions in Mexico and the United States,” agreed the Undersecretary of Public Security, Ricardo Mejía Berdeja.
The meeting was attended by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Bruce Swartz, who highlighted bilateral cooperation with an intelligence-led approach that he said, is already resulting in more jailed arms dealers, particularly those dealing in military weapons.
“Reducing the illicit flow of weapons and ammunition from the United States to Mexico is an essential factor for building peace and fighting organized crime in both countries,” read part of a statement in the agreement signed by the Mexican Foreign Ministry.
