The flow of illegal guns from the United States to Mexico is growing. Mexico makes it extremely difficult to buy a gun legally, and the government is unhappy that Washington has done little to stop gun smuggling, even as U.S. officials press Mexico to stem drug trade between the two countries.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host: This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News.  I'm Renee Montagne.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: Illegal weapons smuggled from the United States into Mexico are      aggravating a bloody turf war between narcotics cartels.  Drug-related      violence has killed hundreds of people in Mexico so far this year and      paralyzed some border towns. While US officials complain loudly about      drug trafficking from Latin America, Mexican authorities are upset about      the torrent of illegal weapons from the United States.  NPR's John      Burnett reports that smugglers work in both directions--drugs go north;      guns go south.</s>JOHN BURNETT reporting: Earlier this month, federal police in Mazatlan on Mexico's Pacific coast      stopped a truck and a Volkswagen sedan at a traffic checkpoint and made      an eye-popping discovery.  Inside they found three assault rifles, three      9mm pistols, seven live hand grenades, a grenade launcher and a      shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon.  Six suspects with ties to drug      traffickers were arrested. According to the US Bureau of Alcohol,      Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the heavy weaponry, a favorite of      narco-gangsters, was stolen from the US military and purchased on the      black market.  The firearms were likely bought from US gun dealers.      Ramon Basson(ph) is with the ATF in Mexico City.</s>Mr. RAMON BASSON (ATF): As the drug wars escalate, the demand for higher      caliber weapons is escalating as well.</s>BURNETT: Mexico severely restricts gun ownership.  The Mexican army has      to conduct background checks and the waiting period for a weapon can be      years. So gun fanciers turn to their northern neighbor where gun laws      permit the easy purchase of large numbers of high-caliber weapons which      experience shows are seldom traceable.  The most frequent sources of      firearms in Mexico are gun shops and gun shows in California, Texas and      Arizona, in that order.  Ramon Basson says the weapons are rarely      purchased by the smuggler himself.</s>Mr. RAMON BASSON (ATF): If he is illegally in the United States, he will hire      someone to purchase firearms for him.  He will then send the firearms to      Mexico.</s>BURNETT: It's called a straw purchase.  The gun runner pays someone      living in the United States, say a girlfriend or a cousin, to walk into a      gun shop, pay in cash, lie on the federal form about whether the weapon      is for themselves, then hand over the gun.  Javier Ortiz is chief of      intelligence for illegal weapons trafficking with the Mexican federal      preventive police.  He concedes it's relatively easy to smuggle firearms      into Mexico where, unlike at US border crossings, Customs agents do not      have X-ray machines.</s>Mr. JAVIER ORTIZ (Mexican Federal Preventive Police): (Through      Translator) The trafficking from the United States to Mexico is hand      traffic.  They don't bring big loads of weapons.  A person who crosses      the border brings one, two, three guns with him.  Normally, they hide      them in the panels of a vehicle or in the air conditioning system, behind      the radio.  We've also found disassembled weapons inside merchandise such      as televisions, even dolls.</s>BURNETT: Oftentimes, it's the same mule running drugs north who operates      a lucrative sideline bringing firearms back across the border.  They know      which assault-style weapons are most coveted by drug mobsters, says J.J.      Ballesteros, a veteran Texas-based ATF agent.</s>BURNETT: Mr. J.J. BALLESTEROS (ATF):  The narcotics traffickers are willing to pay      up to four to $500 above the retail price of an AR-15 or an AK-47.  So      you go out and you buy 10 AK-47s or 10 AR-15s, you can make up to $4,000,      $5,000.</s>BURNETT: Unidentified Man #1:  (Spanish spoken)</s>BURNETT: Typically in Mexico City, a resident who wants a weapon will      either bribe a friendly policeman to get him one or come to tapatio, the      sprawling open-air flea market where vendors hawk the trademarks of      American culture.</s>BURNETT: Unidentified Man #2:  (Spanish spoken)</s>BURNETT: A bootleg DVD of "Star Wars:  Episode III," a pirated pair of      Calvin Klein jeans, or if you know the right person, a Smith & Wesson      .38.</s>BURNETT: Unidentified Man #3:  (Spanish spoken)</s>BURNETT: It has long exasperated Mexican officials and some Canadians as      well that their restrictive gun laws are undermined by more relaxed US      gun rules. In most states, customers can buy multiple firearms as long as      they have a valid US driver's license and pass an instant background      check that assures, among other things, they're not a convicted felon.      Again, Javier Ortiz with the Mexican federal police.</s>Mr. JAVIER ORTIZ (Mexican Federal Preventive Police): (Through Translator) We have found people who, my gosh, have      bought 200 weapons from one gun shop.  How can that be?  US laws permit a      person to buy whatever weapon with only a driver's license, and many      times that license is phony.  And so after the purchase, the authorities      may not know what happens to those guns, and the result is that many      times they're brought here to Mexico and oftentimes innocent people are      killed.</s>BURNETT: The ATF conducted about 1,800 successful traces last year of      crime guns recovered in Mexico.  Ninety to 95 percent of those led to      American gun dealers according to Javier Ortiz.  In October 2003, ATF      traced seven assault weapons belonging to a murdered associate of drug      lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to Simon's Trading Post(ph) in Pasadena,      Texas.  The dealer, Simon Garza, pled guilty last year to selling weapons      to prohibited individuals. His punishment?  Five years probation, a $100      fine and he lost his license to sell firearms.  That was one of the few      traces that led to a conviction. Fewer than half of all traces are      successful and only a fraction of those lead to the most recent      purchaser.  Again, J.J. Ballesteros, with the ATF.</s>Mr. BALLESTEROS: The existing federal firearms laws make it very      difficult for us to do our job in many respects with regards to gun      trafficking.  We find that a significant amount of crime guns are      originating in the secondary market which confounds our efforts to trace.</s>BURNETT: Gun shows are the typical secondary market, and in most states      at a gun show, one person can sell a weapon to another person with no      background check and no paper trail.  Rick Serrano, chief agent in the      ATF office in McAllen, on the Texas-Mexico border, says he thinks most      transactions at gun shows in his region are legitimate but he      acknowledges they're ideal venues for illicit buyers.</s>Mr. RICK SERRANO (ATF): You know, it's a perfect opportunity for someone      looking for a firearm without having to, you know, have it traced back to      them, and it's a one-stop-shopping place.</s>BURNETT: The ATF recognizes that straw purchases are a big problem in      the United States as well as Mexico.  The agency, together with the      National Shooting Sports Foundation, developed an education campaign for      gun merchants called Don't Lie for the Other Guy.  One participant is      Chuck's Gun Shop in Brownsville, Texas.  Owner Chuck Frediew says he's      always on the lookout for bogus gun buyers but he says he can only do so      much.</s>Mr. CHUCK FREDIEW (Chuck's Gun Shop): I have no crystal ball that tells      me if this gentlemen's going to take this gun to someone else, and as      long as he meets the criteria by federal law, then he has every right, by      our Second Amendment, to purchase that gun.</s>BURNETT: The wide-open US gun market comes up from time to time in      bilateral security talks between Washington and Mexico City.  Adolfo      Aguilar Zinser, former national security adviser to Mexican President      Vicente Fox, recalled raising the issue with former Attorney General John      Ashcroft.</s>Mr. ADOLFO AGUILAR ZINSER (Former Mexican Presidential Adviser): He      said, `Let's be symmetrical.  We do share your concern for drugs as much      as you share our concern for weapons.'</s>BURNETT: And how far did you get with that argument?</s>Mr. ADOLFO AGUILAR ZINSER (Former Mexican Presidential Adviser): Well, in the question of weapons, we didn't get that far.      They always told us that there were major regulatory obstacles to do what      we want them to do, to attend to a very serious problem, which is the      huge amounts of weapons that originated in the United States and that end      up in Mexico or in other parts of Latin America.</s>BURNETT: In response, the Department of Justice sent an e-mail to NPR.      It reads, and quote, "Mexico and the United States, through the ATF,      continue to cooperate on the identification of firearms and the      investigation of illicit purchasers."  The department further says US      authorities aggressively pursue smugglers and lawbreakers among the      nation's nearly 63,000 licensed gun dealers.</s>BURNETT: John Burnett, NPR News.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.