U.S.-Mexico Border Security Failure: How Gun Smuggling to Mexico Has Created A Culture of Fear

Joselyn Galicia | joselyn.galicia@yale.edu

The deafening sounds of bullets shattering school windows is a vivid nightmare for elementary school students in the small Triqui community of Tierra Blanca Copala, Oaxaca. Located in the southernmost region of Mexico, this rural community is a testament to how gun violence and fear can reach even the most remote areas of the country. Coveted by armed paramilitaries for its resources and strategic location, this community became the target of violence to intimidate and assert dominance by shooting rounds of bullets near an elementary school—underscoring the larger humanitarian issues in Mexico. The increasing smuggling of U.S. firearms depicts a negligence that has emboldened criminal organizations, leading to violations of human rights and a pervasive culture of fear in Mexican society.

Gun trafficking is a prominent issue in regards to the U.S.-Mexico border. Intense political debates in Mexico and the U.S. alike focus on immigration, drugs, and violence within the Mexican state. These truisms, however, neglect the extent of American gun trafficking across the border. Tight regulations in Mexico have surged the number of illegally purchased and sold U.S. firearms. Only one government-owned gun shop exists in the entire country, and customers must go through a series of background checks before purchasing, thereby making gun smuggling an indispensable activity for Mexican crime organizations. The Mexican Institute has reported that around 50% of firearms in Mexico can be traced back to manufacturers in the U.S. in 2022. Hartford, CT was the largest contributor with around 1,656 arms.

The 2007 “Project Gunrunner” by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) intended to “reduce cross-border drug and firearms trafficking.” An official U.S. review of the initiative found that it had the adverse effect of facilitating gun smugglers instead. A CBS News report collected testimonies from veteran ATF officials who reported that ATF was aware of the guns winding up in the hands of “drug cartels where they would be used to kill.”

In Mexico, gun smuggling severely impacts the well-being of its citizens by allowing criminal organizations to gain political power, economic growth, and territorial control of the borderland region. The growing availability of firearms allows cartels to dominate larger areas, protect their interests, and instill fear through the intimidation and terrorization of local communities. This, in turn, has fueled grotesque human rights violations such as arbitrary civilian murders, forced displacement, attacks on freedom of expression and journalism, and forced disappearances. From 2006 to 2018, at least 37,435 people had disappeared in Mexico. Of these people, many more remain unreported as migrants kidnapped are not counted in official records. Migrants moving across the country to the U.S. border have also been subjected to sexual violence and assaults. Groups primarily affected by this are journalists, human rights defenders, women, children, indigenous groups, and more. Internal displacements have increased as violence increased, with some occurring silently and without notifying authorities as victims fear that revealing their identities could worsen their situation by exposing themselves to their aggressors. Similarly, self-censorship of journalism and expression has become vital to safeguard rights to life for many journalists and media workers.

In May, two towns in the state of Chiapas were held hostage by cartels. Food, electricity, and communication—all vital resources—were limited and only obtainable by permission from cartels. Additionally, many cartel activities, including extortion, are targeted at Mexico’s indigenous groups, primarily due to their business in the forest and agriculture industries. Much of rural Mexico is operated through the ejido system, which describes the shared communal lands managed by indigenous communities. As profitable regions for the cartels’ expanding industries, leaders exploit indigenous communities, stripping activists fighting crime and corruption of their lands, mass exploiting the community’s resources, and destroying natural environments. As Mario Calista stated in an interview, “Cartels cause fear in society because of their crimes. In Mexico, [cartels] established a prominent drug market but have begun extorting farming and commercial sectors. They have expanded to more industries than ever before.”

Felipe Calderón’s—former Mexican president—new laws have not succeeded in curbing criminal activity or gun trafficking in the region. Ricardo Calista, a retired Mexican Marine living in the state of Puebla, attributed the rise of criminality and violence to a broken judicial system that is beneficial to cartels. “Here, the criminals have reached the government.” Since 2007, The New York Times has reported on the corruption of political officials in Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party for accepting dollars and shielding cartels. The 2014 disappearance of 43 students in Guerrero is a notorious case depicting the horrific violations of human rights in connection with cartel activity. The murders of each of the students revealed deep-seated corruption, as the government allegedly conspired to cover up the incident with cartels. More recently, Al Jazeera reported that Mexico’s judicial system suffers from high levels of impunity, with more than 90% of crimes never brought to court.

Expanded corruption has fortified other crimes such as human trafficking. Ricardo Calista described the situation where cartels are kidnapping young children to join their groups. “Children from middle and high schools are disappearing. [The cartels] come to their house and tell their parents they will be gone for training and then the children will be returned. Parents can do nothing but bless their children [for their safety],” Calista describes.

Although there is little reporting on this pressing issue, the forced recruitment of children is familiar among Mexican communities. Increasing arms are the resource needed for cartels to kill at liberty, fear-monger, and subjugate communities, creating an atmosphere of insecurity and danger in the livelihoods of citizens.

Gun smuggling’s role in fostering the power of Mexican criminal organizations has engrossed the minds of many Mexican citizens to feel confined, unsafe, and scared. Despite forced displacement, lack of trial resources, or fear for one’s own life, the Mexican people have exhibited fierce resilience, leading meaningful lives under the watchful eyes of cartels. Ricardo Calista summed this up: “Yes, we live in fear, but life goes on.”

American-made firearms are at the core of this issue as Mexican crime organizations outsource through U.S. border negligence. Hence, U.S. firearms sustain a culture of fear by arming the cartels to commit rights violations. While corruption and impunity within Mexican politics have given way to criminal organizations, the U.S.’s refusal to pass stricter gun legislation makes it partly responsible for violence and conflict. It is necessary to address the U.S.’s implicit cooperation with gun-smuggling and advocate for gun control from this side of the border. An ethical and political approach into gun restrictions and exportation could provide stronger control over reducing violence in Mexico. Through this, we can begin to mitigate the disastrous implications of Mexican cartels’ power over the livelihood of Mexican citizens and empower citizens to protect assets of security and stability.

Writer's Reflection:

After writing this paper, I learned about the letter that Mexican President Sheinbaum wrote to president-elect Donald Trump. Alongside a myriad of other criticisms, Sheinbaum highlighted how illegal gun smuggling and high drug consumption in the U.S. has resulted in the tragic loss of Mexican lives. Reading her letter made me realize the importance of creating discussion around U.S. actions and effects on Latin America. I wrote this piece thinking about current U.S. rhetoric on Mexico and Latin America, which I’ve noticed is increasingly xenophobic and racist, and its lack of humanitari- an concern. Having family in Mexico, I felt a larger motivation to write and document how people are currently being impacted by our government’s actions and negligence.