In recent years, violence along the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated dramatically as the admin. of Pres. Calderon has sought to combat the growing power of Mexican drug trafficking org. (DTO) and curb their ability to operate with impunity in certain areas of Mexico. Mexican officials have come to regard illicit firearms as the number one crime problem affecting the country's security. Mexican DTOs represent the greatest organized crime threat to the U.S., controlling drug dist. in many U.S. cities, and gaining strength in markets they do not yet control. Discusses challenges faced by U.S. agencies collaborating with Mexican authorities to combat the problem of illicit arms and the U.S. govt.'s strategy for addressing the issue.

In recent years, violence along the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated dramatically, due largely to the Mexican gov¿t. efforts to disrupt Mexican drug trafficking org. U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials generally agree that many of the firearms used to perpetrate crimes in Mexico are illicitly trafficked from the U.S. across the Southwest border. This report examines: (1) data on the types, sources, and users of these firearms; (2) key challenges confronting U.S. gov¿t. efforts to combat illicit sales of firearms in the U.S. and stem the flow of them into Mexico; (3) challenges faced by U.S. agencies collaborating with Mexican authorities to combat the problem of illicit arms; and (4) the U.S. gov¿t. strategy for addressing the issue. Charts and tables.

“An eye-opening and riveting account of how guns make it into the black market and into the hands of criminals and drug lords.”--Adam Winkler From the author of El Narco and winner of the Maria Moors Cabot Prize, a searing investigation into the enormous black market for firearms, essential to cartels and gangs in the drug trade and contributing to the epidemic of mass shootings. The gun control debate is revived with every mass shooting. But far more people die from gun deaths on the street corners of inner city America and across the border as Mexico's powerful cartels battle to control the drug trade. Guns and drugs aren't often connected in our heated discussions of gun control-but they should be. In Ioan Grillo's groundbreaking new work of investigative journalism, he shows us this connection by following the market for guns in the Americas and how it has made the continent the most murderous on earth. Grillo travels to gun manufacturers, strolls the aisles of gun shows and gun shops, talks to federal agents who have infiltrated biker gangs, hangs out on Baltimore street corners, and visits the ATF gun tracing center in West Virginia. Along the way, he details the many ways that legal guns can cross over into the black market and into the hands of criminals, fueling violence here and south of the border. Simple legislative measures would help close these loopholes, but America's powerful gun lobby is uncompromising in its defense of the hallowed Second Amendment. Perhaps, however, if guns were seen not as symbols of freedom, but as key accessories in our epidemics of addiction, the conversation would shift. Blood Gun Money is that conversation shifter.

Mexican drug trafficking org. (cartels) are a pervasive organized crime threat to the U.S. The cartels use firearms trafficked from the U.S. in their lucrative drug trafficking operations. Project Gunrunner (PG) is the ATF¿s national initiative to reduce firearms trafficking to Mexico and assoc. violence along the Southwest border. ATF received $22 million to support and expand PG. In May 2009, an evaluation of PG began. Aspects of ATF¿s PG expansion plans will enhance its ability to combat firearms trafficking. However, some planned PG activities do not appear to represent the best use of resources to reduce firearms trafficking, and issues with new office locations, staffing structure, personnel with Spanish proficiency need to be addressed. Illustrations.

Although there is no perfectly analogous case to Mexico's current security situation, policymakers stand to benefit from historical lessons and efforts correlated with improvement in countries facing challenges related to violence and corruption.