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.

U.S. firearms laws currently govern the possession and transfer of firearms and provide penalties for the violation of such laws. ¿Gun trafficking¿ includes the movement or diversion of firearms from legal to illegal markets. This report includes legal analyses of 3 ATF-investigated, Southwest border gun trafficking cases to illustrate the fed. statutes that are violated as part of wider gun trafficking schemes. The report concludes with possible policy questions for Congress regarding the magnitude of Southwest border gun trafficking, the use and significance of ATF crime gun trace data, the possible ratification of an Inter-American Gun Trafficking Convention, and the adequacy of the federal statutes designed to deter and reduce illegal gun trafficking.

"A report of the CSIS Simon Chair in Political Economy"--T.p.

Five freshly decapitated human heads are thrown onto a crowded dance floor in western Mexico. A Mexican drug cartel dismembers the body of a rival and then stitches his face onto a soccer ball. These are the sorts of grisly tales that dominate the media, infiltrate movies and TV shows, and ultimately shape Americans' perception of Mexico as a dangerous and scary place, overrun by brutal drug lords. Without a doubt, the drug war is real. In the last six years, over 60,000 people have been murdered in narco-related crimes. But, there is far more to Mexico's story than this gruesome narrative would suggest. While thugs have been grabbing the headlines, Mexico has undergone an unprecedented and under-publicized political, economic, and social transformation. In her groundbreaking book, Two Nations Indivisible, Shannon K. O'Neil argues that the United States is making a grave mistake by focusing on the politics of antagonism toward Mexico. Rather, we should wake up to the revolution of prosperity now unfolding there. The news that isn't being reported is that, over the last decade, Mexico has become a real democracy, providing its citizens a greater voice and opportunities to succeed on their own side of the border. Armed with higher levels of education, upwardly-mobile men and women have been working their way out of poverty, building the largest, most stable middle class in Mexico's history. This is the Mexico Americans need to get to know. Now more than ever, the two countries are indivisible. It is past time for the U.S. to forge a new relationship with its southern neighbor. Because in no uncertain terms, our future depends on it.

Thoroughly updated and greatly expanded from its original edition, this three-volume set is the go-to comprehensive resource on the legal, social, psychological, political, and public health aspects of guns in American life. The landmark 2002 edition of Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law was acclaimed for helping readers get beyond the sometimes overheated rhetoric and navigate the overwhelming amount of unbiased academic research on gun-related issues. Now, in light of the steady rate of gun violence and several high-profile shooting incidents, this extraordinary three-volume work returns in a timely and thoroughly updated edition. With over 100 new entries, the latest edition of Guns in American Society is the most current resource available on all aspects of the gun issue, including rates of violence, gun control, gun rights, regulations and legislation, court decisions, pro- and anti-gun organizations, gun ownership, hunters and collectors, public opinion toward guns, and much more. With expert contributions from the fields of criminology, history, law, medicine, politics, and social science, it gives students, journalists, policymakers, and researchers a foundation for their own investigations, while helping readers of all kinds make decisions as family members, potential gun owners, and voters.

This book explores and explains how traditional and alternative media have framed the issues of gun trafficking into Mexico, drug-related violence, and spillover violence. It reveals how gun trafficking and drug-related violence are social problems for Mexico, while spillover violence is portrayed as a moral panic for the US. Readers will gain a better understanding of how the media portrays and frames the criminal activity that is occurring in Mexico and how it impacts the US. The book analyzes national newspapers from both sides of the US–Mexico border—The New York Times and El Universal—and draws on a theoretical framework of moral panics, social problems, and cultivation theory. It reveals six framing devices, "the blame game," "worthy and unworthy victims," "positive aspects," "negative aspects of gun trafficking," "indirect mention of gun trafficking," and "direct mention of gun trafficking," which are utilized by The New York Times and El Universal to discuss and frame the issue of gun trafficking into Mexico and its impact on Mexico’s border violence. Mexico’s Drug-Related Violence will be of great interest to students and scholars interested in the perception of media and crime, as well as those researching the topic of drug cartels and drug-related violence.

This text provides an integrated view of post-9/11 security concerns over the United States's shared border with Mexico and Canada in regards to terrorism, unauthorized migration, drug and arms smuggling, and other illegal trade. The challenges facing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol are daunting. There are 19,841 miles of American land and water boundaries to protect, and 95,000 miles of shoreline and defined air space subject to homeland security surveillance. Additionally, the booming drug trade across the U.S.-Mexico border, combined with the ever-increasing number of migrants wanting to reach our land of opportunity, has resulted in a grim death toll: more than 5,000 known migrant deaths have occurred along the U.S.-Mexico border during 1995–2008, and in 2009, an estimated 9,635 Mexicans were killed in drug-related violence, with 2,573 people killed in Ciudad Juarez alone. U.S. Border Security focuses on the contrast between border security before and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This text also examines the controversial topics of illegal immigration, counterterrorism, drug and weapons trafficking, human smuggling, the impact of border security on the movement of people and goods, and the effect of the war on terrorism on civil and human rights.

Terrorism: Commentary on Security Documents is a series that provides primary source documents and expert commentary on various topics in the worldwide effort to combat terrorism. Among the documents collected are transcripts of Congressional testimony, reports by such federal government bodies as the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), United Nations Security Council resolutions, reports and investigations by the United Nations Secretary-General and other dedicated UN bodies, and case law from the U.S. and around the globe covering issues related to terrorism. Most volumes carry a single theme, and inside each volume the documents appear within topic-based categories. The series also includes a subject index and other indices that guide the user through this complex area of the law. Volume 127, The Changing Nature of War, tackles how the approach to training for and fighting wars and readying national security is likely to evolve as the United States moves further into the 21st Century. Professor Douglas Lovelace, Jr. has organized and provided framing and illustrative commentary on Congressional Research Service reports, Presidential policy statements, Department of Defense strategy papers, and research reports from the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute on contemporary national security topics as: United States war planning; the inter-related policy and force-related concerns of shifting from counterinsurgency-based efforts abroad to a focus on counterterrorism both domestically and abroad; transnational organized crime, with particular emphasis on the Mexican drug cartels operating along the U.S.-Mexico border; and the ever-expanding national security and private economic ramifications of cyberwarfare.