New book takes readers inside U.S. gun smuggling to Mexico
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A new book takes readers deep inside the world of gun smuggling from the U.S. to Mexico, a major contributor to violence south of the border.
Why it matters: It's estimated up to half a million weapons are smuggled every year down to Mexico, which has seen spiking gun violence despite strict regulations.
- More than 30,000 homicides occurred in Mexico last year, and at least 70% were committed with firearms, according to Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography.
Zoom in: Ieva Jusionyte's recently released "Exit Wounds: How America's Guns Fuel Violence Across the Border" tells the story of how guns make it into Mexico and the effects it has on that nation, especially in northern regions.
- The murder rate in Mexico is more than three times higher than in the U.S.
- In the book, Jusionyte, an associate professor of anthropology and international security at Brown University, follows a Mexican businessperson who smuggles firearms to protect himself from kidnappings and a teenage girl lured into working for organized crime.
- She also tells the stories of two U.S. federal agents trying to stop gun traffickers and a journalist who risks his life to report violence.
The intrigue: Jusionyte tells Axios she came up with the book idea after volunteering as an EMT-paramedic on the U.S.-Mexico border and witnessing the results of gun violence on migrants.
- "At some point, I noticed these signs that said, 'Arms and ammunition prohibited in Mexico.' Until then, I had never questioned why we were seeing all these people fleeing violence?"
Zoom out: The Lithuanian-born Jusionyte discovered that the violence between rival cartels in Monterrey, Mexico, was fueled mainly by using guns from Texas.
- "Texas has like a 1,000 gun stores pretty close to the border," and many of those weapons end up in the hands of cartels, she says.
- Wealthier families arm themselves with guns and private security to protect themselves — and the cycle continues.
Between the lines: A U.S. appeals court ruled in January that a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Mexico's government against U.S. gun makers whose weapons it says are used by drug cartels can move forward.
- The first-of-its-kind case comes as Mexican officials demand U.S. authorities investigate why cartels have U.S. Army weapons not available to U.S. citizens.
The bottom line: Jusionyte said her purpose in writing the book is not to create a policy manual or put forth an agenda.
- She wants readers to understand that debates about gun policies in the U.S. affect other countries, such as Mexico.
- "What we call the border crisis or the migrant crisis is also related to our guns going to these countries."
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