Mexico and the U.S. will continue bilateral actions to reduce the illegal flow of firearms crossing the border into Mexico [1].
This cooperation is critical because the steady stream of unauthorized weaponry fuels the violence of organized crime cartels and destabilizes public security across Mexico [2].
During a press conference on June 23, President Claudia Sheinbaum highlighted recent successes in interdiction but stressed that more work is required. Sheinbaum said that Mexico needs the U.S. to increase its actions against the trafficking of arms [3].
U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson noted that the security alliance has already yielded results. Johnson said that one of the most recent benefits of the partnership is the reduction of arms trafficking [4]. He cited a specific operation in North Carolina where U.S. authorities seized 138 firearms [5]. This haul included two .50 caliber rifles destined for Mexico [5].
Additional enforcement actions have targeted the movement of ammunition. Authorities recently seized 43,000 cartridges of ammunition in Arizona [6]. These operations are part of a broader strategy to disrupt the supply chains that provide cartels with military-grade hardware.
While some reports suggest this level of joint commitment is unprecedented, other records indicate that the U.S. has worked with Mexican administrations on arms trafficking since the term of Donald Trump [7]. Regardless of the historical timeline, the current administration is focusing on immediate and specific actions to target cartels and the theft of fuel, known as huachicol [8].
Secretary of Security Omar García Harfuch is coordinating these efforts to ensure that intelligence sharing leads to more frequent seizures before weapons reach the border [1].
“"Necesitamos que EE.UU. aumente sus acciones contra el tráfico de armas."”
The emphasis on bilateral seizures shifts some of the security burden onto U.S. domestic enforcement. By targeting the 'push' factor—the availability of high-caliber weapons in the U.S.—the Sheinbaum administration is attempting to weaken the operational capacity of Mexican cartels without relying solely on internal policing.
