The United States and Mexico launched a new bilateral initiative aimed at disrupting the flow of illicit firearms across their shared border, the U.S. State Department said on Saturday.
The announcement came during the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-Mexico Security Implementation Group, formed earlier this month during Secretary Rubio’s visit to Mexico to enhance joint action against narcotrafficking and arms smuggling.
The initiative also calls for deeper bilateral investigations, more prosecutions, and a ramp-up of U.S. inspections to stop the southbound smuggling of weapons — a key enabler of cartel violence in Mexico.
reported deaths. U.N. agencies and independent experts regard its tallies as the most reliable casualty estimates.