Gunshots pierce the surrounding air as lifeless bodies fall to the ground like ragdolls. The once bustling market is inundated with the sound of screams, whistling of bullets, and scent of blood. In the blink of an eye, a weekend dinner outing turns into a devastating massacre for the community of Apaseo el Grande, a small town in the cartel-ravaged state of Guanajuato. 

The “iron river” of American firearms

Although this description may be better suited for a battlefield, it’s the unfortunate reality that millions of Mexicans face daily due to rampant cartel violence and the unceasing flow of firearms from the U.S. to Mexico. The Guanajuato attack is one of many senseless shootings in which warring cartels have spread their violence to the innocents of Mexico, targeting large gatherings to inspire fear in any citizens who remotely consider standing up to the cartels. 

While fear-mongering serves as the motive behind many of these attacks, it’s the “iron river” of American firearms that enables cartels to arm themselves and carry out such attacks. According to statistics from both the Mexican government and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), an estimated 250,000 firearms are smuggled from the U.S. into Mexico every year, constituting at least 70% of the illicit guns in Mexico. Regardless of the fact that there are only two heavily regulated legal gun stores in Mexico, the number of firearms has massively inflated as a result of guns smuggled by U.S. citizens — dubbed “straw purchasers” — who are coerced or paid by smugglers to purchase firearms on their behalf. Overall, Mexico has remained the single largest international destination for illicit American firearms.

Rising tensions between the U.S. and Mexico

Many Mexicans expressed skepticism at the government’s approach to cartel violence, especially under former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his “hugs not bullets” policy. Views on Obrador’s policy only worsened in October 2019, when he freed the son of former Sinaloa Cartel drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Ovidio Guzman, after his arrest resulted in an influx of cartel violence in Culiacan. His decision to stand down and appeal to the cartels with Guzman’s release only affirmed beliefs that cartels could maintain power over the government by attacking the population.

With the recent election of President Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico has made promises to improve upon the controversial “hugs not bullets” policy, but has ultimately seen little success due to mounting pressure from the U.S. government to resume military operations against the cartels. Consequently, the Mexican government has seemingly abandoned the policy, returning to violent encounters with cartel members that have often resulted in the deaths of innocent bystanders. 

In addition to the existing pressure from the U.S. government, President Donald Trump authorized drastic tariffs and accused Mexico of allowing illicit drugs and immigrants over the border, even alleging that the Mexican government had an “intolerable alliance” with the cartels. In response, Sheinbaum deployed 10,000 troops to patrol the U.S. border and countered Trump’s claims, accusing the U.S. and its citizens of harboring drug cartels and working with organized crime groups in Mexico. Additionally, she called on the U.S. government to fulfill their duty in their own country and make the necessary arrests to halt drug and gun trafficking within the U.S. itself.

What must be done?

Although some have made legal efforts or introduced congressional bills, there has generally been little progress in damming the “iron river” of firearms in both the U.S. and Mexico. The rising tensions between the two countries have unfortunately resulted in too much focus on talking about what should be done rather than actually doing it. While each country’s leader points fingers and berates the other for harboring cartels or not taking enough action, both countries’ primary objective to fight back against the cartels becomes more and more forgotten. 

Ultimately, there will be no progress without collaboration between Mexico and the U.S. to first eliminate the gun smuggling networks before facing down the issues of cartel violence and drug or migrant trafficking. Attempts to fight the cartels head-on could potentially bring forth some results, but not without thousands of civilian casualties, billions of dollars in damage, and the looming threat of resurfacing cartels. Without using the resources of both countries to target gun trafficking, the root of all these problems, it’s impossible to disarm the cartels and begin focusing on other issues that stem from the cartels’ firepower.

The U.S. in particular must make greater efforts to decrease the amount of firearms being smuggled into Mexico through stricter regulation of gun sales and increased efforts by government agencies like the ATF to crack down on smuggling operations. With the massive amount of American guns entering Mexico and the effect that smuggled drugs like fentanyl have on the American population, the U.S. needs to take more responsibility for the issue rather than simply demanding that Mexico resolve the situation on their side of the border. Mexico also needs to take greater action to curb the rampant corruption within its government and strengthen its criminal justice system. 

Both the Mexican and U.S. government must put aside their differences and collaborate to finally dam the “iron river” of guns, not in the interests of political agendas or economic policies, but in the fundamental hope of providing the future generations of areas like Guanajuato with lives in which they won’t fear cartel bullets every day.