Trends in Trafficking: Comparing US-based Firearms Trafficking to the Caribbean and Latin America
Newly acquired data on firearms seizures at US ports of exit shows that trafficking dynamics vary significantly between the Caribbean and Latin America, and even within these regions. These differences include the number of seizures, the types of seized weapons, the illegal shipments’ modes of transport, and the seizure locations. Some of these differences are consistent with previous studies, while others are surprising.
Trends in Trafficking: Comparing US-based Firearms Trafficking to the Caribbean and Latin America—a new Situation Update published as part of the Pathway to Policy: Integrating Security and Public Health Responses to Firearms Trafficking and Violence in the Caribbean project—provides an initial analysis of newly acquired US government data on seizures of outbound firearms shipments at US ports. The update analyses the types, transport modes, and seizure locations of illicit firearms shipments from the United States to the Caribbean and Latin America, and highlights key differences in trafficking dynamics between the latter two regions.
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Quantities and composition of interdicted firearms shipments
This Situation Update was funded by a grant from the German Federal Foreign Office. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the German Federal Foreign Office.
