The data indicates that seizures of firearms shipments from the United States to the Caribbean and Latin America[1] have increased significantly since 2016. The number of seizures jumped from 708 in the period 2016–19 to 1,556 in 2020–23, an increase of 120 per cent. The data also reveals significant differences within and between regions, with shipments to Mexico accounting for most of the increase in seizures. The increase in seized shipments to the Caribbean was notably higher than to Latin American countries other than Mexico, but was modest compared to shipments to Mexico (see Table 1). It is not clear from the data whether the increases are due to improved detection and interdiction capabilities, greater international cooperation, increased trafficking, changes in data collection practices, or a combination of these variables.
[1] The Caribbean countries for which the Small Arms Survey requested and obtained data are Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, and the British overseas territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands. The Latin American countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
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