Interpol said Tuesday that the largest operation against firearms ever carried out in Central and South America had resulted in the seizure of thousands of illegal weapons and of drugs for a value of 5.7 billion dollars, thanks to the unprecedented cooperation of 15 countries, including Uruguay.
The international police organization added that Central and South American authorities had made 14,260 arrests during the “Operation Trigger IX“, carried out between March 12 and April 2.
“The fact that an operation targeting illegal firearms has led to such massive drug seizures is further evidence, if needed, that these crimes are intertwined,” Interpol Secretary General said in a statement. Juergen Stock.
During the operation, they located 8,263 illicit firearms and almost 306,000 cartridges, as well as 203 tons of drugs and 372 tons of drug precursors. 11 people were rescued in Paraguay when authorities dismantled a human trafficking network, Interpol reported.
According to the security forces, last year there were an increase in violence drug-related, fueled by trafficking in illegal firearms. The operation also uncovered cases of corruption, fraud, crimes against the environment, and terrorist activities.
Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru participated in the operation.
The operation occurs at a time when Mexicobacked by 16 US states and some Caribbean countries, is filing a civil lawsuit against US arms manufacturers to hold them responsible for facilitating cross-border arms trafficking.
More than half of the “weapons of crime” recovered and traced in Central America come from USA, according to the US arms control agency ATF. This level is close to 70% in the case of Mexico and around 80% in the Caribbean.
Source: Ambito
