The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
March 9, 2009

Mexican Drug Cartels Rely on US Weapons Purchases
-------------------------------------------------



More than 1,000 people have been killed in Mexico in drug-related
violence this year. 6,000 people died last year. Much of the violence
has been fueled by the ability of drug cartels to purchase AK-47s
assault rifles and other arms in the United States. According to law
enforcement officials, 90 percent of the guns picked up in Mexico from
criminal activity are purchased in the United States. In Phoenix,
Arizona, a gun store owner goes on trial today on charges that he sold
more than 700 weapons to straw buyers, knowing that the firearms were
bought on behalf of Mexican drug syndicates.



.