U.S. to share weapons database
The United States is giving Mexico access to an electronic database to help trace weapons smuggled from the U.S. to Mexican drug gangs, U.S. Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey said.
The e-Trace database has been installed at U.S. consulates in the cities of Monterrey, Hermosillo and Guadalajara. It will be expanded to the remaining six consulates by March, and should be available in Spanish soon.
Mexican police will be able to determine the origin of weapons seized from criminals and then notify U.S. authorities. Officials north of the border would “figure out what dealer that came from, and then target that dealer,” Mukasey said on a visit to Mexico City.
Mexico has long complained that the United States isn’t doing enough to stop the flow of illegal weapons.
Mexican Atty. Gen. Eduardo Medina Mora said it was “indispensable that we establish common criteria to solve this problem.”
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