Dr. Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, Head of Security Research Programs at the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies and the University of California San Diego, said the U.S. has failed to address firearms trafficking to Mexico, which has resulted in “subsidizing” the costs of criminal groups, mainly Mexican drug cartels. Farfan-Mendez made her statement in a Congressional hearing titled “The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: Victim Perspectives” before the House Judiciary Committee on Sept. 10.
“Simply stated, by failing to address firearms trafficking to Mexico, the U.S. is subsidizing the operating costs of criminal groups." Farfán-Méndez said. "It is as if cartels received an annual aid package with state-of-the-art technology to carry out the crimes this Congress wants to stop.”
Cartels are trafficking firearms and drugs, committing homicides, and other violent crimes, according to her testimony.
She emphasized the interconnected tragedies of homicides, disappearances, and overdoses affecting both the U.S. and Mexico. Farfán-Méndez said there is a need for transnational solutions to these complex issues.
Farfán-Méndez said the firearms trafficking from the U.S. into Mexico is escalating violence in Mexico, making criminal groups more lethal and increasing public fear.
She said that by failing to address gun smuggling, the U.S. indirectly subsidizes criminal operations in Mexico.
Farfán-Méndez called on the U.S. government to adopt evidence-based policies, support legislation like the Stop Arming Cartels Act, and improve cooperation with Mexico through mutual vetting mechanisms and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
She said there should be an approach to border security that goes beyond detention and seizures, and for a joint naloxone distribution program to combat fentanyl-related deaths.
According to the Institute of the Americas, Dr. Cecelia Farfán-Méndez is a Researcher with the Institute on Global Conflicts and Cooperation at the University of San Diego and the Center for Studies on Security, Intelligence, and Governance (CESIG) at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). She received a doctorate in political science from UC Santa Barbara, a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). She is an expert in organized crime and has consulted for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Organization of American States, the United States Institute for Peace, and USAID.
