US must stem 'iron river' of guns flowing to Latin America, activists say


FILE PHOTO: AR-15 style rifles are displayed for sale at Firearms Unknown, a gun store in Oceanside, California, U.S., April 12, 2021. REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo

(Reuters) - U.S. guns, many of them exported legally, are flowing into Latin America in an "iron river" ending in the hands of drug cartels and abusive security forces, activists said Monday, calling for greater oversight from U.S. law and federal agencies.

More than half of "crime guns" recovered and traced in Central America are sourced from the United States, according to U.S. gun control agency ATF. This level nears 70% for Mexico and is around 80% across the Caribbean.

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