Gun raid in Mexico. Nearly 194 euros (4,080 pesos) for a grenade launcher and up to 1,250 euros (26,450 pesos) for a light machine gun – such as the Kalashnikov – or heavy. This is what Mexicans who return their weapons to the government will be able to receive, as announced Monday January 6 in the Official Journal. This project is part of a public program entitled “yes to disarmament, yes to peace” and aims to encourage “the exchange of firearms for financial incentives”details the government press release. The operation will be carried out with the participation of the Ministries of Defense, Interior and Public Security.
On December 17, when the system was announced for the start of 2025, the Mexican executive assured that citizens would have the possibility of depositing their weapons even in the country’s churches. President Claudia Sheinbaum then insisted on the absence of legal proceedings for repentant firearms owners, following her plan for a “global strategy” security.
Stopping cartel violence
This program has existed since May 2019 in Mexico City, created by Claudia Sheinbaum when she was mayor of the capital of 9.2 million inhabitants. This policy has already allowed 8,797 weapons and nearly 1.2 million rounds of ammunition to be removed from circulation between January 2019 and May 2024, according to local authorities. The system will now be extended to the entire country, part of the vast project of the new president who wishes to curb crime.
In 2023, Mexico recorded 31,062 homicides, 70% of which were caused by firearms, according to preliminary figures from the National Institute of Statistics. Three-quarters of homicides are linked to clashes between criminal groups for control of roads or drug markets, said former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The Mexican government links criminal violence to illegal arms trafficking from the United States.
