Kathmandu. Mexico has seized about 18,000 illegal weapons in the past few years. Mexican Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said on Tuesday that 77 percent of the weapons came from the United States.

At a press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum called for a deeper investigation into how the weapons ended up in the hands of organised crime groups. He cited drug trafficking and cross-border arms smuggling as major challenges for Mexico.

“Joint efforts and international cooperation are essential to weaken criminal gangs and address security challenges,” they said. In particular, it stresses the need to strengthen armed and security coordination with the United States.

It has brought back attention to the problem of cross-border arms between the U.S. and Mexico, where illegal weapons often cross the border to gangs and smuggling networks.