Few major nations have the right to bear arms configured in their Constitution. Even fewer (as in we are the only one) have gun control legislation as a hot button political issue. The U.S. is the most violent core economy in terms of gun related deaths. It is also the leader in gun violence at school campuses. Yet, the U.S. does not lead the world in firearms related deaths. Countries were gangs and drugs are a problem top the list, even where there is strict gun... (GunPolicy.org)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Private security firms are storing their guns aboard floating armories in international waters so ships that want armed anti-piracy guards for East Africa's pirate-infested waters can cut costs and circumvent laws limiting the import and export of weapons, industry officials say. Companies and legal experts say the operation of the armories is a "legal gray area" because few, if any, governments have laws governing the practice. Some security... (GunPolicy.org)

A total 17 of the 215 firearms stolen from the Policia de Tránsito warehouse almost two weeks ago were recovered by Panamanian police. Jorge Rojas, director of Cost Rica's Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ) said in a press conference on Friday that Panamanian police found the guns in a house and two unidentified suspects were in custody. Police also said they found us$11.000 in cash and empty bullet clips. Rojas said that Costa Rican authorities are in contact... (GunPolicy.org)

[Translated summary: Most guns seized in Guatemala come from Honduras, claims Public Ministry. Assault rifles, hand grenades, semi-automatic weapons, large caliber rifles as unconventional Barrett .50 caliber and AK-47, were part of the weaponry confiscated from the Zetas (dug cartel) operating in Central America.] Fusiles de asalto, armas automáticas y granadas buscan los criminales mexicanos en países centroamericanos para continuar la guerra que libran con la... (GunPolicy.org)

Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry sources adamantly denied yesterday that they were in any way involved in arms shipments to Somalia. Spokesmen for both ministries were responding to news of the arrest in the U.S. of Hanoch Miller, an Israeli arms merchant, for allegedly illegal arms sales to Somalia, forging documents, money laundering and violating the UN arms embargo on Somalia. A Defense Ministry spokesman said there is a ban on arms sales to Somalia and... (GunPolicy.org)

PANAMA — To fight the wave of violence gripping Panama, currently 340 cases a year in a population of 3.19 million, legislators plan to announce details of a bill Tuesday to control handguns and weapons of war in the country. It is necessary to regulate the sale of light arms, which affect the security of all countries of the world, where over 1,700 people die daily at the hands of criminals who use them, legislator Juan Hernandez said. Hernandez said further that... (GunPolicy.org)

PANAMA CITY, Panama — An Organization of American States report released Monday accused Nicaragua of negligence for authorizing a deal that allowed 3,000 Kalashnikov rifles meant for Panama to go to a Colombian paramilitary militia. The Washington-based OAS faulted Nicaragua for not doing more to verify the authenticity of falsified Panamanian purchase orders it used to go ahead with the sale. "To base this deal on only one purchase order not verified by any... (GunPolicy.org)

The latest twist to the scandal over a large shipment of AK-47 assault rifles that on paper went from the Nicaraguan police to the Panamanian police, but actually went to Colombia's AUC paramilitary, is that the US ambassador to Nicaragua knew about the deal, or at least part of it. Nicaraguan government officials say that they cleared the transaction with American Ambassador Oliver Garza before purportedly selling the weapons to Panama via Israeli-owned and... (GunPolicy.org)

PANAMA CITY — Panamanian authorities have detained an Israeli businessman, Simon Yelinek, who is suspected of arms dealings with Colombia, his lawyer said Friday. Yelinek was arrested Thursday night at Panama's Tocumen international airport, said the lawyer Sidney Sitton. He is under questioning for arms trafficking, one police official said. Yelinek is suspected of being linked to an arms deal uncovered last April by Colombian daily El Tiempo. According to the... (GunPolicy.org)

Guillermo Bonilla turned his illegal .38-caliber pistol over to authorities Thursday in exchange for food coupons worth $180 — no questions asked. Behind Bonilla, a man who identified himself only as Miguel turned in several grenades he said he found following the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1988. He received $250 in coupons. With crime increasing in this town of 300,000 people near Panama City, residents were allowed to turn in their weapons Thursday at a tent set... (GunPolicy.org)

SAN JOSE — There are more than two million illicit small arms and light weapons circulating in Central America, a region of 35 million, authorities and civil society organisations warned at a regional conference running Monday through Wednesday in the Costa Rican capital. The government of Costa Rica and the non-governmental Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress expressed their concern over the large number of firearms still in the hands of civilians, a... (GunPolicy.org)

PANAMA CITY — Guns for cash or guns for drugs: Panama has become an arms bazaar for South American guerrillas and narcos looking to stock up on grenade launchers, high explosives or just plain machine guns. And officials say it is unlikely that Panama's hard-pressed border patrol will be able to do anything soon to stem the flow of weapons from formerly civil war-ravaged Central America to the hungry embrace of Colombian or Peruvian rebels. Panama's borders are "an... (GunPolicy.org)