During the 1980s, El Salvador was the single largest recipient of U.S. military hardware and weaponry in the Western Hemisphere. Although the Central American country's civil war ended in 1992, the guns, grenades and bullets linger, as do their murderous effects. In September, a U.S. official from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives estimated that half the weapons available on El Salvador's vibrant black market were made in the United... (GunPolicy.org)

Small arms and gun violence present the most dramatic threat to public safety in Latin America and the Caribbean. After decades of uncontrolled proliferation, at least 45 million to 80 million small arms and light weapons—that is, weapons operated by an individual or small group, including handguns, assault rifles, grenades, grenade launchers, and even man portable surface to air missiles—are circulating throughout the region.(1) Gunshots kill between 73,000 and... (GunPolicy.org)

Authorities in Nicaragua have identified the seizure of thousands of firearms over the past several years as the main reason for a large drop in the country's homicide rate, but experiences around the region suggest the issue is unlikely to be so simple. According to Nicaragua's National Police, the seizure of 19,000 illegally owned firearms between 2008 and 2013 has played a critical role in reducing the country's homicide rate from 11 homicides per 100,000 residents... (GunPolicy.org)

Trinidad and Tobago is awash with guns. Gang leaders, bandits, drug smugglers are armed and shooting at each other, at citizens, at the police without hesitation. The majority of the weapons are small arms and they are usually "imported" with illegal drugs or there is an exchange of drugs for arms. Drug cartels use their illicit profits to purchase these guns, the two trades being intertwined, according to the latest report from the United Nations Office for Disarmament... (GunPolicy.org)

Experts have attributed a recent increase in violence Nicaragua's semi-autonomous northeast region to the presence of organized crime and arms trafficking, something likely related to the area's status as a stop off on drug trafficking routes. The director of the Violence Prevention Center (CEPREV), Monica Zalaquett, said organized crime and arms trafficking are two factors that may have contributed to a recent rise in homicides in Nicaragua's North Atlantic Autonomous... (GunPolicy.org)

A report from a Nicaraguan think-tank analyzing crime and violence in one of the semi-autonomous zones on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast highlights the influence of the drug trade in the region, which helped bring about the country's highest incidence of crime in 2011. The Nicaragua-based Institute of Strategic Studies and Public Policy (IEEPP) released the report analyzing crime rates in the municipality of Bilwi, the main city of the North Atlantic Autonomous Region... (GunPolicy.org)

Federal authorities confiscated 911 guns from a container ship in the port of Lazaro Cardenas, on Mexico's Pacific, which was headed to Nicaragua. The guns were found on board a cargo ship en route to Nicaragua, during a planned stop at the Michoacan port of Lazaro Cardenas. The ship is believed to be of Turkish origin, but no information was provided on the origin or destination of the weapons. The operation was carried out by Mexico's Navy, working with the Federal... (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)

GLENDALE, Arizona - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Vicente Padilla can laugh now about a gunshot wound that almost ended his career. Padilla talked about his injury Sunday, saying he was practicing with a small handgun on Nov. 3 in his native Nicaragua when the weapon jammed. He said a friend was trying to fix the problem when the gun accidentally fired. The bullet went into Padilla's upper right thigh and came out through the back of his leg. Padilla took part in the... (GunPolicy.org)

GENEVA — Some Central American countries are experiencing more gun killings now than during their civil wars and face serious security threats from firearms in civilian hands, the Small Arms Survey report released on Thursday showed. Armed robberies, extortions, kidnappings for ransom, organised riots and community violence threaten to destabilise post-conflict nations in Latin America, Asia and Africa where fighting has officially stopped, the annual publication... (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)