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)

Congress in Honduras has approved strict gun controls in an attempt to tackle a crime wave. All high-calibre and automatic weapons will be banned, while other guns will have to be registered. Correspondents say violent crime is one of the biggest problems affecting Honduras, with armed robberies and shootings commonplace. Official figures put the number of weapons in circulation at almost a million-most of which were brought in during the civil... (GunPolicy.org)

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The Honduran Congresswill propose an exchange of cash, food and tax rebates for guns in a bid to remove a million wartime weapons from circulation and reduce violent crime, a legislator said Saturday. Jack Arevalo, a deputy with the ruling Liberal Party, told reporters the disarmament plan would be written into a new law forcing holders of weapons to register their arms. "We will incorporate in the law incentives for handing in weapons:... (GunPolicy.org)

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Honduran officials on Tuesday seized a massive illegal arms cache that the army had been storing on behalf of a Cuban-American arms dealer, officials said. Officials confiscated anti-aircraft missiles, explosives and tens of thousands of assault rifles that army officials said were being sold abroad legally under a 1985 contract with a private firm. But prosecutors called the arms depot a blatant violation of the law. "Having these arms is... (GunPolicy.org)

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — An attempt to swap weapons for consumer goods in the Central American country of El Salvador faced a daunting foe on Sunday — soccer. An official with the private Patriotic Movement against Crime (MPCD) said collection of weapons over the weekend was going slowly because many people were staying home to watch the Gold Cup international soccer tournament and matches in the hotly-contested local league. Funded by the Organization of... (GunPolicy.org)

Guatemalan legislator Anabella Leon and other members of a multi-lateral commission in charge of verifying the progress of the UN sponsored Peace Accords sent a new bill on arms and munitions before the executive and legislative branches of the Central American nation. If passed into law it would require that: 1) All arms must be registered with a new department (DIGECAM) under the control of the Ministry of the Interior. This includes military, police and other... (GunPolicy.org)