An article from the magazine Proceso, published in 2025, indicates that in 2017 there were 16.8 million firearms in the possession of Mexican civilians, of which 80 percent were of illegal origin, according to data from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. This raises the question of how many homicides were committed with registered firearms and how many with illegal ones.
According to the Arms Control Association (2022), firearms are the most used in homicides, both accidental and intentional, in Mexico, representing 70 percent of these crimes. These figures place Mexico as the fifth country with the most unregistered weapons in civilian hands among the 193 member states of the United Nations.
The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported that 68 percent of the more than 32,000 homicides registered in Mexico in a year were committed with gunfire from firearms. With an average of 69 percent of homicides committed with firearms in the country, it is crucial to investigate how many of these crimes were carried out with registered weaponry and how many with illegal firearms.
Initiatives like 'World Without Weapons' have become crucial for engaging new generations in the fight for a safer and weapons-free future in civilian hands. This network of young people focuses on raising awareness about gun control and seeks to transform society holistically, especially in Latin America.
Juliany Alcocer, founder of this project, emphasizes the importance of creating leaders on disarmament issues in the region to address security problems. The urgency to inform about the illicit trafficking of firearms and its impact on violence has intensified, especially in Latin America.
'World Without Weapons' has become an educational platform aimed at influencing the international agenda on disarmament and armed conflicts. The information it disseminates is essential to combat armed violence in Mexico and in the region. Although between 200,000 and 837,000 weapons illegally enter from the United States to Mexico each year, it remains difficult to determine how many homicides are committed with registered firearms and how many with illegal ones.
