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Mexico gun buyback program aims to reduce violence

guns
Kathy Ritchie/KJZZ
Weapons confiscated by law enforcement.

A new campaign launched by President Claudia Sheinbaum encourages people to turn in their firearms in exchange for cash.

The gun buyback program called “Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace” encourages people to leave their firearms at dropoffs across the country, including churches.

People who turn in weapons won’t be investigated and will receive money in exchange. Gun owners who participate in the program will receive around the equivalent of $400 USD for a revolver and more for heavier duty weapons.

At the program launch, children who attended the event were able to exchange their toy guns for educational toys.

Guns kill thousands of people in Mexico each year, as cartel violence continues in many parts of the country. Many of the weapons used in homicides in Mexico are illegally smuggled in from the United States.

More Fronteras Desk news

Nina Kravinsky is a senior field correspondent covering stories about Sonora and the border from the Hermosillo, Mexico, bureau of KJZZ’s Fronteras Desk.