Arms trafficking
Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the
To keep track of imports and exports of several of the most dangerous
The 1999 Report of the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms provides a more refined and precise definition, which has become internationally accepted. This distinguishes between
Impact
Areas
Although arms trafficking is widespread in regions of political turmoil, it is not limited to such areas, and for example, in South Asia, an estimated 63 million guns have been trafficked into India and Pakistan.[6]
The suppression of gunrunning is one of the areas of interest in the context of international law. In the United Nations, there has been widespread support to implement international legislation to prevent arms trafficking, however, it has been difficult to implement, due to many different factors that allow for arms trafficking to occur.[7]
In the United States, the term "
United States
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the Confederacy lacked the financial and manufacturing capacity to wage war against the industrial and prosperous North. The Union Navy was enforcing the blockade along 3,500 miles of coast in the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico to prevent the smuggling of any material from or into the South. In order to increase its arsenal, the Confederacy looked to Britain as a major source of arms. British merchants and bankers funded the purchase of arms and construction of ships being outfitted as blockade runners which later carried war supplies bound for Southern ports. The chief figures for these acts were Confederate foreign agents James Dunwoody Bulloch and Charles K. Prioleau and Fraser, Trenholm and Co. based in Liverpool, England[9] and merchants in Glasgow, Scotland.[10][11] The smuggling of arms into the South by blockade runners carrying British supplies were easily facilitated using ports in the British colonies of Canada and the Bahamas, where the Union Navy could not enter.[12] A British publication in 1862 summed up the country's involvement in blockade running:
Score after score of the finest, swiftest British steamers and ships, loaded with British material of war of every description, cannon, rifles by the hundreds of thousand, powder by the thousand of tons, shot, shell, cartridges, swords, etc, with cargo after cargo of clothes, boots, shoes, blankets, medicines and supplies of every kind, all paid for by British money, at the sole risk of British adventurers, well insured by Lloyds and under the protection of the British flag, have been sent across the ocean to the insurgents by British agency.[13]
It was estimated the Confederates received thousands of tons of gunpowder, half a million rifles, and several hundred cannons from British blockade runners.
Ulysses S. Grant III, President of the American Civil War Centennial in 1961, remarked for example:
[B]etween October 26, 1864 and January 1865, it was still possible for 8,632,000 lbs of meat, 1,507,000 lbs of lead, 1,933,000 lbs of saltpeter, 546,000 pairs of shoes, 316,000 blankets, half a million pounds of coffee, 69,000 rifles, and 43 cannon to run the blockade
into the port of Wilmington alone, while cotton sufficient to pay for these purchases was exported[. I]t is evident that the blockade runners made an important contribution to the Confederate effort to carry on.[12]
Mexico
During the Mexican Revolution, gunrunning into Mexico reached rampant levels with the majority of the arms being smuggled from the United States.[19]: 126 As Mexico manufactured no weapons of its own, acquiring arms and ammunition were one of the main concerns of the various rebels, intent on armed revolution.[19]: 198–199 Under American law at the time, arms smugglers into Mexico could be prosecuted only if one was caught in flagrante delicto crossing the border as merely buying arms with the intention of gunrunning into Mexico was not a criminal offense.[19]: 186 Given the length and often rugged terrain of the American-Mexican border, the undermanned American border service simply could not stop the massive gunrunning into Mexico.[19]: 186
In February 1913-February 1914, President Woodrow Wilson imposed an arms embargo on both sides of the Mexican civil war, and not until February 1914 was the embargo lifted on arms sales to the Constitutionalist rebels.[20]: 31 Despite the arms embargo, there was much gunrunning into Mexico, as one American official complained in 1913: "our border towns are practically their commissary and quartermaster depots".[20]: 31 Guns were smuggled into Mexico via barrels, coffins, and false bottoms of automobiles.[20]: 31 General Huerta avoided the American arms embargo by buying weapons from Germany.[20]: 154
Africa
Liberia and Sierra Leone conflicts
The
The Liberian government received arms through an elaborate front company in Guinea. The arms were intended to be shipped (legally) from Uganda to Slovakia. However, the arms were diverted to Guinea as a part of "an elaborate bait and switch".[21] Additionally the British government "encouraged Sandline International, a private security firm and non state entity, to supply arms and ammunitions to the loyal forces of the exiled government of President Kabbah."[22] Sandline proceeded 35 tons of arms from Bulgaria, to Kabbah's forces.[21]
The South Sudanese civil war
Ever since the
Less is known about the very secretive arms dealers supplying the rebel
The United Nations Panel of Experts on South Sudan in a 2017 report declared: "Reports from independent sources indicate that the border areas between South Sudan and the Sudan and Uganda remain key entry points for arms, with some unsubstantiated reports of smaller numbers of weapons also crossing into South Sudan from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are also persistent reports and public accusations of shipments to forces affiliated with the leadership in Juba from further afield, specifically from Egypt".[25] The same report stated that a Ukrainian Air Force IL-76 transport jet flew in two L-39 jets to Uganda on 27 January 2017 in the full knowledge the L-39 jets were intended to go on to South Sudan, thereby violating the arms embargo Ukraine had placed on arms sales to South Sudan.[25] In 2018, the United Nations Security Council imposed a worldwide arms embargo on South Sudan, but the embargo has been widely ignored where despite a ceasefire signed the same year, both sides have continued to import arms on a massive scale, suggesting that they are preparing for another bout of the civil war.[24]
Why traffickers choose Africa
Kimberly Thachuk and Karen Saunders argue that arms trafficking is no different from any other illegal business in their work Under the Radar: Airborne Arms Trafficking Operations in Africa. Traffickers first need a headquarters, or somewhere to base their operations. A headquarters needs several aspects to make it an ideal place to traffic weapons. First, the headquarters should have appropriate infrastructure. For a weapons trafficking this would include a landing strip for both importation and exportation. Additionally, warehouses are needed to "store product awaiting delivery".[26] Once the product has arrived and been stored it needs to be delivered to the customer, thus, the headquarters should be in somewhat of a central location near each customer. While not the primary reason traffickers choose Africa, it has multitudes of unoccupied land that can be used by traffickers, as is asserted by Thachuk and Saunders.
Physical space is important but the rules and regulations of said space are also relevant. Traffickers look for places with corrupt, supply side, officials that can either be bribed, or blackmailed. This allows the trafficker to "circumvent the regulatory and oversight systems" put in place by the government.[26] Furthermore, a "lax financial system" is key so the large amounts of money moved by the trafficker are not seen as suspicious.[26]
Thachuk and Saunders finish their argument, a stable, and highly centralized government, is important. They then point out that 10 different African countries have leaders that have been in power for more than 20 years, which they argue meets the criteria a highly centralized and stable government.[26]
Europe
Since 1996, countries throughout Europe have taken notice of arms trafficking. Europe has been an overall large exporter of illicit weapons with the United Kingdom, Germany, and France in the national lead for the most exports. Imports to Europe from 2004 to 2013 have decreased by 25%, with the United Kingdom importing the most overall in Europe.
Global market value
Though one of the least profitable illegal trades, arms trafficking made an estimated $1.7-3.5 billion in 2014, making it the 9th largest criminal market, which was valued at $1.6-2.2 trillion.[29]
The AK-47 is one of the most appealing weapons in the illegal weapons trade due to its low cost and reliability.[30] In Iraq, a smuggled AK-47 typically costs $150–300. In the first sixth months of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the influx of new weapons lowered the AK-47's price, to the point the weapon was sold for as low as $25, or sometimes, nothing.[31] Comparatively, AK-47s sold on the Dark web in the United States can cost as much as $3,600,[32] as the price of illegal arms is increased greatly by the distance it must travel, due to the induced risk. A handgun trafficked from the United States to Canada can have its price increase by 560% from just crossing the border.[33] Weapons smuggled overseas will usually take several, short trips with multiple companies to mask the country of origin and the original sellers.[34]
In the United States, biker gangs have been connected to arms trafficking. United States
Regulation
Prosecuting arms traffickers and
Related theories
In the international criminal scholarly community, rational choice theory is commonly referenced in explanations as to why individuals engage in and justify criminal activity.[37] According to Jana Arsovska and Panos Kostakos, leading scholars on organized crime, the causes of arms trafficking are not solely based on rational choice theory but rather have been more closely linked to the intimacy of one's personal social networks as well as the "perception of risks, effort and rewards in violating criminal laws."[1]
In popular culture
Film
- Lord of War (2005), a crime war film in which Nicolas Cage plays a fictional arms dealer named Yuri Orlov, who was based on the real Viktor Bout.[38] The film was endorsed by Amnesty International for highlighting arms trafficking.[39] Lord of War's DVD release featured Making a Killing: Inside the International Arms Trade, a 15-minute documentary about arms trafficking.[40]
- War Dogs (2016), a dark comedy drama biographical film based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan and later became involved in arms trafficking.[41]
Television
- Sons of Anarchy, a crime drama about a fictional outlaw motorcycle club whose main source of income is trafficking arms to a variety of criminal enterprises domestically and internationally.[42]
- child soldier bodyguard.[43]
See also
- Annie Larsen affair
- Arms Crisis
- Arms control
- ATF gunwalking scandal (Operation Fast and Furious)
- Argentine arms trafficking scandal
- Cherbourg Project
- Cement Incident
- Coventry Four
- Cuban packages
- Chong Chon Gang
- Conflict Armament Research
- Francop Affair
- Guns for Antigua
- Howth gun-running
- International Action Network on Small Arms
- Iran–Contra affair
- Karine A affair
- Larne gun-running
- List of illegal arms dealers
- List of most-produced firearms
- MV Karagatan incident
- Operation Balak
- Operation Velvetta
- Operation Full Disclosure
- Provisional Irish Republican Army arms importation
- Purulia arms drop case
- Polish arms sales to Republican Spain
- Santorini affair
- SS Libau
- SS John Grafton
- Small Arms Survey
- Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense
- United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp
- Victoria Affair
References
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- ^ a b c "The Global Regime for Transnational Crime". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
- ^ "UN-Register". www.un-register.org. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
- S2CID 144051979.
- S2CID 142629830. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 23, 2012.
- ^ "Bangladesh turned into arms smuggling route; Experts critical of govt's indifference". The Daily Star. May 30, 2006. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023.
- ^ Cattaneo, Silvia (2004). "Chapter 5. Targeting the Middlemen: Controlling Brokering Activities". Small Arms Survey (PDF). Graduate Institute of International Studies. p. 147. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 20, 2022.
- ISBN 9780313386701. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
- ^ "Liverpool's Abercromby Square and the Confederacy During the U.S. Civil War". Lowcountry Digital History Initiative. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023.
- ^ Christina O'Neill (September 24, 2020). "Running the blockade – How Clyde shipyards supported Confederacy and slavery in the American Civil War". Glasgow Live. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020.
- ^ "Legacies of Slavery in Glasgow Museums and Collections". www.glasgowmuseumsslavery.co.uk. August 14, 2018. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Wilmington to Canada: Blockade Runners & Secret Agents". Cape Fear Historical Institute. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023.
- ISBN 9-7801-9930-1607.
- ISBN 9-7810-0050-8772.
- ^ "Alabama Claims, 1862-1872". GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023.
- ^ David Keys (June 24, 2014). "Historians reveal secrets of UK gun-running which lengthened the American civil war by two years". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023.
- ^ Paul Hendren (April 1933). "The Confederate Blockade Runners". United States Naval Institute. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023.
- ISBN 9-7801-9930-1607.
- ^ ISBN 0803277709.
- ^ ISBN 0803277709.
- ^ from the original on January 23, 2023.
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- ^ ISBN 978-0190052706.
- ^ a b Tut Pur, Nyagoah (May 8, 2019). "South Sudan's Arms Embargo Flouted". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- ^ a b Allimadi, Milton (April 24, 2017). "UN Panel Wants Arms Embargo on South Sudan". Black Star News. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023.
- ^ S2CID 144051979.
- ^ .
- ^ S2CID 142629830
- ^ May, Channing (2017). Transnational Crime and the Developing World. Global Financial Integrity. pp. xi.
- ISBN 9780444519108
- ^ Karp, Aaron (2004). "Chapter 2. From Chaos to Coherence?: Global Firearms Stockpiles". Small Arms Survey. p. 48.
- ^ Stilwell, Blake (August 13, 2020). "The AK-47: Everything You Want to Know". Military.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023.
- ^ May, Channing (2017). Transnational Crime and the Developing World. Global Financial Integrity. p. 14.
- ^ Cattaneo, Silvia (2004). "Chapter 5. Targeting the Middlemen: Controlling Brokering Activities". Small Arms Survey. Graduate Institute of International Studies. p. 145.
- S2CID 149027132.
- ^ Cattaneo, Silvia (2004). "Chapter 5. Targeting the Middlemen: Controlling Brokering Activities". Small Arms Survey. Graduate Institute of International Studies. pp. 163–164.
- ^ Masucci, David J. (2013). "Mexican Drug Activity, Economic Development, and Unemployment in a Rational Choice Framework". Inquiries Journal. 5 (9). Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ Jameson, Andrew (December 18, 2020). "Why Nicolas Cage's Lord Of War Used Real Guns Instead Of Props". Looper.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ "Lord of War" (Press release). Amnesty International. 2006. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
- ^ "Making a Killing: Inside the International Arms Trade". IMDb. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023.
- ^ "'War Dogs': True Story Inspired Jonah Hill and Miles Teller's Hit Movie". Movies. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ "Sons of Anarchy: 5 Times Jax Was A Great SAMCRO President (& 5 He Wasn't)". ScreenRant. June 18, 2020. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ "The dream of Jormungand – Japanese anime and wish-fulfilment". Thought Leader. February 9, 2015. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
External links
- "Arms Sales Monitoring Project". Federation of American Scientists.
- "Arms Trafficking Data and Market". Havocscope Black Markets. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
- CIA (1980). Central American Arms Trafficking Report (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 27, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- "Illicit Trafficking". Small Arms Survey. Archived from the original on June 19, 2011.
- "Official website". Small Arms Survey.