http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=370262&CategoryId=14091

MEXICO CITY – Mexico and the United States have signed one agreement to halt and track the north-to-south flow of weapons across the border and another to detect and combat money-laundering operations.

The accords were signed by Mexican Attorney General Arturo Chavez, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and Kenneth Melson, director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

One of the pacts will allow Mexico to access the ATF firearm-tracking database e-Trace, enabling the country to obtain precise information about the origin of weapons seized from Mexican drug cartels.

The eTrace system, which has applications in English and Spanish, will improve efforts to track the weapons that are at the root of drug-cartel violence, Melson said.

Not only is the United States the main market for the drugs smuggled through Mexico but well-armed cartels also get most of their high-powered weapons from dealers north of the border.

Melson added that these “historic” agreements will save countless lives and result in many weapons traffickers being sent to prison, adding that authorities from more than 50 countries from around the world currently submit trace requests on seized weapons to the ATF’s National Tracing Center and close to 30 countries have direct access through eTrace.

The second agreement is a memorandum of understanding that calls on the United States to deliver $2.9 million in special equipment to combat money laundering and which, according to Breuer, will strengthen bilateral cooperation in that area.

He said authorities in both countries will continue investigating money-laundering transactions conducted by criminal organizations.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual said 25 percent of the money for the new equipment comes from a fine imposed on a U.S. company for money laundering.

For his part, Chavez said the two agreements will allow Mexico to step up efforts to combat drug trafficking and organized crime, which is blamed for more than 28,000 deaths since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006.

He said Calderon’s war on criminal gangs, including the deployment of tens of thousands of federal police and army soldiers to drug-war hotspots, has been necessary despite the regrettably high death toll. EFE