Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot L. Engel, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, will hold a hearing on Wednesday, March 18th entitled “Guns, Drugs and Violence: The Merida Initiative and the Challenge in Mexico.” At that hearing, Rep. Engel will focus on US efforts to curb illegal firearms trafficking from the United States into Mexico.

On February 12th, Rep. Engel sent a letter to President Obama – signed by a bipartisan group of 52 of his colleagues – urging him to once again enforce the ban on imported assault weapons, which was previously enforced during the administrations of Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. In recent years, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has quietly abandoned enforcement of the import ban. As a result, the US civilian firearms market is flooded with imported, inexpensive military-style assault weapons. These assault weapons – which often come from Eastern Europe – are being trafficked from the US across the border into Mexico. Rep. Engel has also urged the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to take up the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials (CIFTA) as soon as possible.

WHO: Rep. Eliot Engel, Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

WHAT: Western Hemisphere Subcommittee hearing entitled “Guns, Drugs and Violence: The Merida Initiative and the Challenge in Mexico”

WHEN: Wednesday, March 18th at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: 2172 Rayburn House Office Building