"Guns, Gangs, and Borders: Tracking the Illicit Arms Trade in Honduras" by Sofia Molina
 

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Honduras faces a serious problem of illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, which fuels the high rates of violence and crime in the country. This phenomenon has been exacerbated by a combination of structural weaknesses — including porous borders, corruption, limited stockpile management, and under-resourced law enforcement institutions. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Central America remains one of the regions most affected by illicit firearm flows, with trafficking often enabled by the diversion of state-held weapons, theft, and transnational smuggling routes that exploit weak controls and surveillance capacities (UNODC 2020, 15–17). Gangs, drug traffickers, and other criminal groups benefit from the proliferation of illegal weapons, reaching from pistols to assault rifles and explosives. Honduran authorities conduct frequent operations to seize these weapons; in recent years (2021-2024), dozens of weapon seizure incidents have been documented across the national territory in the SALW Dashboard. This report analyzes patterns and trends observed in these real cases – based on information from 95 documented incidents of firearm seizures that illustrate the dynamics of arms trafficking in Honduras. Additionally, the report will examine the trafficking routes of the seized weapons, the variety of weapon types and emerging trends, the main geographical “hotspots,” and the links of this phenomenon with the local criminal organizations.

Publication Date

6-2-2025

Publisher

Florida International University

City

Miami

Guns, Gangs, and Borders: Tracking the Illicit Arms Trade in Honduras

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