23/1/2018 Report: US Is Largest Source of Illegal Guns in Brazil

AS IT IS

Report: US Is Largest Source of Illegal Guns in Brazil

January 22, 2018

Brazilian police claim the United States is the largest supplier of guns that end up in
the hands of Brazil’s armed criminals and drug dealers.

Brazilian Federal Police released a report on guns in December 2017. e Reuters

news agency published a story on the ndings earlier this month.

e report noted that Brazilian police have seized more than 10,000 weapons since
2014. It said most were seized in and around the city of Rio de Janeiro.

About 1,500 of the guns came from the United States. Reuters noted that the guns
o en traveled through another country before arriving in Brazil.

e news agency said that the U.S. weapons were mainly assault ri es and high-
powered handguns. It noted that guns already in Brazil or arriving from other
countries were o en smaller handguns.

“ e US continues to be the largest indirect source of illegal handguns and assault

ri es as a result of unrestricted sales in stores and fairs in American cities,” the
report said.

Violence fueled by illegal guns has risen in Brazil since 2015. An economic recession
from 2015 to 2017 led to spending cuts for many police forces around the country.
e federal government sent troops to Rio de Janeiro and other areas last year to
control violence related to the drug trade.

e report calls for international groups, such as the United Nations and the
Mercosur trade group, to o er more support to stop illegal arms tra cking.
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/us-is-largest-source-of-illegal-guns-in-brazil/4215305.html 1/3
23/1/2018 Report: US Is Largest Source of Illegal Guns in Brazil

Mercosur has four member countries: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

e report named eight foreign stores. ey are suspected of selling the most high-
powered guns that ended up in Brazil. Five of the eight are in Florida, in the
southeastern United States. e largest seller, however, was a store in Paraguay.

Guns from the United States generally enter Brazil through direct shipments of
assembled weapons, shipments of gun parts or indirect shipments through a third
country.

Brazilian citizens can legally own guns, but only if they meet a series of
requirements. Even then, they can only buy small-powered weapons.

In the United States, laws governing gun purchases di er from one state to the next.
But it can be a relatively simple process to buy a gun or get one that was legally sold
to another person.

e Brazilian police report noted an instance in which 22 assault ri es arrived in

Brazil in a shipment of furniture. Most of those guns ended up in Sao Paulo and Rio
de Janeiro.

In another incident, 60 assault ri es from Miami, Florida were discovered inside

swimming pool heaters in a shipment at a Rio airport.

e report noted that the entry of high-powered weapons into Brazil is linked to
groups known to rob banks, bank ATMs and armored vehicles.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Lisandro Paraguassu and Ricardo Brito reported this story for the Reuters news
agency. Jonathan Evans adapted the report for VOA Learning English. George Grow
was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/us-is-largest-source-of-illegal-guns-in-brazil/4215305.html 2/3
23/1/2018 Report: US Is Largest Source of Illegal Guns in Brazil

Words in this Story

ATM – n. a machine that people use to get money from their banks by using a special
card; short for automated teller machine

assault ri e – n. a gun that can shoot many bullets quickly and that is designed for
use by the military

furniture – n. chairs, tables and other objects that help make a room ready for use

assemble – v. to put together

source – n. the cause of something; someone or something that provided what is

needed

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/us-is-largest-source-of-illegal-guns-in-brazil/4215305.html 3/3