This Situation Update, prepared as part of the project ‘Mapping the Transnational Circulation and Control of Small Arms in Latin America’ supported by the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS), examines the global authorized trade in small arms, with a focus on Latin America, over the period 2019–24.
Several countries in Latin America possess small arms manufacturing capabilities, including many of the region’s most populated nations such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.[1] Yet, with the exception of Brazil, few Latin American countries typically feature among the world’s top exporters and importers of small arms (Florquin, Hainard, and Jongleux, 2020, pp. 24, 31). On the other hand, Latin America exhibits both the world’s highest regional homicide rates and one of the highest proportions of homicides perpetrated with firearms (Boo and Hideg, 2024, p. 12). The risk of diversion of legally produced and traded small arms into the illicit and criminal spheres is therefore a subject of particular concern, as it may contribute to further violence (Mack and Mieszkowska, 2025; Solmirano, 2023).
Drawing from UN Comtrade data, the Situation Update also seeks to assess more specifically the weight of military-style small arms—such as machine guns, sub-machine guns, and military-style rifles (such as AR- and AK-pattern rifles)—in the authorized trade, as the SNIS project is particularly focused on this weapon category. The proliferation and potential misuse of military-style small arms is especially worrying given that they can contribute to increasing the scale and lethality of violence (Braga and Cook, 2018; Fleegler et al., 2024; Libby and Wright, 2009). Open-source reports reveal that while handguns still dominate regional firearm seizures, military-style small arms also circulate illicitly in Latin America, with significant seizure rates of rifles in Mexico, as well as increasing proliferation of a range of military-style small arms in Brazil, for instance.[2] Documenting the authorized trade in military-style small arms therefore contributes to a better understanding of the scale and origins of the flows, as well as the potential for diversion.
After providing an overview of data sources and caveats, including issues surrounding inconsistencies between the reported importer and exporter data, the study examines global trends in authorized small arms transfers. The next section focuses on the regional trade in small arms in Latin America, followed by a special focus on the regional trade in weapons categorized as ‘military firearms’. The conclusion reviews the implications of the findings for our understanding of the trade in military-style small arms in Latin America, highlighting gaps and avenues for further research.
[1] See Jenzen-Jones and Pérez (2020); Langeani and Pollachi (2025); Marchessin (2025); Quevedo (2023); Solmirano (2023); Turan (2025); and UNDESA Population Division (2024).
[2] Coss, Mendez, and Cano (forthcoming); Langeani (2025); Langeani and Pollachi (2025, p. 72); and UNODC (2020; p. 66).
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