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de León Wantland, Mayda. 2022 ‘Firearms Destroyed in Central America (2011-2016).’ IEPADES Gun Destruction in Central America and the Caribbean: A Look at the Destruction of Firearms in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Guatemala City: Instituto de Enseñanza para el Desarrollo Sostenible (IEPADES). 1 January

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All countries in the region have destroyed weapons, even though legislation is unclear in this regard, judges do not generally make any decision on the fate of weapons, and there has not been strong interest in the issue. The first examples go back to the end of the armed conflicts of the region, where guns were delivered and destroyed. For example, in El Salvador there are reports of arms destruction since 1996. Subsequently, the destruction processes were linked to the commission of ordinary crimes.

The table below shows the number of weapons destroyed in the region in the last six years:

Table 2: Arms destroyed 2011-2016

Country - No. of arms destroyed
Dominican Republic - 30,000 guns
Costa Rica - 49,226 guns
Guatemala - 15,972 guns
El Salvador - 50,458 guns
Honduras - 7,000 guns

The numbers of weapons seized do not precisely match those destroyed. Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic especially reported much larger number of guns destroyed than seized. In Costa Rica, as noted below, inter-institutional agreements facilitate destruction of large numbers of weapons.

ID: Q16263

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