Senator Kim, 

70% of firearms recovered from crimes in Mexico come from the United States. Violence from trafficked guns is a key driver of asylum claims from Central America. And there is an uptick in high-caliber weapons illegally trafficked to Haiti and the rest of the Caribbean.

As a NJ-based peace organization with a long history of working in solidarity with the people of Nicaragua and Central America, the PeaceWorks community is  asking you to join your colleagues in the Senate to co-sponsor the 2025 Armas Act (S.3508).

Why is the 2025 Armas Act (S.4647) so vital to PeaceWorks?

In the 1980’s the U.S. government was at the height of an anti-communist delusion. Our government appropriated millions of dollars in arms and munitions to fund a mercenary army to overthrow the socialist government of Nicaragua. When Congress finally made those arms sales illegal, the CIA facilitated the sale of cocaine and sold arms to Iran to illegally fund the purchase of more arms. 

The result?  Communities throughout Nicaragua were destroyed. 40,000 Nicaraguans were killed. Hundreds of thousands were displaced and forced to seek refuge far from home in countries like the United States. 

With 35 years of working in solidarity with the people of Nicaragua, the PeaceWorks community has seen up close the long-term effects of US trafficked guns in Nicaragua and Central America. We are disturbed that the deregulation of arms sales and the trafficking of arms is so prevalent today, resulting in devastating violence for our Latin American and Caribbean neighbors. 

Senator Kim, we urge you to join your colleagues, Senators Durbin, Kaine, Markey, Murphy and Warren to co-sponsor the 2025 Armas Act (S.3508). It is a small, yet vital step in restoring the oversight responsibilities of Congress and curtailing the weapons that destroy lives daily.

The ARMAS Act will:

1. Transfer small arms authority from the Department of Commerce back to the Department of State to ensure greater accountability and transparency;
2. Require the Secretary of State to report to Congress on their efforts to disrupt the illegal trafficking of firearms to Latin America and the Caribbean;
3. Require the development of a comprehensive interagency strategy and program, led by the State Department, to disrupt arms trafficking and diversion of exported firearms and create a certification requirement for arms sales;
4. Provide for congressional notification, review, and oversight of certain small arms exports regulated by the Department of State, including an assessment of data availability on trafficked firearms from the covered countries throughout Latin America,and the Caribbean, including Haiti;
5. Require the Secretary of State to prohibit covered countries from transferring U.S.-supplied weapons to third countries without the consent of the U.S. government and to monitor where those weapons end up; and
6. Restrict the issuance of export licenses for items on the U.S. Munitions List without consulting Congress

Thank you for taking a stand to stop the violence.

Read the complete 2024 Armas Act (S.4647) text here.

The Quixote Center has prepared a letter that you can send to Senator Kim:

Senator Andy Kim

Suite 550, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510

Subject: Co-Sponor ARMAS Act — S.3508

Dear Senator Kim:

My name is «First Name» «Last Name», and I am a constituent from «City», «State». I respectfully urge you to co-sponsor the Americas Regional Monitoring of Arms Sales (ARMAS) Act of 2025 (S.3508).

Weak U.S. gun export controls have enabled firearms to be trafficked to Latin America and the Caribbean, fueling gang violence and regional instability–most visibly in Haiti and Mexico, where U.S.-sourced weapons are contributing to mass displacement, hunger, and severe human rights abuses.

Introduced by Senator Chris Murphy, the ARMAS Act would restore transparency and oversight of U.S. small arms exports by returning authority to the Department of State, strengthening congressional oversight, improving interagency coordination, and enhancing reporting and enforcement against arms trafficking.

Co-sponsoring this legislation is an important step to reduce gun violence, promote regional stability, and prevent U.S. firearms from contributing to humanitarian crises abroad. I respectfully ask for your support.

Thank you for your consideration and your service.

Sincerely,

[ Your Full Name ]