MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Police who have raided vice-ridden Mexico City neighborhoods in a push against drug violence hope to take guns off the streets by offering to swap them for computers and video-game consoles.
Launching the program Tuesday in the notorious inner-city barrio of Tepito, which police stormed last month, city police chief Joel Ortega said anyone who turns in a high-caliber weapon like a machine gun will get a computer.
Owners can swap smaller guns for cash or Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox video-game consoles under the plan.
Newly elected Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has moved quickly to restore order to the chaotic capital by going after well-known crime dens and clearing the city’s narrow streets of informal vendors whose stalls have blocked sidewalks for years.
Xbox for your gun?
Xbox for your gun? | Technology | Reuters