MEXICO CITY, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Individuals own 80 million guns in Latin America, and the region sees 90,000 armed attacks a year, according to an Organization of American States (OAS) document published in Mexico's media on Monday.

    Speaking last week during an official visit to Mexico, the OAS secretary general, Jose Miguel Insulza, said that guns in private hands represent a major and growing security risk. He said that controlling the flow of guns is an urgent problem that requires international cooperation.

    "Nations should cooperate in reducing the illegal trade in arms and their accessories within producing countries and against arms smuggling to other parts of the world," he said.

    Despite restrictions in nations including Mexico, illegal trafficking continues to affect several nations' domestic security,Insulza added.

    The Mexican Defense Ministry regulates that only the armed forces have the right to use firearms.

    However, the use of firearms by organized crime gangs has seen a sharp increase over the last decade, boosted by globalization and Mexico's trade liberalization, official statistics show.

    The OAS chief said that member states have to take responsibility for fighting the manufacture and trade in guns, cartridges and explosives.