Those associatesarrange the purchase of several guns keeping them atstash houses or handing them off to transporters ingas station parking lots or other neutral locations, Lestrange said. Typically, the purchaser turns the guns over to a broker who takes them across the border to Mexico, where such weapons cannot be bought legally. Its a weapon of war, added the official. Mexican drug cartel threatens to kill TV reporter - BBC News Called a "technical" by US military.) That figures to 17.6 percent of the 29,000 figure for guns seized in Mexico, as given by the country's attorney general. In addition to weapons from the States working better, Mexico cartels view firearms as status symbols, retired DEA agent Jack Riley told The San Diego Union-Tribune: It is really important to these criminal organizations, who stay in business by the threat of violence and through the use of violence; and the tools that they prefer to do that with are American-made guns.. California, by contrast, accounted for 90 guns, three percent of the total. In 2016, members of the Knights Templar cartel in Michoacan state allegedly downed a helicopter with an M82rifle, theMexicanlawsuit said. Guns and munitions confiscated to alleged Mexican drug dealers Alberto Sanchez Hinojosa aka "El Tony", Francisco Arteaga Espino and Leonel Cruz Hernandez are displayed to the press in Mexico City on September 7, 2008. (zero miles currently built 1 mo gov shut down trump heights built tho??? We'll sell those guys so many guns they drown in them!" Pass national weapons carry reciprocity with jail time and heavy fines for any government agent who violates any citizens carry rights. Once in the hands of cartel capos, however, the modern sporting rifle becomes very much an assault weapon. https://www.judicialwatch.org/corruption-chronicles/law-enforcement-sources-gun-used-paris-terrorist-attacks-came-phoenix/. He pulls a paper bag out, takes out 10 grand in cash rubber-banded in thousand dollar increments. Colt Super .38 pistol: Colt, based in West Hartford, Conn., is the corporate legacy of Samuel Colt, who popularized the revolver in the years before the Civil War. I'm a projects reporter, examining key education topics and other local issues. The US rifle loved by drug cartels and feared by Mexican police The arrests on January 19 are the result of Operation Semper Infidelis, a Los Angeles Strike Force investigation that targeted a domestic weapons trafficking organization that provided firearms and ammunition to the Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin (CJNG), one of the largest and most violent drug cartels in Mexico. https://tucson.com/news/national/mexican-drug-cartels-using-grenades/article_9bafe2d8-ecf2-5925-8e85-167e066dd2e9.html. So CA is itself one of those neighboring States that is (cough) responsible for illegal firearms/use across a boundry? How does the cartel feel about branded accessories? Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out another How To Solve The Country's Gun Problem, and watch other videos you won't see on the site! Miguel Diaz Calderon never made it out of Texas. FN Herstal PS90 rifle: It also fires the 5.7X28mm round. "Almost all guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico 70% to 90% of them were trafficked from the U.S.," the Mexican government claims in its complaint. "Operation Fast And Furious," the one you've actually heard about, launched in 2009. Sorry, man -- at least 150 Mexican civilians have been hurt or killed by weapons the ATF let enter Mexico. Moodys says these cities may see prices drop up to 10%. Meanwhile, the Mexican government blames prominent U.S. gun manufacturers for the influx of cartel weaponsin its lawsuit against them in federal court in Boston. The article, titled, "The U.S. Must Defeat Mexico's Drug Cartels", . Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan argued against doubts raised by the National Rifle Association that ninety percent of all assault weapons seized in . Do it.' Theres no way for people to buy guns like these in Mexico. Operation Without a Trace works in sync with efforts by ATF, which targetsstraw purchasers, and the DEA, whose agents piece together conspiracy cases by identifying drug networks and their links to specific cartels. At the same time, Mexico remains a cautionary preview of what might happen in America if we adopted Mexican-style gun control. For more insider perspectives, check out 5 Insane Things I Learned About Drugs As An Undercover Agent and 6 Ways Life In Cartel-Run Mexico Is Nothing Like You Imagine. After his arrest, Diaz told agents with Homeland Security Investigations he was paid $5,000 upfront to smuggle "fierros," Spanish for "iron," which he understood to be guns,across the border. "The gun traffickers supplying Mexican drug organizations have become more selective and sophisticated in the weapons they acquire,"' said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Washington-based Violence Policy Center, which extensively studied the issue. "And they're sending leads up to us to connect the dots.". ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. These Are The Twitter Accounts Of The Sons Of Mexico's Drug Cartel Leaders While they had been gun-running since 2006, a 2011 report by the inspector general criticized the agency for dedicating too many resources to busting straw purchasers and not enough at busting the cartel guys doing the buying. We might have chalked him up as just another Call Of Duty fan with impulse problems, but our source considered this a "red flag" for straw purchasing. Did they buy ammo? Drug cartels have the flashiest of weapons in their arsenal. The group decries the name "assault weapon" and refers to high-powered guns as "modern sporting rifles." They know how to pull the wool over your eyes.". How in the hell can any society withstand such incredible violence and not crumble? Photo gallery: The top ten favorite guns of the Mexican drug cartels Damn Democrat Pipeline! Fake News. blames CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel for the bulk of America's illicit fentanyl, U.S. Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Military-style weaponry has enabled the drug trafficking organizations to match and sometimes overwhelm the firepower of Mexican law enforcement. Thanks for contacting us. Our source and his manager didn't call the authorities immediately -- buying a fancy gun with cash isn't illegal; otherwise, how would we have rap videos? ", Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images, "Once the ATF was more involved, we had a separate set of paperwork. Known as CJNG, the billion-dollar cartel boasts of more than 5,000 members, an army larger than its key rival, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It fires 5.7X28mm cartridges, referred to as "mata policias" (cop killers) in Mexico because they can penetrate bulletproof vests. From the finest gems, to gold-plated weapons, law enforcement officials say these accused drug dealers have a passion for flashy things. According to my cousin who lived in Mexico City, for many years, the cops have a city day job, and a cartel night job. ", Yvonne Hemsey/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. I mean all the enforcement is on the American side, very little exists on the Mexican side. "We've got agents and we've got trained criminal investigators from the host government in Mexico working investigations in Mexico," he said. https://www.npr.org/2019/02/21/696561255/heckler-koch-fined-4-2-million-over-assault-rifle-sales-in-mexico, For no other reason than eric holder lead the investigation, I question everything we know about the Oklahoma City bombing, wow is that guy nuts. All Rights Reserved, Fed raises interest rates by 0.5%, the highest rise since 2000, Here are the 14 inductees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Barn Brain also conveniently ignores the fact that there are gunsmiths in the U.S. and Mexico that regularly convert semi-auto American made guns to full auto as well and yes they are second hand guns not vetted that come from the U.S. Even the much worshiped pre-64 Winchester Model 70s were laughed at by the Europeans when they were first marketed even though the pre-war guns were not all that bad but workmanship after WWII went down rapidly at Winchester. Some are Russian, some Cuban made. Army officials said they confiscated 288 assault rifles, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, numerous grenades and several .50-caliber rifles at a house in the city of Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. This is a carousel. Its just to easy to buy up second hand guns and ship them to Mexico. Christ, John; do a little digging please, since this article is easily refuted/debunked, American and Mexican law enforcement officials say nearly all of the gun violence in Mexico is fueled by the illicit import and sale of U.S. firearms. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Video shows gunman nonchalantly shoot homeless man execution-style in broad daylight, NJ man tried to board plane with handguns, AR-15, Taser, phony US Marshal badge, Parolee flaunted ghost gun on social media before weapons arrest: feds, Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed can keep gun at home: judge. How U.S. Guns Drive Cartel Violence in Mexico - The Trace Cartels exploiting border chaos to smuggle fentanyl into US - New York Post An NSSF survey last year found that 44 percent of owners of these weapons are active-duty or former military or law-enforcement personnel, and the typical owner is 35, married and has some college education. Diazis part of what cartel members call the Hormiga, Spanish for ant, referring to an ant trail of reliably flowing weapons transported from the southern U.S. to Mexico, said JaesonJones, who tracks cartel trends and previouslymanaged the daily operations of the Texas Rangers'Border Security Operations Center. . Many interesting behind-the-scenes bits have happened during the 20 years of telling tales about our favorite trailer-park residents, Bobs never bought Christmas seals he told me he wouldnt know what to feed them, Below you, an entire other world operates. Now I cannot make this any more simple for you to understand. GREENVILLE, S.C. . That leaves the military as the only ones able to battle thecartels.. He claimed he didn't know the names of the gun buyers or their cartel affiliations. quoteClown shoes.quote. It weighs around 30 pounds and costs as much as a damn car. "The majority of weapons we've seized since we started this operation have been in the corridor by Laredo, Texas from Laredo to El Paso," he said. MEXICO: Stop the flow of Immigrants going north and maybe we will do something about guns going south across the border. One thing struck him as particularly odd: " as I'm ringing up the transaction, he has one of those little drawstring backpacks. An Italian-made 9mm pistol that is a best-seller among U.S. law enforcement agencies. I got a phone call one day on the shop line, and a guy was looking for a Barrett .50 cal, which is not a crazy weapon in terms of how available they are.". But then, he broke out the huge bag of cash. Pass red flag laws. Weapons such as the M82 are part of a torrent of illegal arms flowing south, Mexico alleges, partly due to the manufacturers negligent business practices that had encouraged illegal arms trafficking. Officials in Mexicowhich has just one gun store and issues fewer than 50 gun permits ayearblame lax U.S. gun laws and the prevalence of gun shops in Americafor the bulk of weapons that allow cartels to flourish. Whether it's the Juarez Cartel or Sinaloa's 'Chapo' Guzman, one thing the cartels in Mexico and South America have in common are flashy weapons. The Insider: Reggie Yates - Episode 2: Mexican Army: War Against Powerful and Violent Drug Cartels | Crime DocumentaryThe Insider: Reggie Yates - Episode 1: . No way the Democrats would support increasing the numbers of guns in the world. Mexican military forces confiscated 71 armor-piercing 50-caliber gunsin the year ending January 2020, according to the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Mexico. You have entered an incorrect email address! October 19, 2022 The typical image of violent, heavily armed Mexican drug cartels tends to leave out one very important fact: Texas is the source for many of those guns. An estimated 19% came from California, 15%from Arizona and 25% from other states. If you have a Barrett, it means that any non-special forces such as the localpoliceand the municipalpolicecannot fight you, Grandmaison said. "We were being told, 'Oh, we're tracking their phones, we've got their license plates,' but it just kept happening.