SHARE AK-47 favorite gun of He campaigned on "Hugs, Not Bullets.". 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. Cartels seek out military-grade weapons, he said: "The bigger the better.". Between all the illegal guns and millions in gold, jewelry and diamonds, there are armed guards on constant watch. not mexican. Being monitored by the ATF, so 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. 1 gun in the Hearst survey was the AK-47 imported from Romania by Century International Arms of Delray Beach, Fla. Century Arms, as it's commonly known, legally circumvents a federal law stipulating that imported rifles must be suitable for "sporting purposes." The government accuses gun makers and suppliers of knowingly flooding the market with firearms attractive to drug cartels. https://tucson.com/news/national/mexican-drug-cartels-using-grenades/article_9bafe2d8-ecf2-5925-8e85-167e066dd2e9.html. The Medellin cartel surged to power in the 1980s. To lose that many military, cops, politicians and citizens murdered by gangsters is phenomenal. Given the record number of murders there last year almost 36,000 Mexicans could certainly use some self-defense tools. This is a carousel. A Hearst Newspapers survey of 1,600 guns purchased mostly in Texas and Arizona which were either shipped to Mexico or intercepted en route shows the Bushmaster .223 AR-15 ranks second among firearms apparently used in drug warfare. Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox! MEXICO CITY, Aug 6 The flow of high-caliber arms smuggled across the porousUS border has alarmedMexicanofficials and few weapons are as powerful as theUS-made M82 semi-automaticrifleincreasingly favored by the powerfuldrugcartels. 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. That sounds great, but the agent working with our source and his store told everyone that the charges wouldn't stick: "Our agent was pretty candid with us: He let us know the guys doing it had been arrested. Our source and his employer had just been drawn into the ATF's latest kooky adventure. Most of the military grade stuff comes from South America and can be traced to US and Soviet shipments to a few countries back in the late 80's. They were used to set up or. Mexican and U.S. authorities arrested Guzman in February; he had eluded authorities for decades. In 2016, members of the Knights Templar cartel in Michoacan state allegedly downed a helicopter with an M82rifle, theMexicanlawsuit said. of violence in this conflict: intra-cartel disputes, inter-cartel rivalries, and the overall war that Mexican President Felipe Caldern's government is waging on the cartels. While this is isn't based on one true story, it follows a teenager at the forefront of the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles. One room of the museum is dedicated to narco culture. Email us here. And how many bad guys did they get? Gold-plated, diamond-encrusted weapons are shown to the press after they were confiscated when the army seized a ranch in Zapopan, Mexico, Sunday, May 2, 2010. So, in 2006, they started experimenting with "gunwalking," essentially letting the cartels smuggle guns into Mexico so they could track them down and catch them. The federal report also concluded that of 2,921 traced guns, 1,470, or 50 percent, were from Texas. A close reading of the motion referenced above suggests that the deal with the Sinaloa drug gang may have included shipments of guns to the cartel to be used to thin out the ranks of rival drug . I do not fault Mexico for failing to try, but I do wonder if somebody down there on the anti-cartel side is simultaneously trying to fail? RELATED:Documents allege Texas DPS spying on Mexico. The weapons are sold legally but the purchasers must sign a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives document saying they are buying the guns for themselves. An estimated 20 attorneys, many based in Texas, are expected to unite to represent Mexico,including six companies they blame for the bulk of recovered crime guns there:Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Century Arms, Colt, Glockand Ruger. Are ticket costs pricing Houston Astros fans out of Opening Day? He pulls a paper bag out, takes out 10 grand in cash rubber-banded in thousand dollar increments. Are insane ticket costs pricing Astros fans out of Opening Day? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Declare Eric Holder a domestic terrorist and arrest him. Maybe if the border was more of an obstacle], Theres no way for people to buy guns like these in Mexico. Coke was originally supposed to make you smarter or something. By the way, where were these officials when the Obama administration was running guns into Mexico as part of Operation Fast and Furious? 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. Gunmen who left behind at least one M82riflewere seen spraying the armor-plated car ofpolicechief Omar Garcia Harfuch with high-velocity rounds. Most of Mexicos gun violence (and violence in general) has primarily come from the cartel wars through the illicit gun trade and insatiable drug thurst facilitated by the United States. Only if your definition of a thing is existing in quiet obsolescence. Mexico: 18 bodies found after suspected drug cartel gun battle The bullet-ridden bodies of 18 men were discovered in Zacatecas state after apparent confrontation between suspected. A museum in Mexico City has dozens of seized paraphilia on display. A Draco, purchased in Joshua, Texas, near Forth Worth, was used in the attack and shooting death of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico in February. 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. The California Maniac could just as easily bought a second hand gun and instead of killing people with it could have made handsome profit by selling it and more like it to Mexico because he is not connected by paperwork to what he is selling. Here's what he told us. There, members oftheGulf Cartel and CJNGhave formed a partnership, Jones said. Ban assault weapons, high capacity magazines, body armor, silencers. Those Ma Dueces & full auto Norinco Type 56 carbines arent coming from America, duh], 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. [whats the status symbol aspect have to do with anything? Try again Jethro your out of your league. Even ballistic helmets were seen in use. Body armour and load-bearing equipment were used by many cartel members, including examples marked 'Marina' (Marines) or 'Polica Estatal' (State Police). "We have adequate laws on the books. 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. I think thats pretty fair. Vasquez was born in Mexico but raised his family in Dallas, where he ran a moving company with his three adult sons. Pass national weapons carry reciprocity with jail time and heavy fines for any government agent who violates any citizens carry rights. Man, how awful am I gonna feel if one of these guys gets plugged with a weapon I sold? Same guys, different job. A large-scale drug investigation in the Valley led to the seizure of millions of fentanyl pills, thousands of pounds of meth and more. Vasquez'sattorney, Silverio Martinez, said he plans to lobby for leniency, even probation, arguing this is his client's first arrest. I mean all the enforcement is on the American side, very little exists on the Mexican side. You don't buy five to six of the same 10k rifle for a collection. You try and keep it as normal as possible; you don't want to spook him because then everything's shot as well. Follow reporter Beth Warrenon Twitter: @BethWarrenCJ. It all started in 2017, when Norma Llamas Rodriguez, 47,. For our source, who did nothing but exactly what the law told him, watching the bloody aftermath of the scandal was traumatic: "Our initial thought was how many of these can be pointed across the border at our guys? Cracked is up for TWO Webby Awards, for Best Humor Site and Best Video Entertainment! But it has expanded operations in the majority of Mexico's states. Guns are funneled into the closest or easiest crossing into Mexico and they come from other states with lax laws. The Mexican government claims that more than 68% of illegal guns smuggled across the border are made by those companies, along withBarrett and Witmer Public Safety Group, which acquired Interstate Arms. Of course, thats not primary the message Newsweek and the mainstream media (not to mention Mexican officials) want readers to take away from their report. ", "The ATF said, 'Don't refuse 'em, just let 'em go. Once in the hands of cartel capos, however, the modern sporting rifle becomes very much an assault weapon. Mexico is suing US gun makers, arguing that millions of American guns have illegally flowed across the border and fueled homicide rates. Criminal organizations operating in Tamaulipas, Guerrero, and Jalisco were the most armed in the country, at least in the last year. We had four or five come in that first guy came in five or six times, saying he was starting a collection. "We were being told, 'Oh, we're tracking their phones, we've got their license plates,' but it just kept happening. quoteClown shoes.quote. In summer, a command intercepted a dozen tourists after being mistaken for members of a rival cartel. How does the cartel feel about branded accessories? 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. The sheriff believes cartel coyotes are making between $1,000 and $1,500 for every person brought into the country. Blaming Californias laws for failing is about as stupid as blaming Blaming Democrats for inter city crime but thats another story thats way over your head. Did you feel they enjoyed their purchasing experience? I would be one of the richest people on the planet. And he didn't want any ammo for it or any optics for it. We'll sell those guys so many guns they drown in them! This is how the cartels get the vast majority of their arsenal. It would help gangs and cartels to increase their presence and elevate homicide and crime rates in the U.S. As troll names go, yours is especially stupid. Roger Clemens makes surprise appearance at Astros' Spring Training, Hiker captures 'once-in-a-lifetime' photo of wildlife at Brazos Bend State Park, Houston Rockets poised to reap benefits from Eric Gordon trade, Texas congressman's breaks with GOP could lead to censure, Proposed Texas bill gives tax cuts to heterosexual families only, These bites won big at the Houston rodeo's foodie awards, Heres how you can watch 'Daisy Jones and the Six', Here's what Lina Hidalgo carb-loads before a long run, Houston police ticket man for feeding homeless people. I would take that way further. At one point, it was probably four to five of these rifles a week. Explain again how the two assists are not in prison for supplying weapons to know criminals that used the weapons to kill US citizens. All the illegal purchases followed the same basic pattern, "They would always call, because they always wanted to know the exact amount ahead of time -- usually same day -- and make sure we had one in stock. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to . All wars are fought with weapons, and the guns used to murder tens of thousands of people in the Mexican War on Drugs mostly come from America.From handguns,. . Exactly, if America had adopted Mexican-style gun control, it probably wouldve had as many mass shootings as Mexico has had in the past 30 years. If not, they should be left alone. Soldiers stand guard around a presentation of arms captured in an operation against the Gulf cartel in Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. But as the government attempts to stem the flow of drugs across the US border - it is these military-grade guns which are being smuggled in the other direction. Your selective quoting left out California being the source of Tijuanas American weapons (which is but a small minority of total weapons used down there, not that the article mentions that relevant fact).