Fast and Furious was a Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) "gunrunning" operation in which the Obama administration allowed guns to be sold to Mexican drug cartels in the hope the weapons would be recovered at crime scenes. 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. How could the ATF make selling firearms to the cartels a more pleasurable process? Maybe, he'll see this and send a thank you card. Other than "buying the same $10,000 gun multiple times" and "paying in whale-choking bundles of cash," there was nothing particularly shady about the dudes making these straw purchases. Theyre American-made guns, Sotomayor told the Union-Tribune. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., pressed Garland regarding the opioid epidemic, highlighting that fentanyl is responsible for more deaths than guns and car accidents. If not, they should be left alone. 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. The perfect moment to strike, of course! That leaves the military as the only ones able to battle thecartels.. They're probably gonna go to super-prison for that. 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. The drug bust was a multi-agency effort involving the. The main character, Franklin is brilliant. The Bushmaster .223 comes with a 30-round magazine, enabling the shooter to fire all 30 rounds, one for each pull of the trigger, in a minute or less. U.S. Customs agents searched hisvehicle at the Eagle Passcrossing and found 43 shotguns, rifles and pistols. Mexican Drug Cartels Agree: American-Made Guns Are the Best, Mexican drug and crime cartels prefer American-made guns. Formed by ex-military men who became armed enforcers for the Gulf Cartel, the Zetas split with their former patrons nearly three years ago and have since become one of Mexico's largest and most . 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. The 5,114 figure is simply wrong. Are insane ticket costs pricing Astros fans out of Opening Day? One exhibit features weapons seized from cartel members. Even though CDN is a rival of CJNG, its members accept payments to allowdrugs or guns to passthrough their territory. Pass a domestic terrorism bill.. Guns Drive Cartel Violence in Mexico. This story has been shared 100,034 times. Withhold all federal funds from any state if it or any locality is found in violation. Between 2009 and 2020, authorities seized 358 M82rifles, according to official figures cited by the Milenio newspaper. LMFAO. 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. What Newell said quite clearly is that . 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. 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. Viewers see this group of teenagers create their own drug organization. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. ATF agents say almost 100 of those weapons have turned up at cartel-related crime scenes in. ", Your elite government task force in action, everybody: "Guess we just gave the bad guys a buncha weapons." Since joining the Tulsa World in 1999, I have been a three-time winner of Oklahoma's top award for investigative . Yet, none of that is relevant, history is often forgotten. The raw power of therifle, which weighs about 31 lb and is 4.9 feet long, was on show in mid-2020 during a military-style assassination attempt on Mexico Cityspolicechief that was captured by surveillance cameras. Now, he's militarized the country. Cartel gunmen armed with AK-47s purchased in Arizona overwhelmed the police, killing eight. Excuse the pun, but when are you gonna pull the trigger on this? The indigenous people of Mexico do arm themselves and fight the government. Sept. 7, 2010 -- A shocking new report obtained by ABC News says that as many as three out of four guns used in crimes in Mexico and recovered and capable of being traced can be traced to gun . As far as American guns being the best. The problem isnt cartels sneaking (civilian) guns from the U.S. Distraction. *awkward shrug*, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News/Getty Images. The No. It weighs around 30 pounds and costs as much as a damn car. These agencies team withthe U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, Firearms and Explosivesto investigate the financing, transportation, and communications methods of smuggling networks. A gold-plated AK-47 rifle seized to alleged leader of "The Resistance" drugs cartel, Ramiro Pozos Gonzalez, aka "El Molca", is presented to the press in Mexico City, on September 12, 2012. AP/Eduardo Verdugo. Im having a memory lapsewhich guns are made in Mexico, exactly? We had a bunch of light machine guns, like an M249 SAW what caught me off guard is that he and I shot the crap about that one day. They know how to pull the wool over your eyes.". The weapons are sold to the cartels, often for three or four times the original price. Of theguns used in crimes in Mexico and traced back to the United States, about 41% camefrom Texas, he said. Try again Jethro your out of your league. Miguel Diaz Calderon never made it out of Texas. It depicts one cartel member dressed in a garish shirt, cowboy hat and belt buckle. 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? No it could not be right. A gold plated pistol and jewelry, allegedly seized from Manuel Alquisires Garcia, alias "El Meme," sit on display during his presentation to the press of in Mexico City, Monday Sept. 12, 2011. 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. Answer (1 of 16): There a ton of AK and Russian type military machine guns (I've seen a Russian equivalent 12.6 MM of the .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a truck. The M82 can easily penetrate bulletproof vests, concrete walls and even tanks, says its manufacturer Barrett Firearms. He pulls a paper bag out, takes out 10 grand in cash rubber-banded in thousand dollar increments. From the finest gems, to gold-plated weapons, law enforcement officials say these accused drug dealers have a passion for flashy things. 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. The survey drawn from guns identified by manufacturer or importer in U.S. court documents from 44 cases involving 165 defendants in Texas, Arizona and three other states shows the purveyors of guns to Mexican drug traffickers followed a time-honored maxim of product salesmanship: Bigger is definitely better. "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. 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. In Mexico City, the military has a museum used to train officials, diplomats, and cadets about the war on drugs. If American made guns are somehow responsible for all this killing by the evil people using them, why do you allow them to enter your country so easily? The cartels then use their members or contract with associates to serve as"consolidators.". Well short answer. I mean the cartels. The cartel can trace its roots to the 1960s and '70s, when farming families entered the marijuana business. This is how the cartels get the vast majority of their arsenal. ", Well, worry not, James, because the victims were mostly-, "And it's not gonna feel any better if I hear about some village in Mexico getting wiped out.". The place is called La Leche and it continues to be one of Vallarta's tourist attractions. If our source's store had just followed their guts and refused to sell to the most obviously sketchy buyers, the world would've been a little bit safer. In November 2009, the ATF's Phoenix field office launched an operation in which guns bought by drug-cartel straw purchasers in the U.S. were allowed to "walk" across the border into Mexico. None of the manufacturers, including Barrett, responded to Reuters requests for comment. A recent report reveals 60 percent of all confiscated weapons in Mexico are seized in the three states of Tamaulipas, Guerrero, and Jalisco, with 7 out of 10 weapons confiscated coming from the United States. You took their 4473 and transcribed all that, then it asked what type of transaction it was, how many 100s, how many 50s, how many 10s, ones. According to prosecutors, the weapons are believed to belong to the Valencia gang, allies of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, and most of the 31 pistols found in the raid had gold or silver-plated grips or glittered with diamonds. But in all honesty the article above does not tell the whole truth about illegal guns in Mexico or South America as drug gangs also get guns from international arms traffickers as well, especially factory made full auto weapons. Soldiers stand guard around a presentation of arms captured in an operation against the Gulf cartel in Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. SHARE AK-47 favorite gun of cartels WASHINGTON Convicted gun smuggler John Phillip Hernandez of Houston was likely not the kind of customer that Bushmaster Firearms International had in mind when he purchased 14 of the company's .223 caliber AR-15s at Houston area gun shops in 2006 and 2007. Under tight security, an anonymous New York federal court jury deliberated for three days before reaching a verdict in the drug trafficking case against ex-Public Security Secretary Genaro Garca Luna. It was weird that, one, he came in with $10,000 cash. Two of those weapons were tracked to the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent: The whole mess immediately became an embarrassment for the Obama administration. Meanwhile, check out this picture of a gun cache from El Chapo's hide-out: That's a Barrett .50 caliber rifle, confirmed to have gotten to Mexico via the ATF's gun-running program. This is another valid reason to vet second hand gun purchases because there often is no paper trail with second hand guns, especially guns that have been sold over and over again second hand. But, the ATF's "sell guns to cartels and then maybe try to catch them if we've got time" plan actually dates back to the Bush Administration. 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,. Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox! Gunmen battled on a beach near Puerto Morelos as tourists scrambled into a Hyatt . 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. Thirty-four. The government accuses gun makers and suppliers of knowingly flooding the market with firearms attractive to drug cartels. John Allen Muhammad, the D.C. sniper, and his youthful accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, used a Bushmaster .223 in nine of 10 sniper-style murders that terrorized the Washington area in 2002. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration blames CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel for the bulk of America's illicit fentanyl, the top killer during the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history. Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious TV interview, Houston is ugly, and I've never felt more at home, Astros GM Dana Brown has more praise team's top prospect, Turner: TEA is giving Houston ISD two optionsclose school or be taken over, Two ocelots were photographed crossing a road in rare South Texas sighting, Willie Nelson's new album is a lovely tribute to a fellow country legend. Some are Russian, some Cuban made. So, the ATF was like, "We'll show you! Agents launched 534investigations, seized $29 million and intercepted more than 1,200 guns,4,700 magazines for semi-automatic and automatic weaponsand 700,000 rounds of ammunition headed to Mexico, Lestrange told The Courier Journalthis month. How AMLO Has Fueled Mexico's Drug War. ", Once the purchase was completed and the "customer" left the store, " the money was counted with the cameras watching it. Earlier in the week, more than one . Barretts were basically the only gun the cartels wanted, and while they are both ridiculous and rich, we get the strange feeling these weren't meant as toys " it started to get more and more severe. Frankly, Im rather impressed you are still standing at all. Alfred Guzman and Ivan Guzman are the sons of Joaqun (El Chapo) Guzmn Loera better known as the infamous kingpin of the Sinaloa cartel, which is North America's post powerful, and feared, organization trafficking drugs and laundering money worldwide. Majority all arms used in Mexico, where gun control laws are very strict, are bought in the U.S . The state, about a five-hour drive west of Mexico City,is known for its production of avocados. How does the cartel feel about branded accessories? Weapons and jewelry seized to alleged leader of "El Cartel del Golfo" Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, aka "El Coss", are presented to the press in Mexico City, on September 13, 2012. ", Yvonne Hemsey/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. They want to disarm the USA as they arm who they want. The Chicago study proved guns used in crime were often at least 11 years old and had passed through many hands making it impossible to trace them to the person that used them in a crime. It is also the native land ofruthless Mexican cartel bossRubn Oseguera Cervantes,a top U.S. target with a $10 million reward for information on his whereabouts. The Mexican government estimates that more than half a million guns are smuggled from the U.S. each year, arming Mexico's deadly cartel wars. We know theyre being illegally trafficked through California into Tijuana.. "He never saw those guns," his attorney told The Courier Journal. filed a lawsuit in theUS District Court in Massachusetts against the company and 10 other gun manufacturers. COPYRIGHT 2021, THETRUTHABOUTGUNS.COM. The Barrett M82 was a serious problem for security forces because its armor-piercing bullets can knock out the motors of reconnaissance vehicles and endanger helicopters, said aMexicanofficial, who spoke on condition of anonymity. You also said: Mexican and U.S. authorities arrested Guzman in February; he had eluded authorities for decades. An estimated 19% came from California, 15%from Arizona and 25% from other states. 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. Its a very symbolic weapon in the narco world and for the narco esthetic, Grandmaison said. 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. Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images News/Getty Images. 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.". Hesometimes loaned his SUV tohis employees and his relatives and argues that one of them could have hidden the guns, Martinez said. 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. Diaz, who lived in Union Gap, a three-hour drive fromSeattle,tried to cross the border northwest of LaredoonInternational Bridge 2 on May 5, 2020. On the Shelf. I would like to buy Holder and Obama for what they are worth, to sell them for what they THINK theyre worth. As of 2018 you have lost 395 servicemen killed and 137 missing, presumed killed by over 100,000 cartel fighters. In May 2008, Mexican federal police raided a suspected trafficker house in Culiacan, a long-standing drug hotbed in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. We'll sell those guys so many guns they drown in them! leaks of official weaponry bought by the Mexican military. In 2018, the homicide rate in Mexico hit a record high of 35,964, spiking 12 percent from the year before, according to the countrys National Institute of Statistics and Geography. Man, how awful am I gonna feel if one of these guys gets plugged with a weapon I sold? A roster of convicted cartel members, ex-smugglers and former Mexican officials testified that Garca Luna took millions of dollars in cartel cash, met with major traffickers and kept law. You try and keep it as normal as possible; you don't want to spook him because then everything's shot as well. 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. Of those murders, at least 20,005 were carried out with guns. https://www.judicialwatch.org/corruption-chronicles/law-enforcement-sources-gun-used-paris-terrorist-attacks-came-phoenix/. Mexico: U.S. Supplies 90% Of Cartel's Guns. The gun should not be in the hands of civilians, the official said. It all started in 2017, when Norma Llamas Rodriguez, 47,. He likes tacos. Just look at the numbers for their drug war: Theyre American-made guns, Sotomayor told the Union-Tribune. 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.