These firearms couldnt possibly coming through California. One thing struck him as particularly odd: " as I'm ringing up the transaction, he has one of those little drawstring backpacks. Its all too easy to legally ship a batch of guns to a South American Corrupt Government that just happens to have some come up missing and they get sold to drug cartels for big bucks. Id gut all weapons law and send any politician that suggest a new gun law to GitMo with a mandatory minimum sentence of life. He campaigned on "Hugs, Not Bullets.". Sorry, man -- at least 150 Mexican civilians have been hurt or killed by weapons the ATF let enter Mexico. If not, they should be left alone. The Insider: Reggie Yates - Episode 2: Mexican Army: War Against Powerful and Violent Drug Cartels | Crime DocumentaryThe Insider: Reggie Yates - Episode 1: . 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." Soldiers stand guard around a presentation of arms captured in an operation against the Gulf cartel in Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. The majority of U.S. states allow citizens to buy .50-caliber weapons . These agencies team withthe U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, Firearms and Explosivesto investigate the financing, transportation, and communications methods of smuggling networks. California gun-control activists credited that state's low total to strict state firearms laws that severely limit sales of military-style weaponry. Mexican Cartels Are Arming Themselves to the Teeth With Powerful US Sniper Rifles High-powered .50-caliber rifles can be purchased legally in most of the U.S. and they keep showing up in the. In Mexico, the weapon has disrupted the balance of power between criminal groupsand poorly equippedpoliceforces, according to Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Program Director at the Mexico and Central America Office of Noria, a think tank. (Hollie McKay/Fox News) Moreover, a total of 28,741 recovered weapons . How AMLO Has Fueled Mexico's Drug War. Evening roundup with our editors' favorite stories of the day . I would be one of the richest people on the planet. When he entered office in 2006, Caldern immediately moved on the cartels. And how many bad guys did they get? They are still covering for the Obama administration. At one point, it was probably four to five of these rifles a week. Really, who? Andrea Waguespack is a features digital producer for the Houston Chronicle. 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. 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. Cant have all those firearms in the USA, so lets pipeline them to Mexico. Mexico has very strict restrictions on weapon. A spokeswoman for Bushmaster did not respond to repeated calls for comment. How could the ATF make selling firearms to the cartels a more pleasurable process? Moodys says these cities may see prices drop up to 10%. 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. 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? Or perhaps Newsweek went out of print before the Fast and Furious story broke. It works the same way when gun runners from the U.S. funnel second hand guns into Mexico. We've received your submission. He expected to be paid anadditional $5,000 once the guns were delivered toMichoacn, Mexico, according to court records. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 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. No, they published this piece in an effort to get the US Congress to tighten Americas gun control laws, ostensibly to stop the alleged flow of guns to Mexico. Bushmaster describes the AR-15 rifle, a civilian version of the U.S. military's standard-issue M-16, as intended "for law enforcement, security and private consumer use." 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. 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. Yes, it was stressful but, at the same time, you knew what you had to do, and you did it and tried not to spook him, or whatever.". Drug cartels are known for heinous acts of violence and blatant disregard for law, but one more thing the outlaws are known for is their taste for the most luxurious items. Did that law get repealed or expire? To lose that many military, cops, politicians and citizens murdered by gangsters is phenomenal. 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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. In Mexico City, the military has a museum used to train officials, diplomats, and cadets about the war on drugs. The bridge connectsEagle Pass, Texas, to the Northern Mexicocity of Piedras Negras in the state of Coahuila. Man, how awful am I gonna feel if one of these guys gets plugged with a weapon I sold? And we're on commission at the time, so all of us involved are like sweet! 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. 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.. Earlier in the week, more than one . FN Herstal PS90 rifle: It also fires the 5.7X28mm round. 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. 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 . Officials found 17 handguns in his car. . ", The Barrett is a rifle with almost no practical criminal uses. 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. 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. SHARE AK-47 favorite gun of Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels. U.S. Customs agents searched hisvehicle at the Eagle Passcrossing and found 43 shotguns, rifles and pistols. NSSF: The Firearms Industry Is Committed to Real Solutions, Todays Hot Weather Daytime Carry: Everyday Carry Pocket Dump of the Day, State Judge Issues Order Blocking Enforcement of Illinois Firearms Ban Statewide, Federal Judge Grants Injunction Blocking Enforcement of ATFs Frame or Receiver Rule, Protecting and Serving: Springfield, IL Police Seized Homeowners Gun After Investigating Her Report of a Prowler UPDATED, https://www.npr.org/2019/02/21/696561255/heckler-koch-fined-4-2-million-over-assault-rifle-sales-in-mexico, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Drug_War. Pass national weapons carry reciprocity with jail time and heavy fines for any government agent who violates any citizens carry rights. 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. Accessories?". Actively providing firearms to one of the most dangerous organizations in the world and Viewers see this group of teenagers create their own drug organization. Cartels seek out military-grade weapons, he said: "The bigger the better.". The 5,114 figure is simply wrong. Vasquez was born in Mexico but raised his family in Dallas, where he ran a moving company with his three adult sons. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to . The cartel can trace its roots to the 1960s and '70s, when farming families entered the marijuana business. No way the Democrats would support increasing the numbers of guns in the world. Gunmen battled on a beach near Puerto Morelos as tourists scrambled into a Hyatt . It was going on all over the city -- we knew we weren't the only store -- you've got plenty of evidence, you know where they live. Theyre American-made guns, Sotomayor told the Union-Tribune. Follow reporter Beth Warrenon Twitter: @BethWarrenCJ. I'm like, 'makes sense, he's a military kid.' How in the hell can any society withstand such incredible violence and not crumble? 1 Make rioting in public while wearing a mask a felony with mandatory prison time. 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. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Military-style weaponry has enabled the drug trafficking organizations to match and sometimes overwhelm the firepower of Mexican law enforcement. Cracked is up for TWO Webby Awards, for Best Humor Site and Best Video Entertainment! That's the NRA position.". That figures to 17.6 percent of the 29,000 figure for guns seized in Mexico, as given by the country's attorney general. "We have adequate laws on the books. What i believe is that If i want to sale you ballons ,i give you a good price nd you will greatly say my ballons are the best .. quoteTijuanas Director of Public Safety, Marco Antonio Sotomayor, says most of the guns flowing into his city come from north of the border.quote. For those who never heard about this story. 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. Hesometimes loaned his SUV tohis employees and his relatives and argues that one of them could have hidden the guns, Martinez said. Dear Mexico: clean up your own house before telling us how to take care of ours. Officers foundthree rifles, eight pistols, several magazines and more than 4,700 rounds, including a bag of bullets under Vasquez's seat and more ammunition wrapped in tape and plastic and tucked inside a hidden compartment between the exterior and interior paneling. Same guys, different job. Why doesnt it stop guns from going through their border into Mexico? 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. Of theguns used in crimes in Mexico and traced back to the United States, about 41% camefrom Texas, he said. 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. In May 2008, Mexican federal police raided a suspected trafficker house in Culiacan, a long-standing drug hotbed in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Hundreds of firearms on display before being destroyed at . There, members oftheGulf Cartel and CJNGhave formed a partnership, Jones said. Guns Drive Cartel Violence in Mexico. Violence in Mexico has claimed nearly 40,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon began a military offensive aimed at overpowering drug cartels. "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. I hear Chinese AK-74 types a. Mexican and U.S. authorities arrested Guzman in February; he had eluded authorities for decades.