“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
Female # 1: Sedena warned about the trafficking of weapons. Those weapons come from the US to Mexico. We have the image of Uncle Sam here in the background. And just as they often point towards us. We will also point towards the United States because those are weapons that arrive in Mexico. And pay attention to this. These are weapons exclusively made for the US armed forces. Listen to what the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs says here.
Alicia Isabel Adriana Bárcena Ibarra: There is a very important matter here and that is that the Secretary of Defense alerted the United States about weapons that are entering Mexico which are made for the exclusive use of the American armed forces. And it’s very urgent that an investigation be initiated.
Female # 1: And so you the United States have to stop the entry of weapons to Mexico. Because they arrive here and are used by criminal groups. Listen, this is also a challenge for the Mexican armed forces. The rifles that enter our country are the Barret rifle that pierces war tanks. In addition there are semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15 which is the most lethal assault rifle of the world. There is also the M-16 rifle in the hands of the criminals. Which is on the other side of the screen there. And it can fire up to 900 rounds per minute.
This is why the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs speaks of more than 4 million weapons that are circulating in the hands of civilians in our country. In fact, these are the figures: 200,000 weapons come from United States and they arrive every daily to our country. The majority of them come from Texas, Arizona, and California. Here’s the map, this river or this route is adequately known as the Iron River.
Most of these weapons enter by land or by car across the border likes its nothing. In the United States it’s very easy to acquire firearms because they have a flexible policy. You can go to a store as a minor and ask for cigarettes or order alcoholic beverages and they won’t sell them to you. But if you are a minor with no criminal record. They will sell him the weapon and he can legally buy it. In Mexico there is only an armory controlled by the Sedena that only sells about 24,000 guns a year. All kinds of tests are carried out to be able to obtain them.
And you know what Argeria, for example in this administration, although it’s true that authorities have seized more than 91,000 weapons from the hands of organized crime. Then it’s also a fact that if the United States points to Mexico for its problems. We also have to point toward the United States because the problem comes from there.
Argeria: Of course the problem comes from there. And there is something else that we have to highlight here. This is very good and we can talk about data figures. But where exactly are the results. I want to tell you that this Monday justice finally moved forward. The court of appeals from the first circuit of Massachusetts ruled in favor of Mexico with regard to the manufacturers and distributors.
This means that the case will be reviewed all over again. United States authorities have an obligation, listen to this, to make sure that companies comply with the Mexican and American laws. Such as import and export regulations. They also have to guarantee that distributors don’t supply criminal groups, which is what’s happening. Next February 22 there will be a district court hearing in Arizona to talk about the points of sales of weapons. The oral arguments will be presented on this date.
But we’re going to break this topic down little by little. I want to talk to you about what’s happening, not only in the United States but also throughout our country. Here we have a map where you can see the states with the greatest presence of these types of weapons. In August 2021 Mexico filed a lawsuit for more than 172,000 million pesos against 11 production and distribution firearms companies due to illegal trade practices and negligence.
But take a look at this. In 2022 the lawsuit was thrown out by the court of Massachusetts. What is the main obstacle in the way? Well, the law that protects the legal arms trade shields the arms industry before any lawsuit for misuse of these products. Mexico didn’t give up and sought to protect itself from the case being thrown out last July 2003. These 11 companies produce 68 percent of the weapons that enter our entire country. They arrive mainly in the states of Sinaloa, Jalisco, Michoacán, and Guerrero.