Miguel Diaz Calderon never made it out of Texas. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If Diaz had sneaked his arsenal past U.S. Customs officials, he would have had to pay a "piso," or fee, to members of the Crtel del Noreste,or CDN, which dominates this area of northern Mexico, Jonessaid. 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. We can reduce the carnage if pols have the guts to act, Eric Holder (@EricHolder) August 5, 2019, Enough-time for real action. Cartel gunmen armed with AK-47s purchased in Arizona overwhelmed the police, killing eight. 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. No it could not be right. I do like tacos though. Sorry not in todays world American guns have some of the shittyist workmanship that I have ever seen compared to the U.S. guns that were made in the distant past and even those were often nothing when compared to finely made European guns. Robert Evans just wrote a book, A Brief History of Vice, where he experiments with strange ancient drugs. 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. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. But, who gave the arms to the Mexican cartels? 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. Pass universal background checks, end loopholes: gunshow and Charleston. 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. We sat down with "James," who worked at one of the gun stores the ATF ordered to sell firearms to drug cartels. "They didn't look like they were all connected One guy came in with his wife and kids. 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. It costs between $8,000 and $10,000, and it can literally put a bullet through most light tanks. 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. June 23, 2022, 4:35 PM. Being monitored by the ATF, so NEW YORK (AP) A former Mexican presidential cabinet member was convicted in the U.S. on Tuesday of taking massive bribes to protect the violent drug cartels he was tasked with combating. The "El Presidente" model is popular in Mexico because it is one of the few guns legally available there, according to the Violence Policy Center. Why wouldnt *that* be the most obvious area to apply enforcement pressure, instead of law abiding gun owners hundreds or thousands of miles away on the far side of the country? An admirer of Colombian crime boss Pablo Escobar places flowers on his . Today, the two primary uses of the Barrett are "anti-material" (aka destroying enemy vehicles) and "ridiculous toy for rich people." 8. In January, a Mexican judge charged. We've received your submission. 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. If you want to keep guns out of the country, you do not appear to be making any real effort at it. Tell you what, you let me have what the Cartels are able to get from the Mexican Military and Ill let you have what I have now. 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. floating around in pictures. That leaves the military as the only ones able to battle thecartels.. Officers found all of those brands, except Century Arms,in the shipments smuggled by Diaz, court records show. Total dead including common citizens, murdered politicians and cartel members was at 115,000 estimated for 2006 thru 2018. A straw purchase is when someone buys a gun legally, but then hands it over illegally to another person. Or is it because the CA border is not a barrier to trafficking contraband? One room of the museum is dedicated to narco culture. I would be one of the richest people on the planet. There were undercover agents in the store, sometimes. First manufactured in the 1980s, the M82 rose to prominence during the first Gulf War when it was adopted by theUS military. 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. See I figured they were big fans of German guns, going back to that huge illegal arms contract HK won for the cartels awhile back. ", Yvonne Hemsey/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. There must be a mistake. Criminal gangs that wish to project power often post photos on social media of their members toting M82 gunsand latest military gadgets, mimicking the style of special forces units. 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. ", Once the purchase was completed and the "customer" left the store, " the money was counted with the cameras watching it. It is also one of the weapons of choice fordrugcartels, according to theMexicangovernment, which this week filed a lawsuit in theUS District Court in Massachusetts against the company and 10 other gun manufacturers. In May 2008, Mexican federal police raided a suspected trafficker house in Culiacan, a long-standing drug hotbed in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. I came here to say this. Since the federal law banning assault weapons expired in 2004, so-called "straw purchasers" have flooded U.S. gun stores in the Southwest, mostly in Texas and Arizona, sweeping up these and other weapons. A Dallas man claimed he didn't knowassault rifles, pistols and ammunitionwere hidden in his silver SUV as he attempted to cross into Mexico from Laredo, Texas. The majority of U.S. states allow citizens to buy .50-caliber weapons, something Mexico reserves for its military. A museum in Mexico City has dozens of seized paraphilia on display. 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. Thousands upon thousands of firearms are smuggled into Mexico from the U.S. each year. 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." "We have adequate laws on the books. 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. An Italian-made 9mm pistol that is a best-seller among U.S. law enforcement agencies. Not the party of civil rights,, wait the Democratic Party is not nor has it ever been the Party of Civil Rights as it has always opposed and still opposes the Constitution; it has been and continues to be the Party of Civil Right Suppression, the Party of Slavery, the Party of the KKK, the Party who opposed voting rights,, (just Google it, Google any historic Democratic Politician in history). Havent you heard anyone who comes to the US and gets a magic piece of paper is just as American and you and I. And yes the California shooter did have a vetted gun but the point being made is that without uniform vetting laws funneling second hand guns into Mexico is a piece of cake. 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. 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. I'm a projects reporter, examining key education topics and other local issues. Straw purchases for others are a violation of federal firearms law. ", 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.". Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to . In 2019, a record 68 such weapons were captured. 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. Drug cartels have the flashiest of weapons in their arsenal. An arrogant armed American Gringo. It fires the same round as the AK-47 but is significantly shorter and easier to conceal. The article, titled, "The U.S. Must Defeat Mexico's Drug Cartels", . View of gun butts made of gold, diamonds, emeralds and rubies to form the Mexican flag, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state on July 12, 2011. Based in northwest Mexico's Sinaloa state, the Sinaloa Cartel is widely considered to be the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, according to Insight Crime. Mexican officials want to disarm America so the can finally claim Texas again and spread there filth into the lungs and veins of every Godless heathen that exists :). Of those murders, at least 20,005 were carried out with guns. [and I wonder what fraction of those murders were carried out at the behest of federal authorities by their cartel buddiesthe same Federales that prohibit citizens from arming up to defend themselves against the cartels.]. NUEVO LAREDO, MexicoOn March 24 . He likes tacos. Yes Colt and Smith at one time made some very nice revolvers I will give them that but our rifles have been a joke for years. Diaz is one of 360 suspects arrested so far duringOperation Without a Trace, an ongoingcrackdown launched nearly two years ago by Homeland Security Investigationsand U.S. Customs and Border Protection to intercept illegal guns, saidJoseph Lestrange, division chief of Homeland Security's Transnational Organized Crime. RELATED:Documents allege Texas DPS spying on Mexico. [nearly all the guns they bother to trace through the ATFwhich is basically those with US markings on them, duh], The underground trade of weapons to Mexico is worth hundreds of millions of dollars annuallywith American guns used to kill tens of thousands of Mexicans each year. "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. Shut your pie hole Holder. Its just to easy to buy up second hand guns and ship them to Mexico. Homeland Security teamed with the ATF tolauncha confidential tip line asking for help from the public, displaying the number on about 200 billboards near the border,asking for information on illegal guns bound for Mexico. Mexican cartels exploiting border chaos to smuggle fentanyl into US By Isabel Vincent June 10, 2022 3:53pm Updated Mexican drug cartels are taking advantage of the chaotic influx of migrants. Mexican and U.S. authorities arrested Guzman in February; he had eluded authorities for decades. Diaz, who pleaded guilty, and Vasquezareawaiting sentencing. The perfect moment to strike, of course! No secret, everyone knew it, too. He claimed he didn't know the names of the gun buyers or their cartel affiliations. These agencies team withthe U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, Firearms and Explosivesto investigate the financing, transportation, and communications methods of smuggling networks. How in the hell can any society withstand such incredible violence and not crumble? The sheriff believes cartel coyotes are making between $1,000 and $1,500 for every person brought into the country. ", It was a good gig for a while. A row of glass cases are filled with seized weapons. California gun-control activists credited that state's low total to strict state firearms laws that severely limit sales of military-style weaponry. Men claiming to speak for Mexico's most powerful drug cartel have released a video threatening to murder . After paying the piso and traveling throughCoahuila, Diaz still wouldhave faced a 14-hour drive south toMichoacn. But it has expanded operations in the majority of Mexico's states. In Mexico City, the military has a museum used to train officials, diplomats, and cadets about the war on drugs. They weren't tracking them well enough; everyone made it over the border. We were placing special orders with Barrett because we couldn't keep up demand. 1 Make rioting in public while wearing a mask a felony with mandatory prison time. Its a very symbolic weapon in the narco world and for the narco esthetic, Grandmaison said. You also said: 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. 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. Then, they were let go, because what they had done hadn't been illegal -- they hadn't seen a hand off. ", Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images, "Once the ATF was more involved, we had a separate set of paperwork. Working together across 18 different countries over the course of 10 months, the consortium investigated the global networks of Mexican drug cartels and their political connections around the world. 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. Serial numbers really do tell a story. 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. 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." Im having a memory lapsewhich guns are made in Mexico, exactly? It works the same way when gun runners from the U.S. funnel second hand guns into Mexico. Its compactness makes it easy to conceal and some versions can hold a 30-round magazine, made of lightweight polymer. At one point, it was probably four to five of these rifles a week. Instead, the ATF lost 1,400 (or more!) ", Your elite government task force in action, everybody: "Guess we just gave the bad guys a buncha weapons." To lose that many military, cops, politicians and citizens murdered by gangsters is phenomenal. How U.S. It is cheaper at gun outlets in the U.S. Beretta 9mm. And four years ago, two sons of El Chapo Guzmn were kidnapped in another restaurant 500 meters from where they shot the former governor two days ago. Worried that weapons purchases for drug cartels might fuel more calls for tougher U.S. gun control laws, gun-rights advocates insist that existing laws are sufficient to control such trafficking. 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. Did that law get repealed or expire? And follow Robert on Twitter. Damn Democrat Pipeline! They want the firearms only in the hands they want so that they can execute their plan. Of course, these same quoted Mexican officials made no mention of changing their own to laws to allow the little people to own some cold steel with which they could protect themselves and their families from corrupt federales and cartel predators. filed a lawsuit in theUS District Court in Massachusetts against the company and 10 other gun manufacturers. They only wanted a couple of us dealing with it fill out this form, have the money counted, so we can bring drug dogs in to check the bills for drugs. 2- Declare Antifa a domestic terror organization. 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. View of cartridges and weapons from the gangsters and drug-traffickers at the Military Headquarter in Mexico City, on November 7, 2008. None of the manufacturers, including Barrett, responded to Reuters requests for comment. "He never saw those guns," his attorney told The Courier Journal. The M82 can easily penetrate bulletproof vests, concrete walls and even tanks, says its manufacturer Barrett Firearms. By Ioan Grillo Bloomsbury: 400 pages, $28 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org . 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.. As far as American guns being the best. 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 . Never heard of Fast and Furious? The Medellin cartel surged to power in the 1980s. National Police Chief Gen. Oscar Naranjo, holds a handgun seized to Colombian drug lord and former paramilitary leader Pedro Guerrero Castillo, known as "Cuchillo" (Knife), as he speaks during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, on December 29, 2010. 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. MLB legend makes surprise appearance at Astros' Spring Training, Hiker takes 'once-in-a-lifetime' photo at Brazos Bend State Park, Eric Gordon trade looking better and better for Houston Rockets, This Texas Hill Country town is the new, cooler Fredericksburg, This is what Houston looks like from space, Oops! Top ATF officials have said in congressional testimony that 90 percent of the guns submitted for tracing by Mexican authorities are from the United States. Why was President Biden talking about Utahs 2002 Winter Games at the White House? November 23, 2022 Contact: Phone Number: (571) 387-3831 For Immediate Release Debt Collector and Drug Distributor for Cartel Connected, Violent, Drug Distribution Ring, Sentenced to 10 years in Prison Previous slide Next slide Handgun in leather holster Plastic bag of fentanyl pills Move slider to item #1 Move slider to item #2 Mexico is suing US gun makers, arguing that millions of American guns have illegally flowed across the border and fueled homicide rates. 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. Between all the illegal guns and millions in gold, jewelry and diamonds, there are armed guards on constant watch. 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). He sent in the federal police along with army units in an attempt to eliminate high value . The Central Intelligence Agency was intimately involved with the federal government's infamous "Operation Fast and Furious" scheme to send American weapons to Mexican drug cartels while. Thousands evacuated in North Korea as heavy rain destroys Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, Buster Murdaugh got 'very drunk' with dad 2 months after mom, brother murdered: source, Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss planned to tell Ariana Madix about affair, Prince Harry says hes not a victim: I never looked for sympathy, Allison Holker pens touching note to kids after Stephen tWitch Boss death, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant allegedly flashes gun at a strip club, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. Within the next 45 minutes to an hour, they would come in. Earlier in the week, more than one . 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. Moodys says these cities may see prices drop up to 10%. 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. The M82 guns, often fitted with a scope to act as snipers weapon, can fire 70 rounds per minute with a maximum range of 2,500 meters. You have lost 4,020 Federal, State, and Municipal Police killed by the cartels. We know theyre being illegally trafficked through California into Tijuana.. "The brand names are inconsequential what matters is that our laws aren't being enforced," said Andrew Arulanandam, director of public affairs for the National Rifle Association. Are insane ticket costs pricing Astros fans out of Opening Day? Actively providing firearms to one of the most dangerous organizations in the world and The Hearst survey parallel the findings of a Violence Policy Center report from 2009 documenting 21 gun-trafficking court cases involving 1,700 weapons funneled to Mexico, as well as a federal law enforcement report this year, based on 2,921 guns recovered in Mexico and traced to original U.S. purchases between December 2006 and November 2010. A large-scale drug investigation in the Valley led to the seizure of millions of fentanyl pills, thousands of pounds of meth and more. 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. Try again Jethro your out of your league. If not, they should be left alone. 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,. Not with all their progressive laws. The Insider: Reggie Yates - Episode 2: Mexican Army: War Against Powerful and Violent Drug Cartels | Crime DocumentaryThe Insider: Reggie Yates - Episode 1: . COPYRIGHT 2021, THETRUTHABOUTGUNS.COM. , Mexican Drug Cartels Say Americas Gunms The Best , , , , , , fck n A ,HiPoint told yah so. is on the streets after a gun battle between Mexican security forces and suspected cartel gunmen, in Villa Union, Mexico . NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Ioan Grillo about the illegal flow of guns from the U.S. to Mexico. 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. They have special loopholes that allow them to form their own government or something like that. 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. 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. In the absence of sane border security policies, Guerra said, drug cartels decide who crosses, and people in their organizations use the children to enter the U.S. 12 of 29 13 of 29 Guns and munitions confiscated from alleged Mexican drug dealers . Why doesnt it stop guns from going through their border into Mexico? Sorry, man -- at least 150 Mexican civilians have been hurt or killed by weapons the ATF let enter Mexico. Im curious, did you even read your own article before posting it? CJNG video shows off high-powered guns:Why a viral drug cartel video showing off tanks and taunts is bad news for the US. Holder and Obama spoiled the Mexican Cartels by sending them all those quality US made weapons while they ran the show in Washington. It fires 5.7X28mm cartridges, referred to as "mata policias" (cop killers) in Mexico because they can penetrate bulletproof vests. And he didn't want any ammo for it or any optics for it. In Michoacn, the global powerhouse Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin, or CJNG, has been engaged in a long and deadly battle with Sinaloa and other rival cartels. 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.". Mexican Drug Cartels Agree: American-Made Guns Are the Best, Mexican drug and crime cartels prefer American-made guns. One of the most dangerous pockets of Mexico City: Teptio, the primary-black market area, under the thumb of the Union Cartel. Take a look at some of the flashiest weapons you'll ever see in the slideshow above. I hear Chinese AK-74 types a. I bet they have favorite beers and hand grenades, too. If you have a Barrett, it means that any non-special forces such as the localpoliceand the municipalpolicecannot fight you, Grandmaison said. Pre-order it now! 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 . Somehow, gum made out of tree bark is still softer than Bazooka. Because they could be doing a hell of a lot more to fight smuggling into the country and to protect their own good guy guns from being stolen. 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. 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. See any connections here? "And they're sending leads up to us to connect the dots.". 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. What Newell said quite clearly is that . As of 2018 you have lost 395 servicemen killed and 137 missing, presumed killed by over 100,000 cartel fighters. It weighs around 30 pounds and costs as much as a damn car. 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. . Even got a few border agents killed with those weapons. 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? Vasquez was born in Mexico but raised his family in Dallas, where he ran a moving company with his three adult sons. A gun that can shoot through tanks is pretty useful for that. The recent California shooting was done by a maniac who drove for almost 12 hours to commit crime. It's made it easier than ever to drive to any Texas gun shop and legally stockpile guns, whether or not the customers belong to a Mexican cartel.