Cracked is up for TWO Webby Awards, for Best Humor Site and Best Video Entertainment! Its a weapon of war, added the official. 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. 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. Many interesting behind-the-scenes bits have happened during the 20 years of telling tales about our favorite trailer-park residents, Bobs never bought Christmas seals he told me he wouldnt know what to feed them, Below you, an entire other world operates. 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. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents contend Vasquez told them he was headed to the city ofMatehuala, a seven-hour drive south of Laredo, Texas, in the Mexican state of San Luis Potos. Same questions. . John Boch, you said: If the laws actually worked, wouldnt Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas be the easier route? 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. Army officials said they confiscated 288 assault rifles, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, numerous grenades and several .50-caliber rifles at a house in the city of Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. Here's what he told us. Comparing it to Belgium and Czech and German Model 98s made the M70 look like a piece of trash. M53 gun truck "LIL SURESHOT", outfitted with a forward fighting box . [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. Theycould each face up to 10 years in prison. No way the Democrats would support increasing the numbers of guns in the world. It makes Americas 1930s Gangster Era a minor skirmish by comparison, and it has lasted much longer too. https://tucson.com/news/national/mexican-drug-cartels-using-grenades/article_9bafe2d8-ecf2-5925-8e85-167e066dd2e9.html. The majority of U.S. states allow citizens to buy .50-caliber weapons . We were a large store you meet these border patrol agents coming to pick up extra stuff. We know theyre being illegally trafficked through California into Tijuana. MEXICO: Stop the flow of Immigrants going north and maybe we will do something about guns going south across the border. Obama supplied guns to mexican gangs, and were also used in Paris France terrorist attack. 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. Earlier in the week, more than one . 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. Just look at the numbers for their drug war: Acosta and others like him across the. It works the same way when gun runners from the U.S. funnel second hand guns into Mexico. Body armour and load-bearing equipment were used by many cartel members, including examples marked 'Marina' (Marines) or 'Polica Estatal' (State Police). So Ive just one question for you. Dear Mexico: clean up your own house before telling us how to take care of ours. By Ioan Grillo Bloomsbury: 400 pages, $28 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org . 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. 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 It was weird that, one, he came in with $10,000 cash. 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. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives contends the most popular are the FN-57 pistol, once nicknamed the cop-killer for the ammo it could fire; the AR type 223 rifle and the. It costs between $8,000 and $10,000, and it can literally put a bullet through most light tanks. I would take that way further. A gold plated pistol and jewelry, allegedly seized from Manuel Alquisires Garcia, aka "El Meme," sit on display during his presentation to the press of in Mexico City, Monday Sept. 12, 2011. Now, he's militarized the country. Same guys, different job. He campaigned on "Hugs, Not Bullets.". Instead, the ATF lost 1,400 (or more!) MEXICAN drug cartels are using high-powered sniper rifles which fire bullets the size of cigars to take down police helicopters. The state, about a five-hour drive west of Mexico City,is known for its production of avocados. A gun that can shoot through tanks is pretty useful for that. Sincerely, Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan argued against doubts raised by the National Rifle Association that ninety percent of all assault weapons seized in . This made for an interesting customer service dilemma: How do you deal with a customer you know is: 1. "I was working in a very large gun store in Phoenix at the time, and we sold everything. In fact, according to Newsweek, cartel criminals view American guns as status symbols because, well, they work. Lets review recent history Genius Boy. 2. Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels. 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. This story has been shared 164,095 times. At the same time, Mexico remains a cautionary preview of what might happen in America if we adopted Mexican-style gun control. You don't buy five to six of the same 10k rifle for a collection. ), We want USA to be majority white! The article, titled, "The U.S. Must Defeat Mexico's Drug Cartels", . "You put on a face, like any customer service job, and you try to build a rapport with these guys. https://www.judicialwatch.org/corruption-chronicles/law-enforcement-sources-gun-used-paris-terrorist-attacks-came-phoenix/. From 2006 to 2013, the program expanded until it exploded into the stupidly named "Fast And Furious" scandal. The No. The problem isnt cartels sneaking (civilian) guns from the U.S. Cant have all those firearms in the USA, so lets pipeline them to Mexico. This article would have you believe the American guns are coming from civilian sources.. one point left out of the article is that the cartels also like American hand grenades. Last week, the Treasury sanctioned two Mexican businessmen and four Sinaloa Cartel members in connection with the illicit methamphetamine and fentanyl trade. 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). Century Arms Draco 7.62X39mm pistol: Another Romanian import. Agents launched 534 investigations, seized $29 million and intercepted more than 1,200 guns, 4,700 magazines for semi-automatic and automatic weapons and 700,000 rounds of ammunition headed to. 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. There is strict gun control in Mexico despite the fact that bearing arms is constitutionally protected. These agencies team withthe U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, Firearms and Explosivesto investigate the financing, transportation, and communications methods of smuggling networks. Id gut all weapons law and send any politician that suggest a new gun law to GitMo with a mandatory minimum sentence of life. Im having a memory lapsewhich guns are made in Mexico, exactly? The bridge connectsEagle Pass, Texas, to the Northern Mexicocity of Piedras Negras in the state of Coahuila. 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. 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. Majority all arms used in Mexico, where gun control laws are very strict, are bought in the U.S . Violence is rampant across Mexico. In January, a Mexican judge charged. How could the ATF make selling firearms to the cartels a more pleasurable process? Vasquez'sattorney, Silverio Martinez, said he plans to lobby for leniency, even probation, arguing this is his client's first arrest. Never heard of Obama? Why havent you established large numbers of military personnel inspecting every truck, train, cargo ship, private boat and aircraft entering the country? Did that law get repealed or expire? 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. But it has expanded operations in the majority of Mexico's states. The M82 can easily penetrate bulletproof vests, concrete walls and even tanks, says its manufacturer Barrett Firearms. Two women were killed in the crossfire when rival gangs started shooting at a popular sidewalk restaurant in Tulum. 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. The Bureau Of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), despite sounding like the most fun bureau in history, generally frowns on that kind of thing. A handgun covered with gold and money sized to alleged financial agent of the drug "Cartel del Golfo", Manuel Alquisires Garcia, aka "El Meme" and also know as Agustin Sanchez Morua, are shown during his presentation to the press on September 12, 2011 in Mexico City. California gun-control activists credited that state's low total to strict state firearms laws that severely limit sales of military-style weaponry. Known as CJNG, the billion-dollar cartel boasts of more than 5,000 members, an army larger than its key rival, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The group decries the name "assault weapon" and refers to high-powered guns as "modern sporting rifles." And, lucky for them, America had a surplus of Barretts, because "fuck yeah.". "But we also know most of the violence the Mexican government is concerned about against police and against institutions is coming from CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel" run by the notorious kingpin "El Chapo,"Lestrange said. FN Herstal PS90 rifle: It also fires the 5.7X28mm round. 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. Andrea Waguespack is a features digital producer for the Houston Chronicle. When he entered office in 2006, Caldern immediately moved on the cartels. You try and keep it as normal as possible; you don't want to spook him because then everything's shot as well. 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. "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. Why Mexico Is Right to Sue U.S. 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. I hear Chinese AK-74 types a. 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. It all started in 2017, when Norma Llamas Rodriguez, 47,. The Insider: Reggie Yates - Episode 2: Mexican Army: War Against Powerful and Violent Drug Cartels | Crime DocumentaryThe Insider: Reggie Yates - Episode 1: . One of the most dangerous pockets of Mexico City: Teptio, the primary-black market area, under the thumb of the Union Cartel. And that region continues struggling with. 6 Ugly Things I Learned Selling Guns To Drug Cartels. Not all of them went to prison, and none of them were cartel bigwigs. 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. Diaz, who pleaded guilty, and Vasquezareawaiting sentencing. 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. The English actor found the good side of being bad, Bad news that cult recovery group just might be a cult. Also, follow us on Facebook, and we'll follow you forever. Military-style weaponry has enabled the drug trafficking organizations to match and sometimes overwhelm the firepower of Mexican law enforcement. 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. Its just to easy to buy up second hand guns and ship them to Mexico. DEA agents say the cartel was trying to instill fear in its enemies and woo new members. The arrests on January 19 are the result of Operation Semper Infidelis, a Los Angeles Strike Force investigation that targeted a domestic weapons trafficking organization that provided firearms and ammunition to the Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin (CJNG), one of the largest and most violent drug cartels in Mexico. [see the above; Israel, China, Brazil, and many other big arms makers also chip in plenty. He sent in the federal police along with army units in an attempt to eliminate high value . 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. Officers found all of those brands, except Century Arms,in the shipments smuggled by Diaz, court records show. I came here to say this. Mexican security personnel eventually turned him over to cartel gunmen after the arrest prompted a raging gun battle with extremely heavily armed fighters, including some with American-made . 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. He was badly wounded, while two bodyguards and an innocent bystander were killed. 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. The 5,114 figure is simply wrong. 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. 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." In May 2008, Mexican federal police raided a suspected trafficker house in Culiacan, a long-standing drug hotbed in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. 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. Pass red flag laws. RELATED:Documents allege Texas DPS spying on Mexico. Agents launched 534 investigations, seized $29 million and intercepted more than 1,200 guns, 4,700 magazines for semi-automatic and automatic weapons and 700,000 rounds of ammunition headed to. Theyre American-made guns, Sotomayor told the Union-Tribune. NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Ioan Grillo about the illegal flow of guns from the U.S. to Mexico. Why was President Biden talking about Utahs 2002 Winter Games at the White House? "They didn't look like they were all connected One guy came in with his wife and kids. A jeweler shows a gun butt made of gold, diamonds, emeralds and rubies to form the Mexican flag, for a 1911 pistol in Culiacan, Sinaloa state on July 12, 2011. Further investigation revealed that from Jan. 21, 2020 to July 11, 2022, Hernandez had purchased 231 handguns 9mm's, .380's and .22's which officials suspect he smuggled into Mexico. 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. A jury didn't believe him,convictingJose RafaelVasquez last month of attempting to smuggle goods out of the country. He expected to be paid anadditional $5,000 once the guns were delivered toMichoacn, Mexico, according to court records. 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. Declare Eric Holder a domestic terrorist and arrest him. They want the firearms only in the hands they want so that they can execute their plan. There must be a mistake. Called a "technical" by US military.) Actively providing firearms to one of the most dangerous organizations in the world and 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. I would be one of the richest people on the planet. 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. These firearms couldnt possibly coming through California. The indigenous people of Mexico do arm themselves and fight the government. 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? Build the wall, Mexico. Somehow, gum made out of tree bark is still softer than Bazooka. But, gradually, their suspicions began to pile up " then, we started getting more and more phone calls over the weeks. Modern optics, including AimPoint types and the distinctive Vism ECO 434 model were seen. "It's a horrible epidemic, but it . Eighty-seven percent of traceable firearms seized by the Mexican government have been traced back to the U.S. We've inadvertently "gifted" Mexico with more than 64,000 firearms over the last five years. The perfect moment to strike, of course! Soldiers stand guard around a presentation of arms captured in an operation against the Gulf cartel in Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. Ebrard said about 60% of the weapons seized in Mexico in recent years were believed to have been sold in 10 U.S. counties, mostly along the border. 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! btw Not with all their progressive laws. Theres no way for people to buy guns like these in Mexico. 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. 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. *awkward shrug*, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News/Getty Images. I tend to like Belgian, Swiss, German, Austrian, and Italian guns. The Democrats gave them the guns. 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. It fires the same round as the AK-47 but is significantly shorter and easier to conceal. Oh, surprise, surprise, who was AG of California when this was happening?? Latin American criminal gangs have embraced social media and messaging platforms to spread narco culture and sell drugs. Today, the two primary uses of the Barrett are "anti-material" (aka destroying enemy vehicles) and "ridiculous toy for rich people." Then, he says, 'Oh, I've been interested in the Barrett.' 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 . 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. 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. Really, who? A row of glass cases are filled with seized weapons. ", Your elite government task force in action, everybody: "Guess we just gave the bad guys a buncha weapons." Pass national weapons carry reciprocity with jail time and heavy fines for any government agent who violates any citizens carry rights. Do it.' 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