Mexico Suing US Gun Manufactures

The Government of Mexico announced, on Wednesday, August 4, that it sued 10 large U.S. arms manufacturers in a Federal Court of the District of Massachusetts, accusing them of negligent practices and of being aware that their products are illegally trafficked to Mexican territory.

According to a document cited by the British agency Reuters and The Washington Post, the lawsuit indicates that the Government of Mexico seeks compensation of up to 10 billion dollars.

This alleging that the businesses of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. ; Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc. ; Beretta U.S.A. Corp. ; Beretta Holding S.P.A. Century International Arms, Inc. ; Colt ́s Manufacturing Company Llc; Glock, Inc. ; Glock Ges.M.B.H. ; Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. ; Witmer Public Safety Group, Inc. D/B/A Interstate Arms, knew that their commercial practices generated damage to the Latin American country.

"However, [manufacturers] continue to prioritize their economic benefit and use advertising strategies to promote increasingly lethal weapons, without security or traceability mechanisms," the demand indicates.

"The lawsuit has been filed against the negligent and illicit arms trade in the United States, a trade that causes us direct damage," said the legal consultant of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), Alejandro Celorio Alcántara.

In November, The Inspector General issued a report condemning the ATF’s Project Gunrunner program in no uncertain terms. Specifically, the IG excoriated the ATF for bureaucratic inefficiency and failing to nab the gun-smuggling “kingpins.” Well duh. There ARE no kingpins.

The pressure for results increased dramatically. Like a gunfighter under pressure, the ATF turned to its core competency: entrapment. As TTAG has reported numerous times, the ATF has a long and ignoble history of using “sting” operations to catch illegal firearms purchasers. There were a few not-so-notable gun running busts, including an Arizona plumber.

As part of this Project Gunrunner effort, the ATF “allowed” straw purchases headed for Mexico to go through. This information first broke cover when a Houston gun dealer told the world that the ATF had green-lighted illegal rifle sales to [alleged] Mexican gun runners. In and of itself, the practice was both ineffective and reprehensible. If it could be proved that the ATF had actually put the buyers up for the deal, well, nothing. Again, quasi-legal ATF “stings” are background noise.

Only these authorized straw man purchases didn’t really work. Not on the scale that the IG and the ATF’s collective ego demanded. It’s a lot harder to sneak IN to Mexico than it is OUT of Mexico. (A one-way, revolving door. How nice.) And so the main accusation: ATF agents escorted said straw purchasers – and their “assault rifles” – across the Rio Grande and into Mexico.

When Agent Terry was killed by drug smugglers, the net was immediately abuzz with the possibility that he was shot with one of the weapons “eased” into Mexico by the ATF. At first, the notion seemed incredible. But it was soon clear that the feds went into full disaster containment mode over Agent Terry’s murder, giving credence to the rumors.

The intrepid Janet Napolitano, head honcho of Homeland Security and former Arizona Governor, raced to the scene of the crime. Since then it’s been radio silence. The FBI has refused to provide the names of the men arrested for Terry’s murder. They also put a lid on any and all other investigative findings. The Agency “declined” to honor a Freedom of Information Act request to provide information on the weapons found at the crime scene.