The US Hunt for Cartel Sniper Rifles in Mexico

[AndyS]

The US Hunt for Cartel Sniper Rifles in Mexico
MORELIA, Mexico — The .50-caliber sniper rifles stood out from the rest of the arsenal in the evidence locker room in the Mexican state of Michoacan, ground zero for one of Mexico's bloodiest cartel wars.

“That’s the highest caliber that we’ve had,” said Pedro Gutiérrez, who runs the storage facility.
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Sloan accepts that AMLO has reason to be concerned about U.S. guns, and said it’s “well known that at least 70 percent of weapons in Mexico come from the United States,” although that doesn’t mean they are all American made. Many foreign guns are sold in the U.S. then trafficked to Mexico, said Sloan. Experts consulted by VICE World News estimated that the number could be as high as 90 percent with that consideration.
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“There is no [U.S.] federal law prohibiting trafficking in firearms, which means that the cases that are built for firearms trafficking have to be based on other laws,” said David Pucino, the deputy chief counsel for Giffords Law Center, a public interest group that advocates for gun control legislation. “Frequently the person charged doesn't even get jail time. So they're really, I don't want to say toothless, but they're not nearly as powerful as they need to be to really give a disincentive to this kind of activity.”

https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7vwyx/mexican-cartel-50-cal

Gun trafficking is the movement of guns from legal to illegal streams of commerce and occurs both within states and across state lines.1 As former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Director Bradley Buckles stated in a 2000 report, “Virtually every crime gun in the United States starts off as a legal firearm,”2 making the need to prevent gun trafficking a crucial part of a comprehensive approach to reducing gun-related crime. Guns are diverted into illegal gun markets in three common ways: straw purchases; secondary sales through private sellers; and theft from individual gun owners or firearm dealers.3

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/frequently-asked-questions-gun-trafficking/

How about that, no laws against gun trafficking. You're good ole' wholly owned legislators at work. It isn't about voters, it's about how much money a lobby spends on legislators. Until we sane people own as many legislators as the gun lobby does nothing will change.

You're probably tired of hearing me say it and following links and I am damn tired or repeating it. Still until our law makers outnumber their law makers it's just lather, rinse and repeat.

[pecosbob]

1. Just like the Patriot Act language that prevents domestic terrorists being charged with terrorism

if no foreign support is involved.

[HeartachesNhangovers]

2. I don't think that's true (no laws against trafficking)

Last edited Thu Mar 31, 2022, 06:44 PM - Edit history (1)

It may literally be true that there is no US law that uses the term "trafficking". However, it is illegal to be in the business of selling firearms without a federal license - an "FFL". It is also illegal to export any firearm, or firearm component (including things like magazines and optics) without a federal export license.

So anyone who sells guns, as a business, without an FFL and without conducting the required federal background check, would be in violation of federal law, and in violation of many state laws. Exporting those guns, or parts or accessories, without an export license is a separate federal violation. People who sell guns to Mexican cartels are obviously violating US and Mexican law.

Edit:

I just remembered California state senator Leland Yee, who the US DOJ convicted of a number of crimes including "weapons trafficking conspiracy":

On July 1, 2015, Yee and Keith Jackson pleaded guilty to using the Leland Yee for Mayor 2011 campaign and the Leland Yee for Secretary of State 2014 campaign to conduct RICO crimes. According to government filings, the conspiracy involved three different, but related, areas of criminal activity: (1) honest services fraud in which he exchanged official acts for money, (2) a weapons trafficking conspiracy, and (3) money laundering. ([link:https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/former-state-senator-leland-yee-sentenced-five-years-imprisonment-racketeering|)

So obviously there ARE weapons trafficking laws in the US.