Mexico says US military weapons are being smuggled across the border

Mexican officials say they have discovered US military weapons being smuggled across the border and falling into the hands of drug gangs.

"The Mexican Ministry of Defense has warned the United States about weapons intended for the Mexican military being smuggled into Mexico," Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said at a press conference on January 22. "An investigation into this matter is urgently needed."

Ms. Barcena did not provide further details about the US military weapons being smuggled into Mexico, but said cross-border arms smuggling was one of the issues officials from both countries discussed in Washington during a visit on January 19.

The Mexican army announced in June 2023 that it had seized 221 automatic machine guns, six grenade launchers and dozens of anti-tank guns from drug cartels since late 2018. These included five anti-tank guns from the Jalisco New Generation cartel, four anti-tank guns seized from the Sinaloa cartel and three from other gangs.

Guns confiscated by Mexican security forces are prepared to be destroyed at the headquarters of the Morelos II Military Region in Tijuana in March 2018. Photo: AFP

Mexican drug cartels have repeatedly shown off their US military-grade weapons on social media. These weapons pose a particular challenge to the Mexican army, police and National Guard, which face drug cartels using homemade armor and bomb-dropping drones.

More than half a million weapons are smuggled into the country from the United States each year, according to Mexican officials. Mexico has long blamed lax U.S. gun laws for allowing drug cartels to obtain weapons. The Mexican government has filed two lawsuits in U.S. courts against the country’s defense industry.

Ken Salazar, the US ambassador to Mexico, said on January 22 that reducing the amount of weapons being smuggled across the border is a top priority for President Joe Biden. "We know that 70% of the weapons that cause violence in Mexico come from the United States," Mr. Salazar said.

Nguyen Tien (According to AFP )

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