On Wednesday, the Mexican government filed a federal lawsuit against American gun-makers and distributors in the U.S. for “actively facilitating the unlawful trafficking of their guns to drug cartels and other criminals in Mexico.”
Smith & Wesson, Barrett, Ruger, Colt and others have been included in the lawsuit.
Last year, Jalisco New Generation Cartel attempted to assassinate the capital’s police chief. The city’s public security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch was shot three times. The brutal attack was captured on security cameras.
The Mexican government says the assailants carried three Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifles, a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol and 5.56mm caliber carbine, a Ruger 5.56mm caliber rifle and a Colt 5.56mm caliber carbine.
The lawsuit was presented to the Massachusetts federal court by Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, stating that the lawsuit aims to “make the defendant companies compensate the government of Mexico for the damage caused by their negligent practices.”
According to VICE, 17,000 Mexican citizens were murdered with guns manufactured in the U.S. in 2019 — compared with only 14,000 American citizens.
The National Shooting Sport Foundation has dismissed the lawsuit.
“The Mexican government is responsible for the rampant crime and corruption within their own borders,” Lawrence Keane, the foundation’s senior vice president and general counsel, said in a statement per NPR.
“It is these cartels that criminally misuse firearms illegally imported into Mexico or stolen from the Mexican military and law enforcement. Rather than seeking to scapegoat law-abiding American businesses, Mexican authorities must focus their efforts on bringing the cartels to justice.”
Mexico wants gun companies to be accountable for the ongoing violence and mass shootings.
“Defendants are not accidental or unintentional players in this tragedy; they are deliberate and willing participants, repeating profits from the criminal market they knowingly supply — heedless of the shattering consequences to the Government and its citizens.”
