I’ve written about this subject a couple of times in the last three years. One of the many claims by the NRA and other gun activists is that the Mexican cartels don’t get a significant amount of their guns from the U.S.
I’ve always taken the position that the U.S. has been a main provider of guns for the cartels. My columns were both vilified by numerous NRA websites, and websites operated by outright wackaloon gun lovers who threatened me for suggesting we need stronger gun laws. I’ve just got one thing to say to all of those smart asses…sit on this story and spin!
During an interview recorded by Mexico’s Ministry of Public Safety, Jesus Enrique Rejon, alias 'El Mamito,' told officials that the feared drug gang purchases all of its guns in the US.
In the interview (the video of which is available here), Mr. Rejon claims the group used to sneak the arms through border checkpoints, but stricter security measures have forced them to smuggle them across the Rio Grande. He also alleged that the Zetas’ rival Gulf Cartels have an easier time bringing weapons across the border. “It got harder, but we can still get them,” Rejon said. “Those in the Gulf Cartel get them a lot easier; we don’t know why. It’s impossible to buy them and smuggle them in a vehicle trunk, but they do it. There must be a deal somewhere. I don’t know.”
It has long been known that gun stores in the American Southwest are a significant source of weaponry to Mexican cartels, a topic that InSight Crime has covered extensively in its GunRunners report.
Story Here - By Geoffrey Ramsey -
Geoffrey Ramsey is a writer for Insight – Organized Crime in the Americas, which provides research, analysis, and investigation of the criminal world throughout the region. Find all of his research here.
