Steely Dan Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Great way to spend a billion? Linkage Arrests up, ATF strained with gun smuggling August 30, 2008 - 2:46PM By Sean Gaffney, The Monitor McALLEN - A push by U.S. and Mexican authorities to combat the high-powered arms trafficking that fuels Mexico's bloody drug war is putting increasing numbers of suspected drug smugglers in court. Prosecutions for federal gun law violations are on pace to reach a 20-year high in South Texas as federal agents work to stem the "iron river of guns" that officials estimate supply 90 percent of the weapons used by the cartels. The push is stretching the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' 135 agents along the 2,000-mile border who are tasked with monitoring some 6,700 licensed gun dealers. In Texas the legal shops offer a buffet of high-powered automatic rifles, some of which have been used to kill thousands in drug-related violence this year. "There's no other source for guns," said Francesca Perot, a Houston-based ATF spokeswoman. "It's not rocket science - it's cliché. The weapons come from here." Linkage Smugglers' deadly cargo: Cop-killing guns By Drew Griffin and John Murgatroyd JUAREZ, Mexico (CNN) -- A deadly trade is occurring along the U.S. border with Mexico, federal officials say -- a flood of guns, heading south, used by drug thugs to kill Mexican cops. In Mexico, guns are difficult to purchase legally. So, officials say, weapons easily purchased in the United States are turning up there. "The same routes that are being used to traffic drugs north -- and the same organizations that have control over those routes -- are the same organizations that bring the money and the cash proceeds south as well as the guns and the ammunition," says Bill Newell, a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Police in Mexican border towns fear for their lives, and with good reason. Five high-ranking Mexican police officials have been killed this year in what Mexican officials say is an escalating war between police and drug cartels. In Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, Texas, a police commander was gunned down in front of his home. The weapon used to kill Cmdr. Francisco Ledesma Salazar is believed to have been a .50-caliber rifle. The guns are illegal to purchase in Mexico but can be obtained just north of the border at gun shows and gun shops in the United States. Linkage Authorities are sounding the alarm about an influx of assault rifles, armor-piercing pistols and fragmentation grenades from the United States, weapons that they say are increasingly being used to kill police and soldiers fighting drug cartels. U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials report a sharp increase in both the flow and firepower of U.S. weapons across the border. Particularly worrisome are assault rifles and "cop-killer" pistols. Mexico has strict firearms laws, few gun stores and a mere 4,300 private licensed gun holders among its 105 million people. The United States, with nearly as many guns as people, has more than 100,000 licensed gun sellers, an industry that makes about 2.8 million small arms a year — and gun laws so loose that arms traffickers easily pick up any weapons they need. Despite Mexico's gun control laws, criminals have long smuggled guns in from the United States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 What exactly is a "cop killing" pistol? No fear mongering there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowLinesandArmadillos Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 What exactly is a "cop killing" pistol? No fear mongering there. Sure it is pandering, but that is all you can come with after that article. My conclusions is we are paying our tax dollars to combat and issue US companies are profiting from. Maybe the gun companies and sales reps should be taxes at a higher rate to pay for the law enforcement compliance issues. Problem is you would have to sequester the tax for that purpose only and politically that would be next to impossible with such a pot of money. The other option is to hold the sales folks criminally liable and the record keeping and background check reqs. strengthened. Either way this is a circle jerk waste of tax payer money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 This is for those who claim gun laws don't work. They work in a lot of other country's. In fact they work so well in Mexico they have to import guns from here. Just pointing out that fact. We are spending a billion dollars to fight our own lax gun laws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blzrul Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 What happened to The Wall? Surely those short little Mexicans couldn't climb over the wall carrying those big guns could they? If addicts could get prescriptions for their drugs and procure them cheaply at Rite Aid, this problem would go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts