Mexico sues American arms manufacturers: demands $ 10 billion

The Mexican government is suing US small arms manufacturers and suppliers. The lawsuit was filed in US federal court in Boston. Mexico claims that the activities of the arms companies have led to an increase in violence in the country. According to the Mexican authorities, 70% of the weapons entering the country from the United States are imported illegally. Writes about it Voice of America.

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The lawsuit alleges that illegal arms shipments from the United States to Mexico have led to bloodshed in the country.

“Every year, about 40 thousand people die in the ongoing wars between drug syndicates,” emphasize the authors of the lawsuit, who estimate the “irreparable losses and damage to the families of those killed over the past 20 years” at $10 billion.

“The final amount in this case will be determined by the judge after determining and implementing reasonable standards of control and disciplinary measures against arms sellers,” said Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.

Among the defendants in the lawsuit are Smith & Wesson, Barrett Firearms, Colt, Glock Inc, Sturm, Ruger & Co and others.

American companies deny the charges.

The official website of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which is the trade association of American firearms manufacturers, says that they recommend that Mexico not look for the perpetrators in the United States, but focus on combating drug trafficking and crime within its own country.

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“These allegations are baseless. The Mexican government is responsible for rampant crime and corruption within its borders. Instead of looking for scapegoats among law-abiding American businesses, Mexican authorities should focus their efforts on holding the cartels accountable,” Lawrence Kane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said in a statement.

The Reload magazine editor and weapons expert Stephen Gatowski believes the lawsuit may end in nothing, as the Law on the Protection of the Legal Trade in Arms protects manufacturers from liability for crimes committed with their products.

“They claim that business activity led to arms smuggling into Mexico. But the Lawful Trade in Arms Protection Act is at work here, and they have to find some special approach to go after Smith & Wesson and other weapons companies, Gatowski said. “So they claim that the gunsmiths' marketing practices somehow led to Mexican drug cartels smuggling guns into the country. This is the main argument of the claim. Clearly, the gun industry is unhappy with the lawsuit. They consider him frivolous and his claims absurd.”

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This is the first time that Mexico is trying to put pressure on the US arms industry.

The head of state, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, hastened to assure that "this lawsuit is not about an amendment to the Constitution that guarantees Americans the right to arms, it refers to the production and sale of weapons that enter our country and lead to the death of people."

Andrew Radman, director of the Institute for Mexican Studies at the Wilson Center, says this situation will not harm relations between the United States and Mexico.

“I don’t think this trial will greatly affect relations between the countries. President López Obrador has made it clear that this is a lawsuit against gun manufacturers, not the United States government, says Radman. “I hope the lawsuit will lead to a more frank conversation between the two governments about this mutual problem of drugs flowing north and weapons flowing south.” And they are equivalent. There are two sides of the same coin. Question: How can two countries find a way to solve both problems? And if filing a lawsuit encourages reflection and dialogue, then this will have a positive effect.”

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