The US' demand for drugs out of Mexico fuels their drug wars and now it comes out that our extremely lax gun laws and gun sales here in the States--both--are fueling and feeding the violence in Mexico.
Many Mexican politicians view the current drug war — which has claimed roughly 30,000 lives over the past four years — as one more curse foisted on Mexico by their rich neighbor to the north.In this worldview, the incredibly violent conflict is fueled by U.S. demand for narcotics, fought with weapons from U.S. gun shops, and funded by U.S. cash that flows freely across the border.
At the chamber of the Mexican Senate, Sen. Sebastian Calderon Centeno says the United States hasn't done anything to curb demand for drugs or to diminish the flow of guns into Mexico. He says the drug war is actually increasing weapons trafficking.
The criminals are getting desperate, he says, and are trying to get more and more guns to attack the Mexican government. The senator says most of the guns in the hands of Mexican drug traffickers are bought legally in Texas, Arizona and California. And, he says, the U.S. has little incentive to stop the smuggling.
"This is a growing business in the U.S.," Calderon says. "They are in the gun sales business, and it doesn't benefit them to stop."
But we blame Mexico and Mexicans, solely.
Nice.
Link to original post: http://www.npr.org/2010/11/14/131309142/despite-efforts-u-s-guns-still-fuel-mexico-s-violence?ft=1&f=1001
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15 comments:
How 'bout if they keep their citizens at home and we keep our guns?
In a perfect workd, that would be terrific, of course.
It isn't going to happen, as you and I know but so it goes. They have to make a living somehow and the NRA won't stand for any more stringent gun laws.
For crying out loud, LEGALIZE fucking drugs!!
Tax them and stop the violence and the destruction of American lives by way of hte American gulag.
Legalize at least hippie lettuce by the close of today's business.
God what fuckin morons.
I agree 100% that the best thing we could do for Mexico (and one of the best for the US) is to legalize drugs. On the other hand, Mexico could also legalize, and reap most of the benefits.
But the idea that even a sizable minority of Mexican crime guns are coming from corrupt US dealers is propaganda, and doesn't stand to scrutiny. The guns that are displayed by Mexico are not typically (or in some cases EVER) available at US dealers--grenade launchers, grenades and full machine guns, all either illegal or the most tightly controlled guns available. The percentages are cherry picked data--only a minority of guns most likely to come from US sources are even submitted, and only guns that are definitively traced to a non-US source are counted as being not part of the problem--while guns that were sold to the Mexican government and later used in a crime are traceable back to the US.
I'm sure that a few Mexican crime guns were at one time sold by US dealers, I'm sure that there are a few corrupt dealers--but not nearly enough to account for Mexico's illicit gun problem.
Sevesteen, from the article:
This summer, police in Texas got a tip that two men in a truck were moving a cache of weapons through Laredo. The authorities found 147 assault rifles and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition in the vehicle, which they believe was headed for Mexico.
Other than that, I certainly have no additional, bigger data on large amounts--or small--being sold into Mexico. I hope it's not so, for sure.
If this was really America's fault, how come it's not happening in Canada too?
Other sources said "Fully automatic" AK-47's. That either means the other news sources screwed the story up, (wouldn't surprise me a bit) or they weren't diverted from legitimate US sources. There are hardly any US legal full auto AK's-a couple hundred at most, and they cost around $25,000 each.
I'm certain some guns get from US dealers to Mexican drug lords--but US sources are a small fraction of the problem. US sources do not supply full auto or grenades... except for those sold to the Mexican government and later stolen.
And even if US sources were closed off, do you really think that international smugglers would be more than slightly inconvenienced?
(Word verification booring)
Joe, I didn't say it's America's fault. I suggested we have some culpability--we possibly share some responsibility for first the drugs coming into the States, since we use them, and then the guns because we--possibly--have crappy laws that allow them to go down there to feed the killings, that's all.
That's not to say Canada doesn't have some culpability too but I didn't refer to Canada at all, of course. I haven't studied Canada's role. (Not that I've "studied" our own. I just read some).
Sevesteen,
Better the drug lords, who want the guns, be "inconvenienced" than to have the guns come from someone or some shop in America, all for some simple but ugly profit, you know?
I'm not even sure what you are saying here.
It would be better if criminals could not get guns, and I'm all for prosecuting dealers who intentionally sell to criminals.
But again--we are dealing with successful international smugglers. What can we do that will affect them half as much as it does legitimate owners?
I stumbled over this story today:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-arms-race15-2009mar15,0,229992.story
Most of these weapons are being smuggled from Central American countries or by sea, eluding U.S. and Mexican monitors who are focused on the smuggling of semiauto- matic and conventional weapons purchased from dealers in the U.S. border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
Sevesteen,
What I'm saying is, if there is something or there are some things we can do to decrease the amount of guns that are being either even legally obtained and sent to Mexican drug lords or ones that are, of course, being obtained and smuggled illegally into Mexico, then we should do what we can. I can't imagine anyone would disagree with too much of that.
Thanks for the information about where they're coming from.
Even if most are, as thise claims, coming from Central America, anything we can do to decrease the amount of guns headed their way would be an improvement, I strongly believe, as I feel sure federal and state authorities on both sides of the border would also claim and agree.
anything we can do to decrease the amount of guns headed their way would be an improvement,
Too often gun owners are told that we should be willing to pay any price, no matter how high, for any improvement no matter how small. I don't think it too much to ask that the price of a new law to the criminal be higher than the price to the law abiding.
I honestly cannot think of further restrictions that would meet that minimal goal. Do you have something in mind?
I'm not a proponent of "we should pay any price", by any means.
I'd have to study the ways in which these guns are getting to Mexico, first, and then see what laws are being broken in these states (Texas, etc.) to be able to propose anything. It's not my forte', by a long shot.
That said, I stick by what I said, anything--reasonable--we can do to reduce the guns going there, especially if laws are being broken, would be an improvement.
I'm not a proponent of "we should pay any price", by any means.
I'd have to study the ways in which these guns are getting to Mexico, first, and then see what laws are being broken in these states (Texas, etc.) to be able to propose anything. It's not my forte', by a long shot.
That said, I stick by what I said, anything--reasonable--we can do to reduce the guns going there, especially if laws are being broken, would be an improvement.
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