The Arms Trade Industrial Association (NSSF) rejected the legal proceedings initiated against them by the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), calling them baseless accusations.

“The NSSF rejects Mexico’s allegations that US arms manufacturers engage in negligent commercial practices,” highlights the group’s response to the civil lawsuit filed by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations (SRE).

“All firearms are sold in the United States in compliance with federal and state laws, under the scrutiny of the FBI, and all requirements are met,” abounds the NSSF.

The civil lawsuit against the arms industry, filed before a federal court in the state of Massachusetts, argues negligence in the practice of selling arms in the United States to the detriment of Mexico and its citizens.

In the technical file of the claim presented by the SRE, two points stand out:

  • The government of Mexico has suffered direct and indirect damage caused by the negligent practices of companies in the United States.
  • The defendants are fully aware that their business practices generate illicit arms trafficking to Mexico.

The NSSF, based in Newton, Connecticut, maintains that the arguments of the SRE are false regarding the fact that it causes an illegal transfer of firearms with its wholesale sales.

“Those allegations are unfounded. The government of Mexico is responsible for the rampant corruption and crime that prevails within its borders,” said Lawrence Keanne, executive vice president and general counsel of the NSSF, through a press release.

“Criminal activity in Mexico is a direct result of the illicit trafficking of drugs, people, and by the cartels and organized crime that have plagued its citizens,” argued Keanne in his reply to the SRE.

Regarding drug cartels, the NSSF points out that these criminal organizations “misuse” firearms illegally imported into Mexico, or that they steal from the Mexican Army or law enforcement entities.

“Instead of looking for a scapegoat and muddying US companies, Mexican authorities should focus their efforts on bringing the cartels to justice,” added the executive vice president of the NSSF.

“The defendants facilitate and support the arms trade to Mexico,” highlights the demand of AMLO’s government, which, among other things, asks “that the defendant companies compensate the Mexican government for the damages caused by their negligent practices. The amount will be determined at the trial.”

Echoing what US federal legislators have pointed out on many occasions on Capitol Hill, the NSSF defended itself by stating that they are not in charge or responsible for policing the borders of Mexico where weapons enter without stopping.

“The government of Mexico that receives considerable aid from the US treasury is solely responsible for enforcing its laws within its borders, including strict measures for arms control,” the NSSF press release emphasizes.

In response to the Mexican government’s demand, Keanne indicated that this legal action is even an affront to the sovereignty of the United States and the Second Constitutional Amendment that allows the sale, carrying, and use of firearms in the American Union.

“A right that the government of Mexico denies its citizens to defend themselves against the cartels,” Keanne insisted.

The NSSF also presents statistics to respond to the legal maneuvering of the Mexican government, indicating, for example, that in 2008, 12% of confiscated weapons came from the United States, but some 30,000 were seized from criminals.

Of those 30,000 weapons, the NSSF notes that only 7,200 (24%) were subjected to tracing (to determine their origin) by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) of United States.

The group of arms manufacturers states that the United States government is one of those that sells arms to Mexico, and that the problem also incurs and is inflated by the desertion of Mexican soldiers who go to work with the cartels, and take with them automatic rifles and weapons for the exclusive use of the army.

“In recent years the number of desertions has increased to more than 150 thousand. According to cables (or diplomatic dispatches) from the State Department, the most lethal weapons used by Mexican cartels come from Central American arsenals. Additionally, and according to a 2006 report by Amnesty International, China was actively supplying arms to Latin American countries, which were consequently seized in Mexico,” concludes the NSSF.

Source: Proceso