Mexican gangs trade weapons for cocaine, increasing violence in Colombia

Mexican drug cartels appear to be transporting high-capacity firearms to Colombia in order to buy cocaine shipments, a trade that Colombian authorities believe is driving a deadly battle for control of the country’s drug routes.

A dozen Colombian law enforcement officers told that machine guns, assault rifles, and semi-automatic handguns are flooding the country.

The Belgian-made FN Five-seveN handgun is one of the weapons appearing in traffickers’ arsenals, according to reports. Nicknamed the “cop killer,” the 5.7-caliber weapon can penetrate bullet-proof vests.

The majority of the 1,478 long weapons seized from Colombian armed organizations in 2020 and 2021 were foreign-made and acquired clandestinely, according to the police, along the same smuggling routes used to get drugs out.

According to Colombian police, Mexican drug gangs have easy access to guns obtained in the United States and have long-standing business links with Colombian armed organizations from whom they have purchased cocaine for decades.

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