Mexico intends to file a second lawsuit against US gun dealers

• Mexico will sue U.S. companies it claims are responsible for flow of illegal weapons into Mexico.
• Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard suggests lawsuit could target gun shops or dealers in Arizona.
• Mexico has very strict restrictions on weapon possession, but drug cartel violence has cost hundreds of thousands lives.

According to Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, the Mexican government intends to file another lawsuit against US companies it believes are responsible for the flow of illegal weapons into Mexico.

Ebrard suggested that the new lawsuit could target gun shops or dealers in border states like Arizona that sell guns to “straw” buyers who then sell them to smugglers, who then take the weapons into Mexico.

According to Ebrard, approximately 60% of the weapons seized in Mexico in recent years were believed to have been sold in ten U.S. counties, primarily along the border. Mexican law prohibits the possession of weapons, but drug cartel violence has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in recent years.

“Mexico is going to file the second lawsuit in Arizona, and we’re going to show that many of these outlets where they sell these products in these counties I mentioned are dealing with straw purchasers, and criminal charges must be brought,” Ebrard said during a Senate hearing in Mexico.

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A recently enacted United States law criminalises straw purchasing and imposes prison sentences ranging from 15 to 25 years if the offence is related to drug trafficking.

The announcement comes just days after a federal judge in the United States dismissed Mexico’s first lawsuit against American gun manufacturers. Mexico, according to Ebrard, will appeal the decision.

The judge ruled that Mexico’s claims did not outweigh the broad protection afforded to gun manufacturers by the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

The law protects firearm manufacturers from liability for damages “resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse” of a firearm.

Mexico was seeking at least $10 billion in compensation, but legal experts predicted that the lawsuit would fail.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Mexican government estimates that 70% of weapons trafficked into Mexico come from the United States. According to the report, at least 17,000 homicides in Mexico were linked to trafficked weapons in 2019.

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