Dangerous weapons going to Mexico.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

I was having dinner with a crew at a fire station this evening. They had Fox News on and they showed a border check. They showed a still picture of the dangerous weapons that they had confiscated over the last few days. It was a few very nice high end over and under shotguns. I'm sure it ruined some cartel members day.

David

[madeline_con]

1. The cartel will own it within the week. n/t

[rwheeler31]

2. I think the drug guys are winning.

[tularetom]

3. I saw that! From my brief glimpse they looked like Mossberg Silver Reserve

a nice looking but inexpensive and not totally reliable O/U shotgun.

Whatever they were they wouldn't really provide these cartels with the firepower they need.

[spin]

4. Probably going to a civilian, not a cartel member...

If I was a citizen living in Mexico, I would be trying to get a firearm to protect my family. The whole country is about to collapse.

[a la izquierda]

6. No, it's not.

I just spent 9 months there. Not one iota of a problem. There are millions of people who have not had any issues in Mexico. The border and some other select cities are having a world of problems.
My mom is going to southern Mexico in July, and if it were about to collapse, do you think I'd let her go?

I am not attempting to lessen the real situation on the ground at the border region AT ALL. But to say the country is about to collapse is silly. The memories of the revolution are very real, 99 years later...there needs to be some serious changes, from the very top of government to the bottom.

[spin]

10. A question about the media coverage...

Would you say that the situation in Mexico is being exaggerated by both the government and the media and if so why?

EL PASO, Texas -- Mexico is one of two countries that "bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse," according to a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats.
http://www.military.com/news/article/joint-forces-warns-of-mexico-collapse.html

[Xela]

9. Probably intended for a civilian, but probably not for that reason...

I must agree with a la izquierda on this one.

...there are plenty of civilians in Mexico willing to break the law just to get a rifle/shotgun for sporting purposes.

Not necessarily because of insecurity.

Xela

[Tejas]

5. MSM seems to be stuck on

having everyone believe that drug cartels are the only criminal enterprise that uses guns in Mexico.

Yes, I understand it is the topic of the day but the sensationalism about the cartels is overshadowing the other 99% of Mexico's problems to no end.

[Furyataurus]

7. What the hell

are the cartels going to shoot skeet with now!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[jeepnstein]

8. It is the "Sport of Kings"

If all I had to do all day long was manage a multi-billion dollar smuggling enterprise, torture and kill a few rivals, and schmooze the government, I'd be shooting some traps, too. It's much more relaxing than golf and you don't have to risk exposure to rival hit squads as much to enjoy it.

They most likely were destined for a wealthy buyer who likes trap but can't get what he needs thanks to the Mexican governments efficient gun sales program. There are lots of people in Mexico and the bulk of them are no more criminal than any of us. They're forced to "bend" the law a bit to enjoy sports we take for granted here. Not every gun heading to Mexico is being bought by drug traffickers.

[spin]

11. 17,000 Mexican soldiers deserted in 2008...

and took their weapons with them.

The allure of higher wages caused some 17,000 Mexican soldiers to desert in the past year, according to a recent news article from Fox News. The Wall Street Journal reports that police are attacked with an array of weaponry including M-4 assault rifles, fragmentation grenades, anti-personnel mines, rocket propelled grenades and .50 caliber sniper rifles, all wielded by military trained cartel members with body armor and night vision goggles.

*******snip*********

Third, the U.S. should use offer more fiscal assistance directly to certain factions of the Mexican government. The money can be used to fund the recruitment of loyal troops and police officers inside the Mexican government and can also improve training and conditions for troops already in service. It could also be used to better equip the police and soldiers in the region. Obviously ex-Special Forces members armed with American military quality equipment can overwhelm cops armed with a sidearm and a shotgun. It would hardly be a drain on U.S. resources as every battle won in Mexico is one that does not have to be fought on the U.S. side of the border.
http://thewarrior.org/2009/02/12/america-owes-mexico-support/

[spin]

12. This L.A. Times report tells the truth of where cartel weapons come from...

The Feb. 21 attack on police headquarters in coastal Zihuatanejo, which injured four people, fit a disturbing trend of Mexico's drug wars. Traffickers have escalated their arms race, acquiring military-grade weapons, including hand grenades, grenade launchers, armor-piercing munitions and antitank rockets with firepower far beyond the assault rifles and pistols that have dominated their arsenals.

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.

*********snip*******

The proliferation of heavier armaments points to a menacing new stage in the Mexican government's 2-year-old war against drug organizations, which are evolving into a more militarized force prepared to take on Mexican army troops, deployed by the thousands, as well as to attack each other.

These groups appear to be taking advantage of a robust global black market and porous borders, especially between Mexico and Guatemala. Some of the weapons are left over from the wars that the United States helped fight in Central America, U.S. officials said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-arms-race15-2009mar15,0,229992.story

So it is possible that many of the weapons the cartels use were American made, but they are not coming from gun stores or gun shows in the United States.

Why use semi-auto weapons when you can buy real assault rifles?

And why is the media and our government not mentioning the facts in this story but pushing the story that the cartels are getting their weapons from the United States?