Weapons confiscated by the Mexican army are to be destroyed on March 17, 2023 in Tijuana. JORGE DUENES (Portal)
The legal battle launched by Mexico in 2021 to bring 11 US defense industry giants to justice has taken a new step. Prosecutors from 18 US territories — along with various security agencies, organizations and governments from other countries — joined Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government’s appeal this week after a Massachusetts judge dismissed an initial civil lawsuit last September. The Latin American country accuses the manufacturers of “negligent and illegal trade practices that facilitate the illegal arms trade to Mexico”.
“The defendants and the Mexican cartels are locked in a deadly exchange: the defendants provide assault weapons and sniper rifles that criminal organizations use to manufacture drugs and terrorize entire cities in Mexico; The cartels, in turn, import these drugs and wreak havoc in the United States,” according to the Amicus Curiae, a document presented to the First Court of Appeals in support of the Mexican government’s claims. The letter is signed by authorities from California, Texas, New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania, among others. “Our offices have seen firsthand the disastrous impact the behavior of the defendants has had on our communities, with an escalation in the violence and turf wars waged with these weapons,” it adds.
The authorities’ support comes months after the Mexican case suffered an initial setback and was not allowed to go to trial last year. Federal Judge Dennis Saylor, hearing the case, asserted in his resolution that the court had “empathy for Mexicans” but that the court considered the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (better known by its acronym PLCAA). a controversial 2005 law that protects the defense industry from abuse. Days after the judge’s decision, Secretary of State Marcelo Ebrard announced a new lawsuit, this time in an Arizona court.
In support of the amicus curiae — the agencies that have voluntarily supported the new lawsuit and have nothing to do with the litigation — prosecutors for the 18 US territories believe the PLCAA shielding argument defended by the judge is valid , which only protects industry in the event of abuse by third parties and not “for their own wrongdoing or practices”. “The district court failed to consider the tremendous economic (and noneconomic) burdens posed by the PLCAA motion […] by intentionally flooding Mexico with firearms, defendants [los 11 fabricantes] They’re doing a lot of damage in the United States. A common cycle has emerged: their guns are bought in the United States, often with proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs,” prosecutors noted in the letter.
Lawyers from Mexico filed several documents to flex their muscles before the appeals court. Another of the documents was signed by former police officers, law enforcement officials and security agency officials who show their support for Mexico’s demands and defend that arms manufacturers know their practices put arms in the hands of traffickers who cross and eventually end up in the United States possession of the Mexican cartels. That position was one of the arguments laid out by the Mexican executive branch in the 139 pages of the original lawsuit filed in the Massachusetts court in 2021: “You know very well that these guns are among the drug cartels’ favorites.” In the letter of the authorities they have demanded that circumventing the responsibility of the manufacturers is not allowed.
The violence that has swept Mexico over the past two decades has been no exception on the continent. The Human Security Network for Latin America and the Caribbean, along with six countries in the region, issued a third statement defending the importance of these types of cases, which bring those involved in arms trafficking to justice. “Armed violence is one of the most important public health crises in the region,” the letter said. This document was signed by the governments of Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago, with the support of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
The Mexican government has claimed around half a million guns are illegally crossing the US border, fueling the wave of murderous violence sweeping the country. To emphasize the responsibility of manufacturers, the López Obrador executive sought to maintain a two-pronged strategy: the diplomatic one “with a negotiating table with Washington”; and the legal one with the claim filed. Among the 11 manufacturers sued is Smith & Wesson, the most famous American company, as well as other brands such as Colt, Barrett and Glock.
In recent weeks, the conservative wing of the US has been in the spotlight. Several Republican congressmen have tried to pressure Mexico to reconsider its security strategy to oust drug traffickers in the region and have proposed reclassifying Mexican cartels as “terrorist” groups. They come from López Obrador’s executive branch to criticize the interventionism that the introduction of the US army on the Mexican border could bring. As the United States calls for the flow of drugs from its southern border, Mexico insists on stopping guns arriving illegally from its northern neighbor.
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