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New Study Points to Truth About Mexican Cartels' Guns
NRA-ILA ^ | April 29, 2011 | NA

Posted on 05/05/2011 10:07:33 AM PDT by neverdem


·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683

 
New Study Points to Truth About Mexican Cartels' Guns
 
Friday, April 29, 2011
 

The Woodrow Wilson International Center, which previously accepted as fact that incredible numbers of newly purchased firearms were being smuggled from the U.S. to Mexico, has just released a report(PDF) showing that the numbers have been incredibly exaggerated. The revelation shifts the blame for Mexico’s drug cartel problem away from America’s “lax” gun laws, and squarely in the direction of Mexican officials and Central American weapons smugglers.

According to the report, Mexican President Felipe Calderon "[S]aid Mexico had seized about 90,000 arms . . . . [B]ut ATF now reports that tens of thousands of the trace requests are duplicates. In some cases, ATF has received information on the same firearm up to five times as Mexican police, a crime lab, the military, and the Attorney General’s office all write down information on the same firearm, and the individual in the Attorney General’s office in Mexico City submits trace requests on all of them. Of the remaining firearms, the Mexican government has also failed to sometimes include basic information about the firearms such as the manufacture’s serial number or the import number on many [of] these firearms.”

Furthermore, “about 26 percent of Mexico’s trace requests to the U.S. government for FY 2009 were untraceable because of serial number errors” and “75 percent of the firearms ATF was able to trace to the first purchaser in the United States were purchased more than five years ago.”

While Pres. Calderon regularly blames America for Mexico’s problem, “ATF officials . . . have sought to physically inspect firearms at crime scenes or at Mexican military storage facilities, but have had limited success, mostly because Mexican officials or the Mexican Attorney General’s office prevented such access, due in part to national sensitivities and lack of trust.”

The report also corroborates previously revealed information that “U.S. military officials also report that more than 50 percent of the military-type arms such as mortars, hand grenades, and grenade launchers discovered in [cartel] caches have crossed into Mexico most recently from Central America.”

Nevertheless, the report recommends adoption of the BATFE’s proposal to require firearm dealers in the four southwestern U.S. states to file multiple sales reports on people who buy more than one detachable-magazine semi-automatic rifle in a caliber greater than .22, including .223. It also recommends joint BATFE/ICE investigations that are focused on smuggling offenses, increased penalties for straw purchasers and, without much explanation, higher quality license plate readers on highways out of the United States.



Find this item at: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=6706&issue=


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Front Page News; Mexico; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: atf; banglist; batfe; bootthebatfe; fastandfurious; gunrunner; gunwalker; mythof90percent
The report also corroborates previously revealed information that “U.S. military officials also report that more than 50 percent of the military-type arms such as mortars, hand grenades, and grenade launchers discovered in [cartel] caches have crossed into Mexico most recently from Central America.”

This could be an interesting read. Where's the mortar ammo coming from? You need some serious training to fire mortars other than direct lay and direct alignment.

1 posted on 05/05/2011 10:07:36 AM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem

Yeah, I was wondering how they were going to ‘prove’ that the heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, RPG’s and such were coming fom gun shows and firearms stores.


2 posted on 05/05/2011 10:14:12 AM PDT by Darksheare (You will never defeat Bok Choy!)
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To: harpseal; TexasCowboy; nunya bidness; AAABEST; Travis McGee; Squantos; wku man; SLB; ...
Click the Gadsden flag for pro-gun resources!
3 posted on 05/05/2011 10:22:30 AM PDT by Joe Brower (Sheep have three speeds: "graze", "stampede" and "cower".)
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To: Darksheare

Just give them time. Just give them time.....


4 posted on 05/05/2011 10:40:37 AM PDT by Pecos (Constitutionalist. Liberty and Honor will not die on my watch.)
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To: neverdem
I think that the ATF's 'Gunrunner' Program was an attempt by Obama to make the fiction reality and give the marxists additional leverage to restrict our 2nd Amendment rights. The people involved need to be prosecuted and if Obama had anything to do with it he must be impeached and then charged with treason.
5 posted on 05/05/2011 10:44:32 AM PDT by WMarshal (Where is the next Sam Adams?)
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To: Pecos

Exactly what I keep saying: give them enough time and they’ll come up with a good enough lie that people will believe it.


6 posted on 05/05/2011 10:47:31 AM PDT by wastedyears (SEAL SIX makes me proud to have been playing SOCOM since 2003.)
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To: neverdem
You need some serious training to fire mortars other than direct lay and direct alignment.

Why am I picturing Ox being choked by Sgt. Hulka?

7 posted on 05/05/2011 10:58:52 AM PDT by IYAS9YAS (Rose, there's a Messerschmit in the kitchen. Clean it up, will ya?)
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To: WMarshal
I also think that the Gun-Walking (Fast & Furious) program was designed to create a desired fiction that would allow WA DC the cover it needed to issue more gun control laws.

That is why I think that DOJ is stonewalling Congress on the Gun Walker investigation cause by government whistle-blowers.

8 posted on 05/05/2011 11:46:53 AM PDT by Robert357 (D.Rather "Hoist with his own petard!" www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1223916/posts)
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To: neverdem

BUMP!


9 posted on 05/05/2011 12:06:18 PM PDT by G Larry
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To: neverdem
The BATFE and DOJ have conspired to weave a tale and support it with illegal activities on their part to give cover to zero's gun grabbing agenda. They got caught and now must answer for it.
10 posted on 05/05/2011 12:23:35 PM PDT by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: neverdem
The report also corroborates previously revealed information that “U.S. military officials also report that more than 50 percent of the military-type arms such as mortars, hand grenades, and grenade launchers discovered in [cartel] caches have crossed into Mexico most recently from Central America.”

Yup. I've been saying for some time that what they need to look at if they are really interested in where the cartels are getting their guns is to track down their suppliers of artilary, grenades, and autmatic weapons. I suspect strongly you'll find that most of these came from the mexican military.

11 posted on 05/05/2011 12:36:16 PM PDT by zeugma (The only thing in the social security trust fund is your children and grandchildren's sweat.)
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To: All

From pages 7 & 8 of the PDF (page 7 footnotes omitted):

Government Challenges  

Mexico  

While the Mexican government has been successful at seizing
large numbers of firearms and ammunition from OCGs, the key
challenge that Mexico has yet to effectively address is
providing quality information on firearms seized in Mexico 
to he U.S. government.  ATF has said that information from 
firearm trace requests is the single most important data to 
stopping U.S. firearms traffickers.  After the Mexican 
government handed ATF a list of tens of thousands of 
firearms in late 2009, there was hope that this list would 
provide the U.S. government with much needed information on 
U.S. buyers and lead to improved firearm trace request 
submissions by Mexico.31  Although the list did provide ATF 
with helpful information, it turned out to be of much less 
value than originally thought, and many of the problems ATF 
faced with the list has continued with Mexico’s firearm 
trace requests last year.32  In particular, Mexican 
authorities are not providing information on enough of the 
firearms they seize, with enough detail, and in a timely 
basis. For these reasons and the fact that most of the 
firearms ATF has information on were purchased more than 
five years ago, ATF officials have said they have only been 
able to use about eight percent of Mexico’s firearm trace 
requests to initiative ivestigations in the United States.33

While the Mexican government has been successful at seizing
 large numbers of firearms and ammunition from OCGs, the key challenge that Mexico has yet to effectively address is 
providing quality information on firearms seized in Mexico 
to he U.S. government.  ATF has said that information from 
firearm trace requests is the single most important data to stopping U.S. firearms traffickers.  After the Mexican 
government handed ATF a list of tens of thousands of 
firearms in late 2009, there was hope that this list would 
provide the U.S. government with much needed information on U.S. buyers and lead to improved firearm trace request 
submissions by Mexico.31  Although the list did provide ATF with helpful information, it turned out to be of much less 
value than originally thought, and many of the problems ATF faced with the list has continued with Mexico’s firearm 
trace requests last year.32  In particular, Mexican 
authorities are not providing information on enough of the 
firearms they seize, with enough detail, and in a timely 
basis.  For these reasons and the fact that most of the 
firearms ATF has information on were purchased more than 
five years ago, ATF officials have said they have only been able to use about eight percent of Mexico’s firearm trace 
requests to initiative ivestigations in the United States.33 

Of the remaining firearms, the Mexican government has also 
failed to sometimes include basic information about the 
firearms such as the manufacture’s seral number or the 
import number on many these firearms.  According to a 
detailed U.S. DOJ Inspector General report released in 
November 2010, about 26 percent of Mexico’s trace requests 
to the U.S. government for FY 2009 were untraceable because 
of serial number errors.38  ATF officials have also said 
Mexico has submitted thousands of trace requests on firearms
likely imported into the United Sates without import 
numbers, at least in part because it is not Mexican practice
to include such information for Mexican judicial proceedings.39 
While firearms that they cannot be traced to the first 
purchaser in the United States are still useful to ATF, 
tracing the firearm to the first person to purchase or own 
the firearm in the United States is helpful in identifying 
traffickng patterns, determining the origin of a firearm, 
and starting a criminal investigation.40  In total, ATF has 
said they were able to trace to the first purchaser in the 
United States about 25 percent of the firearm trace request 
submitted by Mexico as of August 2010.41

With the firearms ATF was able to trace to the first 
purchaser in the United States, a necessary component for 
ATF to start an investigation, ATF has experienced 
challenges with the time between when the firearm was 
purchased in the United States and when Mexico submis the 
request.  Mexico, for example, submits firearm trace 
requests to ATF on average about one year to one year and 
half after the firearm has been seized in Mexio, in some 
cases up to three years, making it much more difficult for 
ATF to discover how the firearm reached the illegal trade 
in the United States.42 In addition, according to the same Inspector 
General’s report, 75 percent of the firearms ATF was able 
to trace to the first purchaser in the United States were 
purchased more than five yeas ago.  The report further says
that only about 18 percent of the firearms were purchased 
less than three years ago.  To improve the timeliness and 
accuracy of the trace requests, ATF officials stationed in 
Mexico or along the U.S. southwest border have sought to 
physically inspect firearms at crime scenes or at Mexican 
military storage facilities, but have had limited success, 
mostly because Mexican officials or the Mexican Attorney 
General’s office prevented such access, due in part to 
national sensitivities and lack of trust.43


12 posted on 05/05/2011 1:03:45 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: Robert357

I also think that the Gun-Walking (Fast & Furious) program was designed to create a desired fiction that would allow WA DC the cover it needed to issue more gun control laws.


It is the only rational explanation.

And it is as criminal as planting a gun at a crime scene to implicate an innocent man.

I wish the NRA had the balls to raise this.


13 posted on 05/05/2011 1:38:47 PM PDT by Atlas Sneezed (...a.k.a. "Norm L. C. Bias")
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To: Beelzebubba
I wish the NRA had the balls to raise this.

Whose letterhead is on the article of this thread which mentioned mortars, hand grenades and grenade launchers?

NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox Calls for Expedited Hearings into BATFE Investigative Tactics

Are you a member? What else do you want them to do?

Grassley, Issa Press Justice Department to Provide Congress with Accurate Representations of Operation Fast and Furious

Holder on gun smuggling scandal: ‘I frankly don’t know’ what really happened

14 posted on 05/05/2011 3:39:28 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: IYAS9YAS
"Does this mean we're done for the day?"

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

15 posted on 05/05/2011 6:35:36 PM PDT by wku man (Who says conservatives don't rock? www.myspace.com/10poundtest)
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To: Robert357

Issa should go after Dennis K. Burke, the US Attorney for Arizona. He is a former staffer to Governor Napolitano, and is chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (on policy, management and operations). He is close to both Napolitano and Holder; he has administered Arizona operations since 2009, and definitely should be brought to Washington to testify.


16 posted on 05/05/2011 6:46:18 PM PDT by Melchior
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To: Darksheare

They’re going to some pretty good gun show. Haven’t found anything like that at Crossroads.


17 posted on 05/05/2011 11:40:44 PM PDT by stansblugrassgrl (PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE AMMUNITION!!! YEEEEEHAW!)
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To: WMarshal
The people involved need to be prosecuted and if Obama had anything to do with it he must be impeached and then charged with treason.

Oh, hell no! Like OJ, Obama is chromosomally incapable of having committed a major crime!

The brother be righteous!

18 posted on 05/05/2011 11:45:59 PM PDT by lentulusgracchus (Concealed carry is a pro-life position.)
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