Pentagon Fingered as a Source of Narco-Firepower in Mexico

The Narcoshere ^ | 2/12/11 | Bill Conroy

[epow]

The Big Clubs in Mexico’s Drug War Aren’t Slipping Through the Gun-Show Loophole

Another series of leaked State Department cables made public this week by WikiLeaks lend credence to investigative reports on gun trafficking and the drug war published by Narco News as far back as 2009.

The big battles in the drug war in Mexico are “not being fought with Saturday night specials, hobby rifles and hunting shotguns,” Narco News reported in March 2009, against the grain, at a time when the mainstream media was pushing a narrative that assigned the blame for the rising tide of weapons flowing into Mexico to U.S. gun stores and gun shows.

Rather, we reported at the time, “the drug trafficking organizations are now in possession of high-powered munitions in vast quantities that can’t be explained by the gun-show loophole.”

Those weapons, found in stashes seized by Mexican law enforcers and military over the past several years, include U.S.-military issued rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers and explosives.

The State Department cables released recently by WikiLeaks support Narco News’ reporting and also confirm that our government is very aware of the fact that U.S military munitions are finding their way into Mexico, and into the hands of narco-trafficking organizations, via a multi-billion dollar stream of private-sector and Pentagon arms exports.

Narco News, in a report in December 2008 [“Juarez murders shine a light on an emerging Military Cartel”] examined the increasing militarization of narco-trafficking groups in Mexico and pointed out that U.S. military-issued ammunition popped up in an arms cache seized in Reynosa, Mexico, in November 2008 that was linked to the Zetas, a mercenary group that provides enforcement services to Mexican narco-trafficking organizations.

Tosh Plumlee, a former CIA asset who still has deep connections in the covert world, told Narco News recently that

[aces]

Incarceration will never work, we can’t afford it and it doesn’t get our government and others out of the business.

[dsc]

I’m a little suspicious of this guy’s leftism and anti-Americanism.

[Cvengr]

...legalize marijuana, and make hard drugs available with mandatory treatment programs..there is no other solution to the narco crises..

This is the policy Mexico adopted a decade ago and last year further extended the legitimacy of all illegal drugs including heroin. Look how well that policy has put things back into order. /s

[AuntB]

“Mexican people take the guns into Mexico, or Mexican military people SELL these guns to narcos.”

Exactly, and most of those ‘mexican people’ are illegal aliens.

02/18/11 | AP via FOX
PHOENIX – Federal prosecutors in Arizona say two illegal immigrants from Mexico have been indicted after they were found to possess a combined 222 assault rifles and five pistols that authorities say were headed to Mexico. Prosecutors said Thursday the two immigrants possessed the weapons in May and August, and that the guns were later seized in the border city of Laredo, Texas.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2675837/posts

[epow]

7, 2009, the Mexican Army recovered 14 [U.S.-made] M-67 fragmentation grenades and 1 K400 fragmentation grenade in Durango City, Durango. ....

The lot numbers of some of the grenades recovered, including the grenade used in the attack on Televisa, indicate that previously ordnance with these same lot numbers may have been sold by the USG [U.S. Government] to the El Salvadoran military in the early 1990s via the Foreign Military Sales program.

Frag grenades and .50 BMGs aren't the kind of weapons that you can pick up at a weekend gun show or a Cabella's store. And the operation the guy described later in the clip sure doesn't sound like something that a Federally licensed gun dealer in TX or AZ could set up to sell military weapons to Mexican drug cartels. The government won't admit that it has saturated Central and South America with military weapons that simply are not available from crooked US gun dealers as the liberal gun grabbers want Americans to believe. And they certainly won't admit that many of those U.S. and foreign made weapons are being sold to the Mexican cartels by corrupt Latin American government officials and military personnel.

I am convinced that the false perception deliberately planted in the American voters' minds that those weapons are coming from US gun stores and gun shows is being carefully cultivated by liberal Democrat gun grabbers. That false perception serves the purpose of the gun grabbers in Washington by causing the gullible American public who have been taught to fear all guns and gun owners to think the Mexican drug gangs are being supplied with full auto military weapons smuggled across the border by crooked US gun dealers. I believe the Obama government is spreading lies and circulating rumors that give the American people the impression that if only we could defeat the evil gun owner crowd and pass "sensible" (aka much stricter) gun laws the Mexican cartels would have to use Red Ryder BB guns in shootouts with Mexican cops and soldiers.

IMHO the primary purpose of the lies that are coming from the media and the government boils down to this; Obama doesn't want to openly push his drastic anti-gun agenda until he is safely re-elected in 2O12, and then it's gonna be Katy-bar-the-door. But his antigun political allies are now feeding gullible American voters lies and false information about the suppliers of weapons to the cartels that they hope will give him the support of the voters he will need to get his antigun agenda through Congress in the 2nd term he expects to get.

[MasterGunner01]

Between 2003 to 2009, the Mexican Army had 150,000 desertions. Guess who took their Mexican-government supplied arms with them? Can you say “Mexican Army deserters”? We knew you could — except for the U.S. and Mexican governments.

This piece from Wikipedia pretty well summarizes what comes from where: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_drug_cartel

Of course, let's not forget the ATF involvement in actual trafficking of guns between the U.S. and Mexico: http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/a-journalist-s-guide-to-project-gunwalker

[epow]

In any event, they are using machine guns, hand grenades, and rocket launchers that they did not buy at Walmart in Tucson.

I took that as what the article was meant to say, but I believe it's a bit confusing to say the least. The article is disjointed and poorly written IMHO, but it seems that the author's point is that the guns used by the cartels are not coming from US gun shops or gun shows as the media and the Obama administration wants gullible Americans to believe.

The article came to me via email from the NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation), a firearms manufacturers and marketers organization that I was once associated with. Although some parts of the original article are not clear as to what the author's purpose for writing it may have been, I can't imagine that firearms industry org endorsing any article that could be seen as detrimental to the best interests of it members.

[epow]

I understand your suspicions. The writer seems to imply blame for the illegal arms trade on past US government policies in Central America, and I'm still not sure what side of the issue he's coming from.

My reason for posting it was to show more evidence that the illegal weapons traffic between Mexican cartels and illegal sources of those weapons is not in any way connected with Federally licensed US gun manufacturers, distributors, or retailers. That lie is being spread nationwide every day by ultra-liberal media organs such as MSNBC and the NY Times. And if their old Nazi propaganda tactic of repeating a lie long enough to cause people to believe it is not effectively countered it could have a very detrimental affect on our 2nd Amendment rights.

Good night to all, it's past bedtime here in the east for old folks like me.

[okie01]

That lie is being spread nationwide every day by ultra-liberal media organs such as MSNBC and the NY Times.

Not to mention the President.

[ApplegateRanch]

Thanks. Why in HAIL can’t the writer do that?

Because they (think they) are a journalist, rather than a REPORTER...and their editor has equally grandiose delusions.

[aces]

Thats because they are the suppliers,and very poor with no economy, no good answers, but crucifying folks with problems and creating a jail state has not and won’t work, there is nothing Christian about persecuting marijuana smokers, and nothing Christian about putting folks with diseases in jail, if they are violent, thieves etc, sure, lock em up, but it would be of better benefit to society for rehab and job training, cheaper than prison..

[Cvengr]

If Mexico were the suppliers, there wouldn’t be any challenge from south of their border.

[bcsco]

This is a ping list promoting Immigration Enforcement and Congressional Reform.
If you wish to be added or removed from this ping list, please contact me.

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[stevie_d_64]

Funny how “Project Gunwalker” missed this...

[ratsreek]

......and let’s not forget the reporting from firearms dealers along the border states they’re trying to get and let’s not forget the proposed limitation that people can only buy one gun per month.

All a fraud, and they knew it all along.

[CPT Clay]

Won’t see this on MSM

[2harddrive]

It’s time to close the Pentagon loophole! LOL!

[archy]

Rather, we reported at the time, “the drug trafficking organizations are now in possession of high-powered munitions in vast quantities that can’t be explained by the gun-show loophole.”

Perhaps this helps to explain it.

[Joe Brower]

[epow]

Interesting photos.

I've been meaning to pick up a few of those goodies next time I'm at a weekend gun show, but I never have enough spending money with me to buy those and the Stinger missiles I want. But since there aren't any BATFE restrictions on what kind of weapons I can buy, maybe I'll just order some of that stuff from Cabela's.