Guns, Guns, Guns

Many here in the states, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are very familiar with the so called fact that "90 percent of the firearms used by the Mexican drug cartels originates in the U.S." It is because of that concept that many are pushing for a for a repeat of the 1994 assault rifle ban.

However, I say so called fact, because according to the ATF, "90 percent of the traceable firearms used by the cartels originates in the U.S."

Most of the firearms found at crime scenes in Mexico are untraceable, mainly because they have their serial numbers filed off. Yet what kind of firearms are being used in by the Mexican drug cartels? According to the ATF, from 2005-2008 the majority of weapons recovered and identified by the administration were: 9mm pistols; .38-caliber revolvers; 5.7mm pistols; .223-caliber rifles (5.56 mm rifles such as the AR-15); 7.62mm rifles (Such as the AK); and .50 caliber rifles. In addition, certain DTOs are fond of the Fabrique Nationale (FN) FiveSeven pistol (designed to penetrate body armor) and the FN-P90, as well as the Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifle.

The majority of these weapons cannot be purchased in U.S civilian firearm stores, because they are military grade weapons and thus highly illegal. A few civilian versions can be purchased legally at gun stores (such as AK or M-16 style variants), but are extremely difficult to do so because of vigorous background checks (many times buyers must have military or security backgrounds to purchase).

Straw purchases (a person without a criminal record is asked to purchase weapons for a third party) do occur, but this sort of action is technically illegal, and gun stores can be held responsible. Furthermore, straw purchases are rather limited, because most assault style rifles available in gun stores are sold according to U.S. firearm law (i.e. restricted to small magazines and semi-auto fire).

For instance, according to the Impact Guns Online Superstore website, "kits are what's left from real automatic AK-47, or AK-47 style rifles that were cut in half to destroy them as weapons. Those parts are legal to import since they are not a gun. They are a great inexpensive source of spare parts for your AK, since many AK-47 parts are interchangeable between models. These kits are also made back into legal rifles in the US with American made receivers and semi automatic trigger parts (because automatic versions are highly illegal). This is a fun project for those who can do it, but it takes lots of tools and knowledge of metalworking to do a good job. Many of the AK-47 rifles you'll see at a [US] Gun Shop or Gun Show will have been made from these parts kits." These weapons are legal along the terms of the 1994 assault rifle ban and other laws (semi-auto, small magazine). Therefore, it is much easier for a Narco to purchase a weapon that is already military grade (such as being automatic) abroad then it is for them to take the time to assemble and convert a U.S legal firearm that is bought illegally via straw purchase.

I said "abroad", because that is where most of their firearms are being purchased.

As stated by Fox news, a variety of arms come from:

-- Russian crime organizations. Interpol states Russian Mafia groups such as Poldolskaya and Moscow-based Solntsevskaya are actively trafficking drugs and arms in Mexico.

- South America. During the late 1990s, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) established a clandestine arms smuggling and drug trafficking partnership with the Tijuana cartel, according to the Federal Research Division report from the Library of Congress.

-- Asia. According to a 2006 Amnesty International Report, China has provided arms to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Chinese assault weapons (such as the inexpensive Norinco version of the AK) and Korean explosives have been recovered in Mexico.

-- The Mexican Army. More than 150,000 soldiers deserted in the last six years, according to Mexican Congressman Robert Badillo. Many took their weapons with them, including the standard issue M-16 assault rifle made in Belgium.

-- Guatemala. U.S. intelligence agencies say traffickers move immigrants, stolen cars, guns and drugs, including most of America's cocaine, along the porous Mexican-Guatemalan border. On March 27, La Hora, a Guatemalan newspaper, reported that police seized 500 grenades and a load of AK-47s on the border. Police say the cache was transported by a Mexican drug cartel operating out of Ixcan, a border town.

So why go through all the work to buy chopped up semi-auto rifles from a U.S. gun store when a Narcotraficante can buy the real deal much cheaper from a foreign military or crime organization abroad? The answer is simple, while straw purchases do occur, and the occasional rifle or handgun from the U.S. can be found being used by a criminal, most of it comes from foreign third parties.