Mexico sues U.S. gun makers for negligent and illicit trade

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Mexico filed a lawsuit in a Boston federal court on Wednesday (4) against major U.S. arms manufacturers, alleging a “negligent and illicit trade” that encourages smuggling and drug violence in its territory, the foreign ministry announced.

“We are confident in the legal quality of what we are presenting, we are going to litigate it with all seriousness, and we are going to win the trial, and we are going to manage to reduce the illicit trafficking of arms to Mexico drastically,” said Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard at a press conference.

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Among the companies denounced are Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt, Glock, Century Arms, Ruger, and Barrett, producers of at least 68% of the more than half a million weapons illegally introduced into Mexico each year, according to information included in the pleading.

Ebrard cited no precedent for the Mexican government to “participate in the litigation of this nature” in a U.S. court. The measure was authorized by leftist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The Foreign Ministry’s legal team is supported by U.S. attorneys Steve Shadowen, who specializes in civil rights, and Jonathan Lowy, also involved in gun violence prevention.

SYMBOLIC ACTION

The Chancellor explained that the lawsuit seeks to have the manufacturers compensate the Mexican government for the damages caused by their “negligent practices”. However, the amount to cover this demand will have to be determined during the course of the trial.

It also demands that reasonable and verifiable standards be developed and implemented to “monitor and discipline” gun distributors.

Ebrard even accused U.S. manufacturers of developing different models, especially for Mexican drug traffickers, an argument that is included in the lawsuit.

“That’s what they (the weapons) are made for, for them to buy them, they are more valuable, they have different types of arrangements from the aesthetic point of view and the point of view of use,” the chancellor affirmed.

Historian and analyst Lorenzo Meyer confirmed there are no precedents of a similar action by Mexico before U.S. courts, and he has few expectations about its success.

“The lawsuit will receive the response of an army of lawyers (…) I see this more as a symbolic piece, as an element of pressure,” Meyer told AFP.

The expert recalled that to date, Mexican demands in this regard had been limited to rhetorical claims, especially during the government of President Felipe Calderón (2006-2012), who launched a questionable anti-drug military offensive.

Since 2006 Mexico has accumulated some 300,000 murders, most of them linked to organized crime.

DIPLOMATIC INCIDENT RULED OUT

The Mexican foreign minister insisted that the main objective is not economic reparations but to modify the actions of the manufacturers.

“If we do not file a lawsuit of this nature and we do not win it, they will not understand, they will continue doing the same thing, and we will continue having deaths every day in our country,” said Ebrard.

The foreign minister also denied that the lawsuit could generate a diplomatic incident with Washington since the litigation is not against the government and the Mexican cause is “legally and morally right”.

Illegal arms trafficking is a central issue in the binational agenda of Mexico and the United States, the main market of the powerful and bloodthirsty drug trafficking cartels.

According to Mexican government data, more than 17,000 murders committed in 2019 involved the use of weapons illegally trafficked from the neighboring country. The Latin American country closed 2020 with 34,523 homicides, representing a 0.4% decrease compared to 2019.