The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
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Dirty Little Secrets
Getting Ready For War
by Austin Bay
December 9, 2007
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
The Mexican government and media continue to complain about weapons smuggled from the US ending up in the hands of drug cartels and criminals. They may also be getting into the hands of revived guerilla organizations (like the EPR). Mexican cartel gunmen and other criminals seem to prefer American-made AR-15 assault rifles. Various Kalashnikov models, bought in the US and smuggled to Mexico, also show up in the criminals' arsenals. How big a problem is this? There is a lot of debate on the number of guns smuggled from the US to Mexico, but there is no debate that it occurs. One Mexican government source claims that 2,000 weapons a day are smuggled from the US into Mexico; that seems a bit high even with big money drug cartels that have a big appetite for weapons. The weapons smuggling issue does give the Mexican government a "you do it, too" political issue to use to counter US criticism of Mexican drug trafficking. It also allows the Mexican government to say, "the US has a smuggling problem that needs to be solved" and stopping it requires Mexican cooperation. Some folks may call it face-saving, most will accept it as smart politics. If you're a Mexican cop shot with an American-made weapon you'll know it isn't just politics, it's low-grade warfare. The fact is, both operations, going south and going north, need to be stopped. US and Mexican police have reported that criminal gangs often purchase very sophisticated weapons at gun shows in Arizona and Texas and then smuggle them across the border. The Mexican Army frequently uncovers caches of weapons that its officers believe came from the US. For example, on October 13, a Mexican Army unit found 13 AR-15s and 11 AK-47s in a stash in Tamaulipas, just south of the US-Mexico border. The haul reportedly included a grenade launcher of some unspecified type. Policemen in western and northern Mexican states complain that cartel gunmen often have a "firepower edge" in armed confrontations.
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