The Mexican government filed a civil lawsuit against several US firearms manufacturers in a US court on Wednesday, Reuters reported. According to the documents of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, companies are accused of negligent business practices that were to cause damage in Mexico.
The suit was filed with a federal court in Boston and concerns, inter alia, Smith & Wesson, Barrett Firearms, Colt’s Manufacturing Company, Glock Inc, Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. The complainant alleges that the companies were aware of the business practices that led to the illegal arms trade in Mexico and, as a result, to massive bloodshed in the country.
The Mexican government expects compensation for the damages caused by the practices alleged against the Americans. It is supposed to be a sum of $ 10 billion, Mexican authorities said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The Mexican government is suing leading US arms manufacturersBloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images
Fighting the influx of illegal weapons
For Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, fighting the influx of illegal weapons from the United States is a priority because of the country’s record homicide rate in recent years, reminds the Reuters agency.
The sale of weapons in Mexico is strictly prohibited and controlled by the country’s defense ministry, but thousands of weapons are smuggled from the US to Mexico each year by powerful drug cartels.
The last two years in Mexico have been extremely bloody: 34,681 murders were registered in 2019, and 34,554 in 2020. They were mostly victims of fights between criminal cartels to seize drug, weapon and human trafficking routes. Successive Mexican governments have failed to liquidate criminal syndicates. . Many people accuse law enforcement and the judiciary of collusion with gangs or systemic corruption.
Main photo source: Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images