Mexico Sues U.S. Gun Manufacturers, Distributors For Contributing to Arms Trafficking Deaths
Soldiers destroy weapons used in felonies and seized by the Mexican Army from drug traffickers in the states of Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi, in Monterrey, Mexico, on January 17, 2017. JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images

The federal government of Mexico filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against manufacturers and distributors of guns in the United States at a U.S. federal court.

The Mexican government claimed that the gun manufacturers and distributors are responsible for the thousands of deaths in their country because of their negligent and illegal commercial practices.

Some of the big names in the gun manufacturing industry were among those sued, such as Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.; Beretta U.S.A. Corp.; Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc.; Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC, and Glock Inc.

Also included was Interstate Arms, a gun wholesaler in Boston, where the lawsuit was filed. Interstate Arms reportedly sells guns from all but one of the named manufacturers to dealers around the U.S.

The Associated Press reported that the gun manufacturers have yet to give their comments regarding the lawsuit.

Illegal Gun Trafficking Result to Chaos in Mexico

According to The New York Times, the Mexican government alleged that the U.S. gun manufacturers are aware that their practices contribute to the trafficking of guns to Mexico and still facilitate it.

Mexico is now demanding compensation for the havoc the firearms have brought to the country. In the lawsuit, the Mexican government noted that the lawsuit aims to put an end to the "massive damage" that "the defendants cause by actively facilitating the unlawful trafficking of their guns to drug cartels and other criminals" in the country.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Mexico, at least 70 percent of the weapons being trafficked into Mexico are from the U.S. Also, in 2019 alone, around 17,000 homicides in the country were linked to trafficked weapons.

Meanwhile, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the U.S. firearm industry's trade association, said it rejected the allegations of negligence by the Mexican government.

Senior vice president and general counsel of the group, Lawrence G. Keane, noted that these were "baseless" allegations. Keane added that the Mexican government was the one responsible for the rampant crime and corruption within their borders.

Mexico Seeks $10B in Compensation

According to Reuters, the Mexican government is seeking at least $10 billion in compensation. The legal adviser for the Mexican ministry, Alejandro Celorio, noted that the damages brought by the trafficked firearms were around 1.7 percent to 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product that was over $1.2 trillion last year.

Celorio added that they did not file the lawsuit to pressure the U.S. but only to stop the violence in their country. "We do it so there aren't deaths in Mexico," he noted.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the lawsuit was another piece of the government's efforts against firearms. Ebrard stressed that they were not looking to change American laws but only to reduce the number of homicides in the country.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: Mexico Sues U.S. Gun Firms, Seeks $10 billion -From Reuters