Three Texas men have been apprehended for allegedly buying assault rifles and transporting them to Mexican cartels, authorities announced.
The arrests, they added, are part of a larger investigation involving at least three federal agencies: the Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI.
Authorities identified a person who organized “straw purchases” of guns, which were subsequently smuggled. Some were confiscated at the Eagle Pass border crossing and crime locations in Mexico.
According to Border Report, ATF officers apprehended two brothers who had purchased firearms with the intention of transporting them to Mexico. They led officers to a home where they reportedly got funds to purchase the guns.
The outlet reports that the suspects made their initial court appearance last week, with a preliminary detention hearing set for August 5.
There is abundant evidence of the movement of lawfully purchased guns from the United States to Mexico. The latter’s Defense Secretariat announced last month that it had discovered 11 gun smuggling routes from the United States to Mexico.
According to the report, the institution was able to identify the routes through cooperation with the General Prosecutor’s Office, and the majority of them are utilized by criminal groups. Authorities seized about 6,000 weapons in total between November 2024 and May of this year.
According to the document, Texas accounts for 43% of all weapons seized. A further 22% are from Arizona, with 9% from California.
According to Mexico’s Security Minister Omar García Harfuch, 75% of the firearms collected between February and May came from the United States, which was also acknowledged by US officials.
In early June, the US Supreme Court blocked a $10 billion lawsuit launched by Mexico against US manufacturers for allegedly fueling cartel violence in the country through their commercial activities. Mexico, in reality, has only one outlet where individuals can lawfully purchase firearms.
The Associated Press reported that the verdict was unanimous. It came after requests from manufacturers including Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt, and Glock. Mexico had asked the court to let the lawsuit proceed, noting that it was in its early stages.
The country accused the businesses of knowing their guns were being trafficked into Mexico and exploiting the situation to maximize their profits.
