For years, the Mexican government has insisted that the root cause of its rampant gun violence is the illegal trafficking of firearms from the United States. Mexico has even gone as far as to file a $10 billion lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers, alleging that companies like Smith & Wesson deliberately market to cartels and ignore illegal smuggling operations. However, according to Tiffany Coutris of Gun Owners of America (GOA), this narrative is a smokescreen designed to divert attention away from Mexico’s own corruption problem.
Exposing the Truth Behind the Lawsuit
As Coutris explains, Mexico’s claims are not just misleading but intentionally designed to scapegoat the U.S. firearms industry for its own failures. While some illegal gun trafficking does occur across the border, she argues that the vast majority of cartel weaponry does not come from U.S. gun stores. Instead, the real suppliers of cartel arsenals are corrupt Mexican military officials and foreign arms dealers in Central and South America.
Politically Motivated Lawsuit
The attorney representing Mexico in this lawsuit, Jonathan Lowy, was formerly the chief counsel for Brady, a well-known gun control advocacy group. Coutris highlights this connection as evidence that the lawsuit is politically motivated rather than based on factual evidence. Mexico is not simply seeking justice – it is attempting to further a gun control agenda that aligns with U.S. anti-gun activists.
Cartels’ Military-Grade Arsenal Didn’t Come From U.S. Gun Shops
One of the strongest points made in the GOA report is that cartels are not armed with civilian-grade firearms purchased in American stores. Instead, they wield military-grade weapons, including fully automatic machine guns, grenade launchers, and even missile systems. Coutris points to an article by investigative journalist Todd Bensman, which details how these weapons are stolen from Mexican and Central American military stockpiles or purchased from corrupt officials.
Recovered cartel weaponry includes:
- World War II-era MG34 belt-fed machine guns
- 40mm grenade launchers
- .50 caliber machine guns used in firefights
- M134 Miniguns, which first appeared in cartel hands in 2018
- Israeli Galil ACE rifles, manufactured in Colombia and issued to Mexican law enforcement
- Landmines and drone-delivered explosives
None of these weapons can be legally purchased in the United States by civilians. This directly contradicts the Mexican government’s claim that U.S. gun stores are the source of cartel armament.
Cartels Are Using Missiles and RPGs
Perhaps the most shocking revelation in GOA’s report is that cartels are stockpiling anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry. Mexican military helicopters have been shot down by cartel-owned RPGs, and reports indicate that the cartels now possess:
- FIM-92 Stinger heat-seeking missiles
- FIM-43 Redeye laser-guided missiles
- FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile systems
Coutris highlights a USA Today report revealing that Mexican authorities have already seized multiple Javelin missiles from cartel members. The Javelin is one of the most advanced man-portable missile systems in the world, used by modern militaries for precision strikes. It’s not something that can be purchased at a U.S. gun store.
Weapons Lost in Global Conflicts End Up in Cartel Hands
If these advanced weapons aren’t coming from U.S. firearms dealers, then where are they coming from? Coutris points to U.S. military stockpiles lost in conflicts like Iraq and Libya. The Department of Defense lost track of 35 Javelin missiles during the Iraq War, some of which later turned up in ISIS arsenals. A similar pattern has occurred with weapons lost or stolen in other war zones, eventually making their way to the black market – where Mexican cartels have the money to buy them.
Corrupt Mexican Officials Fuel the Black Market
GOA’s investigation exposes how deep corruption within Mexico’s government and military fuels cartel violence. Leaked emails obtained by reporters revealed that Mexican military officers actively sell weapons to cartel groups. Examples of their involvement include:
- A military officer selling grenades and ammunition directly to cartel members
- Another official offering night vision goggles, bulletproof vests, and intelligence on rival gangs
- A high-ranking officer selling 7,000 rounds of ammunition while helping a cartel track down an attorney general they wanted to assassinate
Coutris describes these leaks as further evidence that Mexico’s military is a major arms supplier to the cartels, yet the government continues to blame American gun stores for its security crisis.
Other Latin American Governments Are Also Arming the Cartels
It’s not just Mexico’s military that’s contributing to cartel firepower. In 2011, it was revealed that the Honduran military supplied weapons to cartels. A leaked Defense Intelligence Agency report later confirmed that anti-tank weapons found in Mexico had serial numbers matching those sold by the U.S. to the Honduran Army.
Guatemala has also played a role in cartel armament. The country’s military has admitted to training and arming cartel groups like the Zetas. When Guatemalan authorities raided a cartel training camp, they found:
- Nearly 600 grenades
- 11 machine guns
- 5,000 rounds of ammunition – all marked as property of the Guatemalan military
The U.S. Government’s Role in Fueling the Violence
The U.S. itself has also inadvertently contributed to cartel armament through foreign military sales. According to GOA’s report, the U.S. has sold more guns to the Mexican government than to Iraq. Once these weapons enter Mexico’s supply chain, corrupt officials funnel them to the cartels.
And then there’s Operation Fast and Furious, the infamous ATF program that allowed illegal gun sales to go unchecked in the hopes of tracking cartel operations. Instead, these weapons ended up arming violent criminals, further proving that cartel access to firepower has little to do with legal U.S. gun ownership.
How Mexico Manipulates Firearms Data
The Mexican government frequently cites a 2021 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report claiming that 70% of guns recovered from cartels originated from the U.S. However, Coutris reveals that this statistic is deeply misleading because Mexico controls which guns are submitted for tracing.
Mexican officials only send the guns they suspect came from the U.S. while withholding data on military-grade weapons recovered in cartel raids. This allows Mexico to artificially inflate the percentage of cartel firearms that appear to originate from the U.S., creating a distorted picture of the actual situation.
The Reality: Corruption, Not U.S. Gun Stores, is to Blame
Mexico’s claims about U.S. gun stores fueling cartel violence don’t hold up under scrutiny. The real source of cartel firepower is a network of corrupt military officials, foreign arms dealers, and lost military stockpiles. Coutris emphasizes that while the Mexican government continues to push its narrative, it ignores the rampant corruption that enables cartels to acquire advanced weaponry.
The evidence is clear – Mexico’s gun violence problem is not a Second Amendment issue, nor is it the fault of American gun owners. Instead of blaming the U.S. firearms industry, Mexico should address its own corruption, clean up its military, and stop arming the very criminal organizations it claims to be fighting. Until that happens, no amount of lawsuits or political pressure will fix the country’s deeply rooted cartel problem.
A former park ranger and wildlife conservationist, Lisa’s passion for survival started with her deep connection to nature. Raised on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, she learned how to grow her own food, raise livestock, and live off the land. Lisa writes about homesteading, natural remedies, and survival strategies. Whether it’s canning vegetables or setting up a rainwater harvesting system, Lisa’s goal is to help others live more sustainably and prepare for the unexpected.