Alarmingly many guns bought in Texas find their way into the hands of Mexican criminal cartels. A recent government analysis estimates that each year 200,000 weapons are trafficked into Mexico. Nearly half of those who have been located and recovered are from Texas.
War On Cartels
Governor Greg Abbott has blamed Mexican drug cartels for a large portion of the state’s rising fentanyl deaths. Texas lawmakers have demanded that the United States declare war on the cartels on Capitol Hill.
However, while the drugs are travelling north, the weapons that the cartels need to maintain their dominance are travelling south.
For both parties, it’s a major issue, according to ATF special agent in charge Jeffery Boshek. “I would say it’s the ATF’s and the Dallas field division’s number one priority.”
In a residence in southwest Arlington, federal officials allegedly discovered a significant gun smuggling network in July 2022 that had connections to the Mexican cartel.
ATF officials discovered 150 empty gun crates at the residence, hidden inside a cupboard. A resident of the house named Jose Carlos Rivas-Chairez, a Mexican citizen, bribed more than a dozen Americans to obtain weapons for him.
According to court documents, Rivas-Chairez, who received a 30-year prison term, acknowledged to disabling the weapons, wrapping them in plastic, concealing them in car tyres, and smuggling them to Mexico.
According to court documents, Rivas-Chairez, who received a 30-year prison term, acknowledged to disabling the weapons, wrapping them in plastic, concealing them in car tyres, and smuggling them to Mexico.
What Weapons Were Summoned?
Source: ABC news
Federal investigators frequently search social media to find possible straw buyers as part of their attempts to curb this illegal gun trafficking. This is how Fort Worth resident Daniel Loyola Jr., 24, was apprehended by undercover ATF investigators.
In accordance with federal court documents, Loyola, who was given a 10-year prison term earlier this year, admitted to purchasing a machine gun and.50-caliber Barrett rifles for the cartel. The cartels’ preferred weapons are these powerful guns.
The constitution of Mexico grants its citizens the right to possess arms, but there is only one gun shop in the entire nation. If you go, you’ll need to show six different types of identification in order to buy a gun, including evidence of employment and a clear criminal record.
Federal officials have acknowledged the Mexican government’s assistance in a number of recent cases of gun smuggling. The two nations established a pact in July to use firearms confiscated from the cartels to expand firearm tracing.
