MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico desires an pressing investigation into how U.S. military-grade weapons are more and more being discovered within the fingers of Mexican drug cartels, Mexico’s high diplomat stated Monday.
Mexico’s military is discovering belt-fed machine guns, rocket launchers and grenades that aren’t offered for civilian use in america.
“The (Mexican) Protection Division has warned america about weapons coming into Mexico which are for the unique use of the U.S. military,” Overseas Relations Secretary Alicia Bárcena stated. “It is rather pressing that an investigation into this be carried out.”
The Mexican military stated in June that it had seized 221 totally computerized machine weapons, 56 grenade launchers and a dozen rocket launchers from drug cartels since late 2018.
The military-grade U.S. weaponry — which cartels have bragged about and overtly displayed on social media — poses a particular problem for Mexico’s military, which together with police and the Nationwide Guard already faces cartels operating homemade armored vehicles and bomb-dropping drones.
In June, Protection Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval stated 5 rocket launchers had been discovered within the possession of the Jalisco New Era cartel, 4 had been seized from the rival Sinaloa cartel and three extra seized from different cartels. Sandoval didn’t particularly say the weapons had been from U.S. navy stockpiles.
Ken Salazar, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, confirmed Monday that Mexican officers had introduced up the difficulty at conferences final week, and whereas he had not been conscious of the issue, he pledged america would look into it.
“We’re going to look into it, we’re dedicated to working with Sedena (Mexico’s Protection Division) to see what is going on on,” Salazar stated.
There are a selection of doable routes by which the weapons could have made their method to Mexico. Central America was awash with U.S. weaponry in the course of the conflicts of the Eighties, navy grade weapons generally go lacking from shares in america, and a few producers who promote arms to the U.S. navy may also have offered some overseas or on the black market.
Whereas the Mexican military and marines nonetheless have superior firepower, the drug cartels’ weaponry typically now outclasses different branches of Mexican legislation enforcement.
Mexico has lengthy had an issue with semi-automatic rifles which are permitted for civilian use in america being smuggled into Mexico, the place solely low-caliber firearms are permitted and strictly regulated. Mexico has launched authorized actions towards U.S. arms producers and gun retailers, arguing that they contribute to violence.
Additionally Monday, describing talks final week with U.S. officers, Bárcena stated america is planning to announce sanctions towards airways and transportation corporations that transfer migrants to South and Central America and thru Mexico to the U.S. border.
“The US stated it was going to impose sanctions on South American and Central American corporations which are transporting migrants irregularly, and so they need us to do the identical,” Bárcena stated. “The (Mexican) Inside Division goes to name on the bus and airline corporations, however we do not need them (america) to behave unilaterally.”
Mexico, in the meantime, desires modifications made to the U.S. CBP One cell software for asylum-seekers to make appointments.
The app is designed solely to work on telephones in northern Mexico, however Bárcena stated Mexico has requested that protection be prolonged to permit appointments to be constituted of additional south, to keep away from a pileup of migrants speeding to Mexico’s northern border cities.
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