American gun manufacturers, as well as distributors and sellers, are being pointed out for fueling the illegal arms trade to Mexico, according to the country's representative to the United States Supreme Court. He emphasized the need to stop the supply of firearms to cartels, a concern for Mexican authorities and President Donald Trump.
The Mexican representative highlighted the existence of strict gun laws in Mexico, noting that there is only one authorized seller in the entire country. However, criminal groups manage to acquire weapons that include everything from semi-automatic firearms to high-caliber rifles that cannot be legally obtained in Mexico, resulting in serious attacks such as shooting down military helicopters.
The case in question reached the United States Supreme Court after a lower court allowed a lawsuit filed by Mexico against the gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson and the distributor Interstate Arms to proceed. The lawsuit claims that these companies have facilitated and encouraged the illegal sale of arms to Mexico, despite the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in the U.S.
Pablo Arrocha, legal advisor to the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, described the day as historic in allowing the country to express its concern about the flow of illegal arms coming from the U.S., resulting in wounds and deaths of many Mexican citizens. Arrocha denounced that half a million or more firearms illegally enter Mexico from the United States each year, forming what he described as an "iron river" that feeds violence in the country.
