Mexico's drug war: Made in the US (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Steve Kingstone
BBC News, Houston, Texas

The Obama administration has called Mexican drug cartels "the single greatest organised crime threat to America". But why are the cartels fighting each other with American guns?
***
'Straw purchasers'

It should not come to that, for a very good reason - Mexican drug cartels generally have no need to rob guns. It is far easier to acquire them legally.

They do it by using so-called "straw purchasers", individuals with clean criminal records who will comfortably pass the strict FBI background checks required of licensed firearms dealers.

Typically, straw purchasers are American citizens and green card holders in need of a little extra cash.
***
A 2009 report to Congress by the US Government Accountability Office reports that more than 90% of the "firearms seized in Mexico and traced over the past 3 years have come from the United States".
***
more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12014794




If only Mexico's gun laws were more lax than in the US, this problem would go away ...

[slackmaster]

1. Unrec for inaccurate reporting - A straw purchase is a federal crime, not a legal act

Exporting a firearm from the USA without an export permit is also a federal crime.

:nuke:

[wikileaksfan]

2. Guncrazed America is a threat to the entire world

I wonder how many wikileaks are about the NRA screwing with the UN and foreign government?