'Cop-killer' guns from US seen crossing into Mexico'- Boston Globe

[Matt King]

'Cop-killer' guns from US seen crossing into Mexico

By Ioan Grillo, Associated Press | August 19, 2007

MEXICO CITY -- Authorities are sounding the alarm about an influx of assault rifles, armor-piercing pistols, and fragmentation grenades from the United States, weapons that they say are increasingly being used to kill police and soldiers fighting drug cartels.
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US and Mexican law enforcement officials report a sharp increase in both the flow and firepower of US weapons across the border.

Particularly worrisome are assault rifles and so-called cop-killer pistols.

Mexico has strict firearms laws, few gun stores, and a mere 4,300 private licensed gun holders among its 105 million people.

The United States, with nearly as many guns as people, has more than 100,000 licensed gun sellers, an industry that makes about 2.8 million small arms a year, and gun laws so loose that arms traffickers easily pick up any weapons they need.

Despite Mexico's gun-control laws, criminals have long smuggled guns in from the United States.

"The problem is getting bigger because the illegal possession of arms, and their clandestine introduction to our country, combines with narcotics trafficking," said a government report to Mexico's Senate in June.

It said 99.4 percent of the weapons in the hands of Mexican criminals are suspected of coming from the United States.

At least 11,752 US-sold guns have been found in Mexico since January 2003 -- a tiny fraction of what remains on the streets, according to the report.

Particularly worrisome are US sales of Belgian-made FN-57 pistols. These fire bullets that "will defeat most body armor in military service around the world today," according to the Remtek weapons site on the Internet. They sell for $800 to $1,000 each at dozens of gun stores within a day's drive of the border.

The weapons were unheard of in Mexico until they were used to kill at least a half-dozen police officers this year.

Among them were Mexico City policemen Felix Perez and Jose Rodriguez, slain in May when a car full of suspected mobsters fired FN-57s whose bullets sliced right through the officers' body armor.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/la...iller_guns_from_us_seen_crossing_into_mexico/

 

[jerkface11]

Maybe they should work on closing their northern border.

 

[AmbulanceDriver]

I was thinking the same thing, maybe they'd like to help us build a wall to keep all those evil guns out of their country.....

 

[Autolycus]

Where does the author get the statistics on how many licensed gun holders in Mexico?

 

[Ridgeway]

no double standard here...

maybe it's an incentive for them to help us seal the border


the five seven seems to be this decades "black talon" as far as misrepresentation & misinformation

 

[revjen45]

Why would they want to do that? This way they can keep the drug trade feeding the illegal economy, send their hoardes of barefoot illiterates North to keep the cash flow back home going, and blame the USA for the sorry state of corruption and violence they currently enjoy.

 

[IA_farmboy]

Maybe they should be helping us build that wall on the border.

Let's make a deal with them, we'll stop sending the guns when they stop sending the illegal immigrants.

 

[Ieyasu]

Interesting blog observations on the FN-57: http://pun.org/josh/archives/2005/03/more_fn57_scare.html

It appears non-LEOs/non-military can't obtain the "armor piercing" ammo in this country. Plus the federal legislation, proposed by Lautenberg, attempts to ban every handgun that can fire ammo that penetrates a level IIA vest (that includes 9mm).

 

[wally]

How can that be? Guns in military calibers are illegal in Mexico for mere "people".

More proof of the real effectiveness of gun control.

--wally.

 

[lanternlad1]

"Authorities are sounding the alarm about an influx of assault rifles, armor-piercing pistols, and fragmentation grenades from the United States, weapons that they say are increasingly being used to kill police and soldiers fighting drug cartels."


Where do I get an armor-piercing pistol? I've lived here all my life, and I've never seen one.

 

[Checkman]

Okay where do I get the hand grenades at? My local gunstores don't carry them. Perhaps at Walmart or maybe K-mart?

 

[shooter429]

Rofl

Glad I did not have a mouth full of liquid when I read that headline. OMG too funny. They send us tens of millions of illegals and metric tons of drugs and that is cool, but the same coyotes and drug cartels bring back weapons and all of a sudden it is a crisis? LOL And I am sure they get their weapons from the local FFL holders in the states-NOT! !@#$ Mexico!

Shooter429

 

[kermit315]

Checkman, i have seen grenades at wally world between the body armor and the intermediate range, thermo-nuclear weapons. (they were towards the top of the shelf.)


hahahaha

that being said, they dont like the guns in their country, i dont like the aliens here, sounds like a common problem.

wonder what the common solution is?

Jamie

 

[El Tejon]

laternlad, many pistols fire hot rounds that cut through some body armour, e.g., the CZ 52. http://www.makarov.com/cz52/

Of course, every pistol can be armour-piercing with the right ammo. I don't think the gangbangers have a problem using THV ammo.

 

[Prince Yamato]

The weapons were unheard of in Mexico until they were used to kill at least a half-dozen police officers this year.

I'm pretty sure that the residents of Nuevo Laredo would beg to differ with that.

Authorities are sounding the alarm about an influx of assault rifles, armor-piercing pistols, and fragmentation grenades from the United States, weapons that they say are increasingly being used to kill police and soldiers fighting drug cartels.

Since none of these weapons can be sold to a foreigner legally, what the hell is the author's point?

 

[Deanimator]

Okay where do I get the hand grenades at? My local gunstores don't carry them. Perhaps at Walmart or maybe K-mart?

They need to close the "gunshow loophole" for hand grenades. Nobody should be able to buy a grenade without a NICS check...

 

[buzz_knox]

Why do drug gangs need to import weapons when they can and do hire entire units of the Mexican Army to serve as security and enforcers for them?

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

Why would they want to do that? This way they can keep the drug trade feeding the illegal economy, send their hoardes of barefoot illiterates North to keep the cash flow back home going, and blame the USA for the sorry state of corruption and violence they currently enjoy.

amen

 

[kermit315]

because that isnt as good a headline as the Evil USA arming Mexican druglords.

 

[jefnvk]

Hmmm...

Knives can defeat body armor as well as any armor piercing round can.

 

[coyote_jr]

bet the boys over at the fiveseven forum love this

 

[spaceCADETzoom]

Remtek....

WOw, that's some real crack investigative reporting there. Finding something off some random intenet site wouldn't fly for a 6th grade homework assignment...why is it okay for a newspaper (no matter its circulation or market)? That's beyond sad... High school teachers would ream a kid for trying to turn in "the remtek website" as a source. Where did this writer graduate. I have half a mind to call whatever college department produced that "journalist."

He literally googled up his story. That is not mere speculation or a guess. How else would you get "Remtek weapons site" as a source? That's worse than using wikipedia. Musta' put in "cop killer" or "armor peiercing" and saw what popped up. Geez...at least get some misinformed chief of police or sheriff--those are VERY easy to find--to get your "evil guns in the hands of 'lowly' citizens" sound byte.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I think we should ship lots of guns to Mexico and help foster a revolution. Mexico with a U.S.-style constitution would be a much happier, wealthier, saner country—and would export far fewer criminals, too.

 

[kevin davis]

even if they do use mexican army and police units for drug protection, i am sure they get better weapons from the smugglers than their own armories. i too would love to get an armor piercing pistol. i guess if i threw it hard enough it couold go right thru a tank!

 

[FieroCDSP]

Here's a thought. They ship us the guns and ammo, we ship them the illegal immigrants. Fair trade?