The cover of Claudia Sheinbaum in El País caused a political uproar and officially started the soon but fought presidential race. While she hurries her pace from Mexico City, the Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, led the open debate “The impact of diversion and arms trafficking for peace and security”, from the United Nations (UN) headquarters in Nueva York.
The cavalry is ready, each one from its shut, but we cannot forget the maxim: “better step that lasts and not trot that tires” and here the one who endures the onslaught will prevail, but above all, the one who “sells” better.
While Sheinbaum’s strategy bets on the international media, Marcelo pushes his agenda against arms trafficking from the United States to Mexico, which according to calculations, amounts to approximately 2 million in the last 10 years, however, he had never opted for Legal measures such as those now taken by Ebrard and company when filing a lawsuit before a Federal Court in Boston, which singles out 11 arms-producing companies for “promoting” negligent and illicit commercial practices, which facilitate the illegal traffic of arms to Mexico. “
The Ministry of Foreign Relations, an agency headed by Ebrard, estimates that 7 out of 10 homicides in the country are committed with weapons from Texas, California and Arizona and that every hour 22 firearms enter Mexican territory illegally.
Marcelo Ebrard probably did not manage to stop the arms trade, this goes far beyond his intentions and powers; However, if the arms companies compensate the country for their responsibility, he will have a very important victory and in the imaginary he will have beaten the United States itself.
Derived from the illegal traffic of firearms, the bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States has been harsh and in some cases of crisis. One of the most controversial chapters was the operation called “Fast and Furious”, carried out by the North American Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, during the administration of Barack Obama, this program allowed the entry into the country of 2,800 Long weapons that ended up in the hands of organized crime, among them, more than two thousand assault rifles and 50 rifles, in addition to thousands of ammunition, which contrary to the primary objectives of “Fast and Furious”, were not traced to locate the criminals, but to generate violence and death in the country.
The operation – even recognized by the United States government – did not meet its goal and the same US Department of Justice concluded that it was “irresponsibly supervised,” hence the importance of Marcelo’s plan.
The Mexican demand is part of the violence that is registered in the country and that has left more than 34,500 people murdered between 2019 and 2020 alone.
Among the defendant companies are Smith & Wesson, Colt, Barrett Firearms and Ruger & Co whom Marcelo Ebarard accuses of manufacturing “custom weapons”, for example with the development of Colt .38 caliber models with the image of Emiliano Zapata, national hero and symbol of drug traffickers.
In case of winning, Marcelo will have to cackle in a big way because perhaps his permanence in the race depends on it and even better a probable presidential victory.