It absolutely is a holdup and will be regardless. I know they get some of their guns from the US currently but that can and will change. Many of the gangs in California and across the southern border get their guns from Mexico, even if they were manufactured here. The Mexicans buy them and use them, then sell them back to American criminals at a discount. They have a body on them in Mexico but they are still clean here so they have value. This is the modern arms trade.
That claim that 90% of the Mexican cartel’s guns from the US is garbage anyways. In 2008, the Mexican authorities seized 30,000 firearms. Of those 30,000, they only submitted 7,200 to the US ATF for tracing. Of those 7,200, only 4,000 could actually be traced by the ATF and, of those, 3,480 traced back to the US. That’s 87% but it’s a phantom number. In reality, of the 30,000 weapons seized, only 12% were actually traced to the US. Now, some of those not submitted had their serial numbers removed and many of those probably originated in the US. But many of the seized weapons were legally purchased through the Mexican government’s program. They also didn’t bother to trace any weapons that were obviously of third country origin. Another study was run in 2018 that found a little more than 50% us origin and that was only those submitted.
Sure, Mexico wants to lay all its problems at our feet but it’s not nearly what they claim. Most real experts would put the number around 50%. I’ve linked one article but you can find many more.
It is a common claim that almost all the weapons used by Mexican drug cartels come from the United States, but the numbers don't add up.
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