Mexican Government sues six gun manufacturers in US court over alleged negligence and targeting sales at criminals
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"Mexico sues US gunmakers in unprecedented attempt to stop weapons crossing border", 4 Aug 2021
The Mexican government has launched legal action against US gunmakers in an unprecedented attempt to halt the flow of guns across the border, where US-made weapons are routinely used in cartel gun battles, terror attacks on civilians – and increasingly to challenge the state itself.
The Mexican government is suing six gun manufacturers in a Massachusetts court, alleging negligence in their failure to control their distributors and arguing that the illegal market in Mexico “has been their economic lifeblood”.
Announcing the suit on Wednesday, the foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, alleged that units of Smith & Wesson, Barrett Firearms, Colt’s Manufacturing Company, Glock and Ruger have catered to the tastes and needs of Mexican drug cartels and depend on illegal Mexican sales to boost their bottom lines.
The lawsuit alleges that gun companies openly pandered to Mexican criminals, citing Colt’s special edition .38 pistol, engraved with an image of the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. One such weapon was used in the 2017 murder of the Chihuahua journalist Miroslava Breach, who investigated links between politicians and organised crime and was shot dead while taking her son to school...
Mexico is seeking up to $10bn in damages, as well as better safety features on guns and tighter controls on sales.
Mexican officials said there were legal precedents for the suit, including a recent offer by Remington to pay nearly $33m to families to settle lawsuits claiming that its marketing of firearms contributed to the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut, where 26 people died.
None of the companies named in the suit made any immediate public response...