Editorial: Mexican cartels support 2nd Amendment rights [View All]

[Bragi]

Guns move south, as drugs move north
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Mar. 02, 2011 7:30PM EST

The attack by the Los Zetas drug cartel on Jaime Zapata on Feb. 15 was the most high-profile killing of a U.S. special agent on Mexican soil in 25 years.

News that the murder weapon came from a dealer in Mr. Zapata’s home state of Texas reveals how the cross-border gun trade is undermining continental security. The implications of lax U.S. gun laws in equipping an army of criminals should also be of great concern to Canada...

Mexico is a transit zone for drugs destined for the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, an “iron river” of weapons flows south from the U.S. While Mexico has very restrictive gun-ownership laws, U.S. gun retailers – there are 3,800 in Texas alone – are arming Mexico’s drug traffickers. Ninety per cent of all weapons seized from cartels, and sent for tracking to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, come from the U.S. Many are acquired through “straw purchases” – buying a gun for someone who is prohibited from owning one.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/guns-move-south-as-drugs-move-north/article1927416/