Heavily-Armed Cartel Attacks Mexican Army; US Gun Laws Not At Blame

[GreenStormCloud]

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=5680

At the end of March, troops of a major drug cartel launched a series of attacks on military personnel and installations in a half dozen cities in the northern Mexican states of Nueva Leon and Tamaulipas. Fortunately, things did not work out as the narco-thugs had hoped. At least 18 of them are now taking the kind of siesta from which there is no awakening and, at last count, only one Mexican soldier was injured.

Contrary to the notion that the cartels depend on semi-automatic rifles bought illegally in the United States, the cartel conducted its attacks with a variety of weapons that cannot be legally bought anywhere in our country. As the Los Angeles Times reported, "In coordinated attacks, gunmen in armored cars and equipped with grenade launchers fought army troops this week. . . . The army said it confiscated armored cars, grenade launchers, about 100 military-grade grenades, explosive devices" in addition to a large quantity of ammunition.

SNIP

This was stated, though not clearly, in a Government Accountability Office report last summer (see document pages 14-15). However, lest anyone be misled by GAO's lack of thoroughness on this point, the Department of Homeland Security, in an appendix to the GAO's report (see page 69), set the record straight.

"DHS officials separately question the statistic involving the origination of weapons as currently presented by GAO," DHS said. "GAO asserts that, 'Available evidence suggests most firearms recovered in Mexico come from U.S. gun dealers, and many support Drug Trafficking Organizations.' and fuel Mexican drug violence. Using the Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) eTrace data, GAO determined that about 87 percent of firearms seized by Mexican authorities and traced from fiscal years 2004 to 2008 originated in the United States. DHS officials believe that the 87 percent statistic is misleading as the reference should include the number of weapons that could not be traced (i.e., out of approximately 30,000 weapons seized in Mexico, approximately 4,000 could be traced and 87 percent of those—3,480—originated in the United States.) Numerous problems with the data collection and sample population render this assertion as unreliable."

SNIP

And to Mexico's soldiers who obliterated the cartels' punks and thugs last week, we say "buen tiro" (translation: "Good shooting").

[Xipe Totec]

1. Mi caza es tu caza

(My hunt is your hunt)

[Glassunion]

2. OH... H-unt. I thought you said something else... (nt)

[notesdev]

3. All this tells us

is that guns from the US are traceable whereas guns from elsewhere mostly aren't.

[Arctic Dave]

4. Forgive me if I'm a little skeptical of what the NRA says, maybe they can coordinate

there press releases with PETA.

[X_Digger]

5. The GAO report is online, read it yourself.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09709.pdf

[jazzhound]

6. Oh yeah.........

.........the old "Any evidence that runs counter to my beliefs on gun control MUST have been furnished by the NRA" line.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Arctic Dave]

8. Whaaa....

[GreenStormCloud]

10. Don't cry because you lost the argument.

You never attempted any rebuttal. You just tried to claim that because the link was to the NRA that it had to be false. Now links have been posted that show that the NRA didn't lie. The GOA quote is accurate. The attacks have really happened and with weapons that you can't buy at gun shows or gun stores. Accept the truth and dry your tears.

[jazzhound]

12. My bad..........

......wasn't paying close enough attention. I've got my finger off the trigger now. No -- really, I do.

[GreenStormCloud]

9. Here are separate links to the news story.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36124636/ns/world_news-americas/
18 gunmen killed in attacks on Mexican army bases

SNIP
Another gang of armed men opened fire from several vehicles on soldiers guarding a federal highway in General Bravo, in Nuevo Leon state.

Troops fought back, killing 18 gunmen, wounding two and detaining seven more suspects. One soldier suffered slight injuries.

Soldiers also seized 54 rifles, 61 hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, eight homemade explosive devices and six bulletproofed vehicles used by the attackers.

SNIP

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100402/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico

5 gunmen killed in shootout with Mexican soldiers

MEXICO CITY – Five gunmen died in a shootout with soldiers in the border city of Reynosa early Friday, the latest of a series of clashes between troops and alleged drug traffickers in northeastern Mexico, authorities said.

SNIP

Assailants on Tuesday set up roadblocks near army garrisons and opened fire on checkpoints in several cities of the northeastern states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, setting off shootouts that killed 18 attackers and wounded one soldier.

The attacks are occurring as the Gulf cartel and the Zetas, the cartel's former hit men, fight over control of northeastern Mexico. Experts say drug lords are trying to get military patrols out of the way of their bloody battle.

Those five are in addition to the earlier 18.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gMi5B2USfJStXxfqgWWr2xjRYpOgD9EQJK681

Drug cartels target Mexican army in brazen attacks

REYNOSA, Mexico — In a ratcheting up of tactics in a long, bloody war, drug cartel gunmen made seven especially brazen assaults on Mexican soldiers in one day this week, throwing up roadblocks near army garrisons and spraying checkpoints with automatic weapons fire.

SNIP
Drug bosses appeared to have little to show for Tuesday's attacks near the Texas border except a body count for their own side: 18 attackers dead, while the military said its own casualties were limited to one soldier with a wounded toe.

SNIP

The cartels, however, do match Mexico's military in firepower: Soldiers confiscated more than 50 assault rifles, 61 grenades and eight homemade explosive devices, as well as grenade launchers and six armored vehicles.

SNIP

Google lists 586 news stories on this item. You can't buy RPGs,PPG launchers, full auto rifles, or explosives in gun stores or at gun shows.

Yep, it was all made up by the NRA. :sarcasm:

BTW - You used the wrong "there". It should have been "their".

[Arctic Dave]

11. No one doubts the attack.

But to say that all the other THOUSANDS of other murders were done with RPGs and assualt rifles is stretching credibilty. I take it this is the NRAs latest PR stunt to lessen the culpability of gun trafficking between US gun stores and Mexican drug cartels.

[GreenStormCloud]

13. So you doubt the GOA report? A link to that was posted.

The NRA merely quoted a GOA report. The NRA did not make those figures up, they come from the Obama adminsitration. Your tax dollars at work.

[jazzhound]

14. Too funny!

The antis -- notorious for their PR stunts and contempt for honest data -- hurl stones at the NRA! Rich!

[pipoman]

16. Are you saying that you do believe

that most of the guns used by the cartels are from the US?

The mantra has been that the US is the source for the majority of the guns being used in Mexico. I haven't seen where anyone denies that some of the guns in Mexico are coming from the US, just not all or even the majority of them as eluded to and in fact claimed by dishonest US and Mexican politicians.

[Callisto32]

17. On the contrary.

The suggestion is that Mexico's piss-poor boarder security is no reason to trammel civil rights in the United States.

[dashrif]

15. ah

the long siesta or the eternal note as their dumb cartel jaw drops forever laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa






ahhhbooooooo