To curb violence at home, Mexico sues gun-makers in US

For the past 15 years, violence has been on the rise in Mexico due to the growth of organized crime, turf wars, and high rates of impunity. But the Mexican government in August acted to curb another potential factor in the country’s high death toll: It filed suit against a handful of U.S.-based gun manufacturers for their role in the steady flow of arms that cross the border into Mexico each year.

What’s the lawsuit about?

The Mexican government filed a lawsuit on Aug. 4 in Massachusetts federal court against 10 U.S. gun companies, saying they are deliberately enabling the flow of weapons to Mexican cartels. Homicide rates have been trending up in Mexico over the past 15 years, with a record of just under 36,000 people killed across the country in 2018 alone. The suit points to business decisions among U.S. gun-makers that seem specifically designed to appeal to Mexican consumers, such as using branding rooted in Mexican history or popular culture, like a .38-caliber pistol engraved with the face of revolutionary Emiliano Zapata.

About 70% of guns traced in Mexico by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives between 2014 and 2018 came from the United States.