Tag: mexico

Supreme Court: US Gun Makers Not Liable For Cartel Violence

In a unanimous blow to gun control advocacy groups, the Supreme Court shut down Mexico’s $10 billion claim targeting U.S. gun makers in a cross-border lawsuit.

Mexico originally filed the suit in 2021, arguing that U.S. gun companies were responsible for the weapons that fueled cartel violence. Mexico received support in its lawsuit from American gun control advocacy groups such as Everytown and March for our Lives Action Fund.

The Supreme Court ruling, written by Justice Elena Kagan, found that the manufacturer’s alleged failure to exercise “reasonable care” does not meet the standard necessary to be found liable for “aiding and abetting” the sale of illegal firearms in Mexico.

Mexico had asked the court for $10 billion in damages and additional court-imposed injunctive relief in the form of restrictions on manufacturers. According to a lawyer who spoke to RCP, siding with Mexico on the injunctive relief “would have likely severely prohibited the distribution of the manufacturer’s products” within the United States.

A federal district court judge initially ruled that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act protected the gun manufacturers from the suit. In 2024, the First Circuit Court of Appeals revitalized the lawsuit. In response, gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson brought the case to the Supreme Court.

The PLCAA, signed into law in 2005 by President George W. Bush, shields gun manufacturers and dealers from liability when crimes are committed with their products. The law includes exceptions which Mexico’s lawyers sought to invoke.

The original suit by Mexico, which named multiple U.S.-based gun manufacturers as defendants, claimed that Mexicans “have been victimized by a deadly flood of military-style and other particularly lethal guns that flows from the U.S. across the border.” It also argued that U.S. companies were negligent in their sales practices, claiming that the gun companies “are not accidental or unintentional players in this tragedy; they are deliberate and willing participants, reaping profits from the criminal market they knowingly supply.”

In response, lawyers for Smith & Wesson argued in a filing that the lawsuit “faults the defendants for producing common firearms” and for “failing to restrict the purchase of firearms by regular citizens.” They made the case that “aiding and abetting criminal activity must involve something more than making products generally.” Ultimately, the Supreme Court agreed with this reasoning.

In reference to the injunctive relief that Mexico asked the court to grant, lawyers for Smith & Wesson asserted that the lawsuit was “inflicting costly and intrusive discovery at the hands of a foreign sovereign that is trying to bully the industry into adopting a host of gun-control measures that have been repeatedly rejected by American voters.”

According to some estimates, more than 250,000 firearms are smuggled from the United States into Mexico each year. In contrast, Mexico has one gun store and issues fewer than 50 new gun permits each year. The U.S. is the largest firearm exporter in the world, partly due to relaxed gun laws within the country.

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The Claim That America ‘Stole’ California From Mexico Is An Ignorant Lie

Recently, Katy Perry claimed on her Instagram page that California has always belonged to Mexico and is another example of U.S. racism and bigotry. 

That’s not quite … right. California, like most of the world, has a history that’s slightly more complex than will fit an average bumper sticker.

Prior to the Spanish arrival in 1542, there were more than 100 different tribes inhabiting modern-day California. Most were small, and the total population of the area is estimated to be approximately 300,000. 

Although there were some minor explorations and small settlements, Spain left California largely unexplored and unsettled for nearly the next 200 years. This was due to a combination of factors such as distance from Spain, the strained Spanish finances, and also because there were no pack animals, little agricultural tradition, and a food supply that was less than appealing to Spanish palates. 

By the late 18th century, however, the Spanish decided they needed to better organize their North American territories to preempt incursions from other European powers, particularly the French and Russians. As a result, Spain began a more robust exploration of the state and would slowly colonize it, setting up missions along the vast coastal areas. 

By the early part of the 19th century, however, Spain’s fortunes were changing, the empire was stretched too thin, and after a decade of fighting, Mexico gained its independence in 1821. The new nation included what is today Mexico, as well as California and much of the American Southwest, stretching east to Texas and north to Colorado. Here’s where the rub in the argument that the United States stole California begins.

The population of California in 1800 was approximately 300,000 — almost all natives — essentially the same as it had been for centuries. By 1848, however, it had dropped to half of that due to disease, which was responsible for 60-80 percent of the decline, and the Spanish working to death or killing the natives.

California, at the time of Mexico’s independence, was sparsely populated, with just 200,000 people, and that number was rapidly shrinking. For perspective, that’s 0.5 percent of today’s 40 million inhabitants. Add to that the fact that Mexico could barely be called a functioning country, as in the 27 years from 1821 to 1848, it had literally 40 heads of government. As would seem obvious, the governments were dysfunctional, had an incredibly large land mass to govern, little tax revenue coming in, and very limited finances with which to field an army to secure it, never mind to carry out the minimum responsibilities of a government. 

To better understand how dysfunctional and empty Mexico was, consider Texas. In 1835, Texas had a population of less than 45,000 people, 30,000 of whom were Anglo settlers who’d been given permission to settle the lands by the Mexican government. The remainder included approximately 7,000 Mexicans and 5,000 black slaves. Because of conflict with the Mexican government on issues from slavery to religion, in October of that year, Texas started a war for independence. By March 1836, it had declared itself the Republic of Texas. That could never have happened had Mexico been able to populate the area on its own or keep it from breaking away. But it couldn’t, so Texas was born. 

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Mexico Is Complicit In The L.A. Riots, And There Should Be Consequences

There’s a lot to say about the rioting and mayhem underway in Los Angeles right now, including the striking prevalence of Mexican flags among the rioters. Iconic images have been circulating online for days of masked men waving Mexico’s flag amid burning vehicles and wreckage, giving the riots a decidedly sinister flavor, as though all this is at least partly the work of foreign powers attempting to undermine the sovereignty of the United States.

In fact, that’s partially true, and it deserves some unpacking. Much of the debate and commentary in recent days has centered on the Trump administration’s response to the crisis, deploying the National Guard and the Marines to restore order in parts of L.A., and the reactions of California Democratic leaders like Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. mayor Karen Bass, who are essentially arguing that law enforcement itself is the problem. Others have speculated on various leftists groups that are in all likelihood funding and organizing these riots, similar to how BLM organized in the summer of 2020, in hopes they will spread to every major city.

But there’s another political player in this drama that’s gotten much less attention: the Mexican government’s ruling MORENA Party under the leadership of President Claudia Sheinbaum. 

The first thing to understand about MORENA and the Mexican political establishment is that it’s essentially a criminal enterprise that has, over the past decade, merged with the country’s major cartels. Mexico essentially lost the drug war that began in 2006, and since at least 2013 the state has been so thoroughly infiltrated by the cartels, particularly Sinaloa, that today it’s difficult to tell where one stops and the other begins.

The cartels of course are not just drug-trafficking organizations anymore. During the Biden administration they figured out how to monetize illegal immigration, which became a major source of income for their organizations and networks. Those networks now include elements of the Guardia Nacional and Instituto Nacional de Migración, the country’s federal immigration authority, both of which were key players in the cartels’ migrant-trafficking operations.

All of that is by way of brief background. On Sunday afternoon, responding to the riots over the weekend, Sheinbaum said Mexican nationals living in the U.S. are “heroes” and denounced President Trump’s attempts to enforce federal immigration law.

“We disagree with this approach to the migration phenomenon,” Sheinbaum said Sunday during a press conference, as reported by the Daily Mail. “It’s not about raids or violence, but rather working on a comprehensive reform that takes into account the Mexicans on the other side of the border,” she added. “That is our position, always a call for peace, to not exacerbate any form of violent protest.”

Sheinbaum added that Mexican nationals in the U.S. are “not criminals” but “good, honest men and women who left to seek a better life for themselves and to support their families.”

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Mexico Provides Legal Aid to Illegal Immigrants Arrested by ICE in Los Angeles

Mexico’s president is providing legal aid to the Mexican illegal migrants in Los Angeles who were recently arrested by ICE workplace operations.

The aid for detained illegal Mexican migrants is being provided via Mexico’s little-known network of consulates in many American cities. So far, there are no reports that Mexico is aiding any Mexicans arrested for rioting.

“Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said at least 42 Mexicans were being held after the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles,” according to the German media outlet Deutsche Welle. “He added that the vast majority of Mexicans detained were working when they were arrested.”

The pro-migration New York Times admitted:

Mexico’s foreign minister, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, said his country’s consular network in the United States had been providing legal advice to the 37 men and five Mexican nationals who have been detained in California. Four have already been deported to Mexico, he said, either because they had a removal order or because they had volunteered to return.

…

President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico spoke out on Monday in defense of 42 Mexican nationals who have been arrested in Los Angeles. “We cannot intervene in the politics of the United States,” she said, making a “respectful but firm call” to U.S. authorities to respect the rule of law and the human rights of detainees. She also urged the Mexican community to act peacefully. “Burning patrol cars seems more an act of provocation than of resistance,” she said.

Mexico’s government provides a list of phone numbers for the 49 consulates in the U.S. For example, Mexicans in Washington state are invited to use consulates in Seattle or nearby Portland, Oregon. The consulates allow the government to keep Mexican migrants emotionally and economically tied to their home country.

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Mexican Border State Demands Investigation of SpaceX Due to Beach Pollution

Officials in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas have announced that they will be requesting a federal investigation into SpaceX for polluting Mexican beaches after pieces of the company’s rockets have washed ashore in recent days.

Karina Lizeth Saldivar, the head of the Tamaulipas Secretariat for Urban Development and Environment, recently announced that they would be requesting that federal authorities in Mexico investigate the damages and potential damages that rocket fragments could cause.

According to Saldivar, the rocket pieces could pose a potential danger to locals and claimed that her agency would request a formal investigation by Mexican federal environmental agencies. It remains unclear if Mexico’s government could do anything about the issue.

Just last week, the U.S. Supreme Court shot down a lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers filed by Mexico’s government, Breitbart Texas reported. Just one day after the ruling, Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, claimed that her government would be pursuing other lawsuits in an attempt to place the blame for the country’s raging cartel violence on the United States instead of the country’s widespread corruption.

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DACA Recipient Imprisoned in U.S. for Purchasing Guns for Mexican Cartels

A Mexican national under the DACA program has received a significant prison sentence for his involvement in a firearms trafficking scheme. Mario Elier Leal, 22, was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for leading a straw purchasing ring supplying weapons to Mexican cartels. The sentencing took place in McAllen, Texas, overseen by Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane.

Leal had pleaded guilty to the charges in 2024, admitting his role in the illegal operation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office detailed that Leal will face deportation proceedings after serving his sentence, as he is not a U.S. citizen. His status under DACA allowed him to remain in the U.S. despite being brought in as a child illegally.

Prosecutors revealed Leal recruited individuals to purchase AK-47-type rifles, which were then smuggled into Mexico. At the time of his arrest, authorities seized three rifles acquired through two young Americans legally able to buy firearms in Texas. Although the court documents did not specify which cartel received the guns, the Gulf Cartel controls the area south of McAllen.

Leal confessed to paying $300 to each participant who bought guns for him, exploiting a loophole in U.S. laws that barred him from purchasing them himself. Federal officials suspect that at least 13 additional weapons were either purchased or in the process of being obtained for Leal. This case highlights the ongoing challenges of gun trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border.

The connection to the Gulf Cartel, though not explicitly stated, raises concerns about the porous nature of the border in terms of illegal arms smuggling. The Gulf Cartel has long been a dominant force in the region, and activities like Leal’s only serve to strengthen their grip. Authorities are keen to reinforce the legal measures that prevent such trafficking.

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Trump’s Pentagon keeps sending destroyers that fought in the Red Sea to the US southern border — a fourth one is on its way

A fourth US Navy destroyer that participated in the Red Sea conflict is on its way to support President Donald Trump’s southern border mission, bringing a range of advanced naval combat capabilities to a very different operating environment.

The Navy announced Friday that the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Cole had left its homeport in Florida to support US Northern Command’s “border security objectives.”

The Trump administration has made cracking down on maritime-related criminal activity, including weapons smuggling, drug trafficking, and illegal immigration, a top priority, and the Defense Department has sent military assets to the US-Mexico border. Among these assets are five destroyers and a littoral combat ship on staggered deployments.

Cole, like the other warships, is set to be accompanied by a US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment. They specialize in military operations at sea, such as counterterrorism, counterpiracy, and anti-immigration missions.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers like the Cole are advanced naval surface ships with robust communications and sensor suites and are suited for long-endurance missions. These vessels can be armed with surface-to-air and land-attack missiles. Other armaments include the ship’s five-inch deck gun, machine guns, and a Phalanx Close-In Weapons System.

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US Gun Makers Notch Win Against Mexico In Unanimous SCOTUS Ruling Authored By Liberal Justice

The Supreme Court unanimously rejected on Thursday the Mexican government’s lawsuit against American gun manufacturers.

The court held that Mexico’s 2021 lawsuit against seven U.S. gun manufacturers is barred under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).

“As required by a federal statute, Mexico seeks to show (among other things) that the defendant companies participated in the unlawful sale or marketing of firearms,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the court’s opinion. “More specifically, Mexico alleges that the companies aided and abetted unlawful sales routing guns to Mexican drug cartels. The question presented is whether Mexico’s complaint plausibly pleads that conduct. We conclude it does not.”

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TERRIFYING: Dangerous Parasite That Eats Animals and Humans Alive Rapidly Marches Toward America With Help from the Mexican Drug Cartels

A dangerous flesh-eating parasite is rapidly marching toward the United States despite several desperate efforts to halt its advance. And one can thank the Mexican drug cartels for this.

As The Atlantic notes, the United States has been fighting an aerial war against the New World screwworm for 70 years. This parasite eats animals alive, including cows, pigs, deer, dogs, and even humans.

The larvae of the parasitic fly harboring the worm rip through flesh and transform small pricks into huge, revolting wounds. Worse, they produce foul-smelling odors resembling sewer gas.

It’s no wonder the worm’s scientific name, C. hominivorax, translates to “man-eater.”

In the 1950s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched an all-out assault to eradicate the screwworm.

Here is how they did it, according to The Atlantic.

Workers raised screwworms in factories, blasted them with radiation until they were sterile, and dropped the sterile adult screwworms by the millions—even hundreds of millions—weekly over the U.S., then farther south in Mexico, and eventually in the rest of North America.

The worm was eradicated from North America and Central America in the 20th century, but things have turned dark.

The outbreak began in Panama, skyrocketing from dozens a year to 1,000, despite ongoing drops of sterile flies. According to the Atlantic, the parasite then began moving northward, at first slowly and then rapidly, by 2024.

As of this month, the parasite has advanced 1,600 miles through eight countries to reach the Mexican States of Oaxaca and Veracruz, just 700 miles away from the Texas border.

According to Mark Eisele, a Cheyenne-based rancher and former president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the advance of screwworms is partly due to the Mexican drug cartels.

“All we needed to do was keep a flow of those planes. But the cartels were extorting money for every flight of flies that came out of Panama. They were extorting $35,000 a plane,” he said. “So, for all practical purposes, this is really kind of a political closing to make a point that they have got to get their act together.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has responded by indefinitely shutting down animal imports from or transferring through Mexico.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins released a statement on the invasion last week.

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Mexico’s first judicial elections include ex-convicts and cartel lawyers

Mexico is preparing to hold its first-ever judicial elections, and concerns are growing over the criminal histories and affiliations of candidates on the ballot.

Among those seeking positions are individuals previously investigated for crimes ranging from organized crime to sexual abuse, and even an ex-convict who served time in a US prison for drug smuggling, says the New York Times.

The judicial elections, scheduled for Sunday, will decide 2,681 positions, including some on Mexico’s Supreme Court.

The reform was introduced last year by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and is supported by current President Claudia Sheinbaum. They argue that the shift from appointments to public elections will reduce corruption and make the system more accountable to voters.

However, critics, including legal experts, have warned that opening up the judiciary to electoral politics could compromise judicial independence and allow unqualified or compromised individuals to gain power. Some also worry the process may increase the influence of organized crime in Mexico’s already-broken justice system.

At least four candidates have previously faced criminal investigations, according to letters obtained by The Times. These letters, sent in early May by the leaders of both congressional chambers—controlled by the ruling Morena party—asked electoral officials to disqualify 18 candidates accused of failing to meet the constitutional requirement of a “good reputation.”

Among those on the ballot is Fernando Escamilla, a 32-year-old candidate for a state criminal judgeship in Nuevo Leon. He previously provided legal services to Miguel Angel Treviño and Eleazar Medina-Rojas, two senior figures in the Zetas cartel.

Escamilla has defended his work, stating he merely advised on extradition law and believes it would be “unfair” to disqualify him from practicing law.

“It’s like a doctor,” Escamilla said. “When patients arrive at the emergency room, the doctor doesn’t ask what they do for a living before deciding whether to treat them, they just do.”

Other candidates have more serious criminal pasts. Leopoldo Javier Chávez Vargas was arrested in 2015 in Texas for attempting to smuggle meth into the US. He served nearly six years in prison and is now seeking a federal judgeship in Durango.

“I don’t deny my past,” he said. “I have fully accepted the consequences.”

Another candidate, Jesus Humberto Padilla Briones, was arrested in 2023 with meth and an illegal firearm.

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