Mexico sues U.S. gun makers, eyes $10 billion in damages

Mexico City, 4th deaths.

The lawsuit alleges that entities from Smith & Wesson (SWBI.O), Barrett Firearms, Colt’s Manufacturing Company, Glock Inc, Sturm, Ruger & Co, and others knew that their business practices encouraged the illegal arms trade in Mexico.

The lawsuit, citing guns that entered Mexico in infamous shootings, states that Colt’s .38 caliber “Emiliano Zapata 1911” pistol is engraved with the image of the Mexican revolutionary and is a status symbol coveted by drug cartels.

“What is the goal? That the companies in question compensate the Mexican government for the damage caused by their negligent practices,” said Secretary of State Marcelo Ebrard at a press conference on the lawsuit filed with the Massachusetts District Court.

The lawsuit is one of the boldest moves Mexico has ever taken to put pressure on the US arms industry, which Mexican leaders have held responsible for inciting gang violence for years.

Corporations need to put an immediate end to their harmful practices, Ebrard said, noting that the court will decide what compensation payments to make. He spoke after Mexican officials told reporters that the lawsuit claimed an estimated $ 10 billion.

Companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation Inc (NSSF) said it denied Mexico’s claims that US manufacturers were negligent in their business practices.

“The Mexican government is responsible for the rampant crime and corruption within its own borders,” said Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president of the NSSF, in a statement. He said cartels use guns brought into Mexico illegally or stolen by Mexican military and law enforcement agencies.

“ACTIVELY FACILITATE”

Mexico accused the companies of contributing to the disregard of their strict gun laws by marketing to the criminal underworld of the country and thereby “actively facilitating the illegal trade of their weapons to drug cartels”.

Guns are on display following a gun buyback event organized by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in the Queens borough of New York City, the United States, on June 12, 2021. REUTERS / Eduardo Munoz

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Mexican officials said they spent two years analyzing legal precedents about negligence by US gun manufacturers.

They pointed to cases, including a recent offer by Remington Arms Co to pay nearly $ 33 million to families to settle litigation alleging that firearms marketing was linked to the Sandy Hook School massacre in Connecticut contributed in 2012, in which 26 people died.

Allegations of improper marketing have been used in other court cases as an exception to US law, which gives the arms industry legal immunity, and could lead companies to be more transparent about how they do business.

“There are efforts that appear to be making headway to get the arms industry and manufacturers in particular to disclose records of their attitudes towards marketing, distribution and sales practices,” said Timothy Lytton, professor at Georgia State University College of Law.

Mexico’s lawsuit states that over 500,000 weapons are smuggled into Mexico from the United States annually, of which more than 68%, or over 340,000, are manufactured by the firms in question.

Mexico has suffered record homicide rates in recent years.

The weapons smuggled into Mexico were responsible for at least 17,000 murders in 2019 alone, a Mexican official said. Another official estimated the economic damage caused by the violence at around 1.7% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Mexican officials said they expected the case to take a long time to resolve but were confident the case would be successful.

A Mexican official said the lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts because some of the companies are based there.

Mexican officials said the lawsuit was not against the US government, and Ebrard said he believed the Biden government was ready to work with Mexico to curb the arms trade.

Ebrard, who is believed to be the leading candidate for Mexico’s 2024 presidential election, has repeatedly raised concerns about the U.S. arms trade and lax gun controls.

The announcement of the lawsuit came the day after Ebrard traveled to El Paso, Texas to commemorate the second anniversary of the murder of 22 people in a Walmart where the shooter was accused of deliberately targeting Mexicans.

Reporting by Dave Graham in Mexico City; Additional reporting from Jonathan Stempel in New York, Tom Hals in Delaware, and Frank Jack Daniel in Hitchin, England; Letter from Laura Gottesdiener in Monterrey; Editing by Howard Goller

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