"Since the Department of Justice itself has already acknowledged that 74% of the weapons used by criminal groups come from the United States, how do the arms manufacturers and distributors feel in the face of the decree?" said President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday morning that the country could expand a lawsuit against U.S. gunmakers if the Trump administration declared Mexican cartels "terrorists."
Asked at the "Mañanera del Pueblo" conference about rumors that the U.S. government was close to taking such a measure, Sheinbaum Pardo said that such an extension could be among the first steps.
The New York Times reported yesterday that the US State Department plans to classify cartels from Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador and Venezuela as terrorist organizations, as part of an executive order by President Donald Trump against these criminal groups.
The list includes the Mexican cartels: Sinaloa Cartel, Cartel del Noreste, Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Familia Michoacana and Carteles Unidos, for their participation in drug trafficking and migrant smuggling. In addition, the Tren de Aragua from Venezuela, the "Clan del Golfo" from Colombia and the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) identified as Salvadoran although it originated in California.
"Mexico has an international lawsuit against arms manufacturers and arms distributors in the United States. If organized crime groups were to be declared terrorists, we would have to expand the lawsuit to the United States because then, as the Department of Justice itself has already acknowledged that 74% of the criminal groups' weapons come from the United States, then how would the arms manufacturers and distributors be faced with the decree?" said the president.
Mexico had initially sued seven U.S. gun manufacturers – Smith & Wesson, Barrett, Beretta, Century Arms, Colt, Glock and Ruger – as well as Interstate Arms. Six gun manufacturers were later removed from the case for procedural reasons, leaving only Smith & Wesson and Interstate Arms as defendants.
