April 21, 2011 4:19 PM

Mexico wants to sue U.S. gun makers

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CBS News Investigates
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Mexico flag over Handguns (Credit: CBS/AP)

CBS News has learned that the Mexican Government has retained an American law firm to explore filing civil charges against U.S. gun manufacturers and distributors over the flood of guns crossing the border into Mexico.

Sources say Mexico's frustration with U.S. efforts to stop the flow of weapons has pushed them into this novel approach. The law firm is looking at charges that may include civil RICO. The contract was signed on November 2, 2010 by a representative of Mexico's Attorney General, at their Washington embassy.

On November 5, 2010 President Felipe Calderon expressed his frustration to CBS News correspondent Peter Greenberg: "We seized more than 90,000 weapons...I am talking like 50,000 assault weapons, AR-15 machine guns, more than 8,000 grenades and almost 10 million bullets. Amazing figures and according to all those cases, the ones we are able to track, most of these are American weapons."

According to sources, investigators will obtain makes and serial numbers of guns seized by Mexican authorities and trace them to their U.S. distributors and manufacturers.

Watch: the Deadly City of Juarez, Mexico

Christopher Renzulli of New York, who has represented U.S. gun makers for fifteen years, says he believes this would be a difficult case for the Mexican government to win. "The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act would bar that kind of lawsuit from the start. The law, passed in 2005 has resulted in several lawsuits against gun makers being dismissed.

But sources familiar with the case say the law firm retained by Mexico - New York based Reid Collins & Tsai - believes the federal law won't stand in the way of their case.

According to the Mexican government database, there were 15,273 drug-related killings in 2010.Overall, a total of 34,612 people have died in drug-related killings in the four years since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared a stepped-up offensive against drug cartels.

Richard Feldman, President of the Independent Firearms Association and former gun industry association executive said: "Maybe we should be suing the Mexican government for their failure to prevent drugs from coming into our country."


Add a Comment See all 157 Comments
by Minidoka May 2, 2011 10:28 PM EDT
The article is not talking about illegal immigrants or drugs, its talking about weapons that are sold in the U.S going illegally into Mexican territory. I believe the lawsuit came after it was confirmed that the ATF sent about 2000 weapons including high caliber assault rifles knowingly into Mexico, specifically intended to end in the hands of narcos and drug dealers with the hope of tracking those guns and dismantling the drug rings. However, the operative known as "fast and furious" was an utter failure by the ATF because they lost track of all those weapons and have only been able to recover about 194 of those weapons. What is more shocking and everyone should look into is that President Obama did not authorize the operative and the Mexican government was not informed about this operative either. Now no agency wants to take responsibility not even the ATF, meanwhile it has been proved that one of this guns was utilized in the shooting that killed an U.S ICE agent. So while the U.S is pumping millions of dollars of aid to fight organized crime, the same government is undoing what little progress they have made to stop drug related violence.
Yes I believe the Mexican government can sue if there is valid evidence and only a judge can determine if they win or not. This is a matter of national security and should not be though as a personal attack to gun owners. I believe there are more frivolous instances where people dare sue over "hot coffee" and they win.
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by exexpat93 April 27, 2011 7:35 PM EDT
First export guns to Mexican Drug Cartels then blame US Gun Makers and Gun Shops along the border states for selling to Cartels. ATF, DOJ, and Homeland Security at their best - sic! Holder and Nappy need to take a perp walk through some real metal detectors and gropers on the way to prison!
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by bikebubba April 26, 2011 5:56 PM EDT
Calderon is blaming U.S. gun makers, who cannot legally make a fully automatic weapon or grenade for sale to any citizen outside the government, for the influx of fully automatic assault weapons and grenades into Mexico?

Seems like the problem we see here isn't U.S. gun manufacturers, but rather Felipe Calderon's lack of basic education, as well as that of the law firm he's contracted.

And for reference, the ones tracked are only a small portion--most of the weapons seized are coming from third world weapons/drug markets, and you'd expect. Who would pay over a grand (including BATFE licenses, $220 a pop or so) for a used full auto Kalishnikov in the U.S. when you can get a new one for $300 in the same place you get the drugs you're going to carry north?
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by ammo17 April 25, 2011 10:01 AM EDT
sounds logical to me,after all didn`t hillary clinton tell the whole world that it is because of american gun runners all this trouble is our fault,and that the drugs coming out of mexico has nothing to do with the violence.i don`t know how many $$$billions$$$ of dollars we sent to mexico to fight the drug cartels,but know we know we are the ones responsible for thousands of mexican lives and probably a few american lives for allowing illegal guns to get thru to the drug cartels.IRAN/CONTRA all over again only this time is it right across our borders.this is a treasonable offence and someone has to be held resposible.
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by Rixar13 April 24, 2011 8:40 PM EDT
"We seized more than 90,000 weapons...I am talking like 50,000 assault weapons, AR-15 machine guns, more than 8,000 grenades and almost 10 million bullets."

Fixed Market Economy, enjoy... smile :-)
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by jasonleevandyke April 24, 2011 2:10 PM EDT
Fine. Let's file a counterclaim Mexico to recover the public school, medical care, incarceration, and other costs of illegal immigrants that their government knowingly and intentionally helps break into our country. I mean really, how DARE they sue U.S. gun manufacturers? Maybe so many Americans wouldn't need guns if there were not so many degenerate immigrants walking around committing violent crimes.
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by cjmiller1 April 24, 2011 11:48 AM EDT
What happened to "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." That's the argument every time someone tries to sue the gun companies. What about knife companies? People get stabbed too. How much of our TAX money would be used to fight a law suit? My states already broke.
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by Overruled1 April 24, 2011 12:12 PM EDT
Yeah, or baseball bats....
by rocketjl April 24, 2011 11:34 AM EDT
Hey this could be something great. America should be looking a suing Mexico for all the illegal drugs sent to the US from Mexico. I guess we ought to sue Mexico about all those illegal immigrants they are pushing across the border into the US. You know, if we were successful here and looked for a few more things to sue Mexico for, I bet we could really knock a big hole in our national debt. Let's get them suckers.
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by avalon288 April 24, 2011 1:33 PM EDT
This is just another example of the typical Mexican attitude. Their problems are our fault. They take no responsibility for their corrupt, inept government, overpopulation, sputtering economy-do I need to go on? I have only been to Mexico once for vacation. I have a good time. I will never go again because of the Mexican governments attitude toward Americans. They don't deserve my hard earned money.

The problems that afflict both our nations could be alleviated by having a better secure border and start closing up the easy access back and forth.
by HolyVoice April 24, 2011 10:27 AM EDT
They just want more money from the U.S. of A. than our government is already giving them and the millions of their residents living illegally in the U.S. are stealing from us and sending back to Mexico. Nothing but a bunch of drug pushing, lying, murderous thieves - all of them.
by Wendyjogee April 24, 2011 12:33 AM EDT

Yeah, they're stealing all those low wage jobs that we Americans are above doing. You think they are here to sell us drugs, that we Americans really don't want but can't do without? All of them are illegal, so you know just by looking at them how they lie and murder and only want government hand-outs. You have it in mind that they come here to rape, pillage, and take away as booty to their homeland all that we hold dear in our society.

You are so bent in your opinions, it's laughable.
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by acptulsa April 24, 2011 10:17 AM EDT
Are they arguing that our gun makers own the federal government? Because last I heard, a great many of those guns were provided by the ATF.

It would be an interesting suit, if argued on those terms. Certainly it's hard to argue that arms merchants don't own the government that has us in three simultaneous stalemates...
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