Gun Dealer Accused Of Selling To Cartels

CBS Evening News: Gun Runners Send Thousands Of Weapons From The U.S. To Mexico, Fueling That Country's Drug Wars

(CBS)  In Phoenix Monday, a gun dealer went on trial for supplying assault rifles to Mexican drug gangs who are locked in a bloody war with authorities -- and each other. CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports on a case that's being watched closely in both the United States, and in Mexico.

In the escalating drug war south of the border, Mexican cartels supply the drugs, but the guns largely come from the United States.

"Firearms trafficking to Mexico is a huge problem," says Phoenix ATF agent William Newell. "Drugs go north, guns come south."

George Iknadosian is accused of being a top gun-supplier. When government agents raided his Phoenix gun shop last May, they found hundreds of weapons allegedly destined for Mexico. He's now on trial, accused of knowingly selling more than 700 guns to so-called straw buyers - U.S. citizens who buy the guns legally and then turn them over to a trafficker.

"They get $100 for their trouble, and the trafficker will take the gun down to Mexico and sell it for exponentially more than they pay here," says ATF agent Peter Forcelli.

As many as 2,000 firearms are believed to cross the border into Mexico every day. And they are often assault weapons, Tracy reports.

The ATF says that 7,700 guns found in Mexico last year were traced to sellers in the United States.

"All the killing they are doing here are killing with guns that are selling in the United States," said Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos.

Mexican law makes it nearly impossible to buy guns there legally. But less restrictive laws in the U.S. keep the firearms flowing over the border. Court papers in the Iknadosian case claim U.S. border states provide three-quarters of black market firearms to Mexico.

And with more than 2,000 people killed so far this year in drug-related violence in Mexico, cutting off the gun supply is now a top concern on this side of the border.

[mecanik-2009]

Good morning everyone!

Bravo on the "AGB" idea I love it. thelogicalutopian at 10:30 AM : Mar 13, 2009

Absolute nonsense but your still around anyway. every1one at 12:18 PM : Mar 12, 2

Love your post. Lots to read and makes sense! all4hdl at 5:17 PM : Mar 11, 2009

[mecanik-2009]

I thought it was ilegal to take guns into Mexico. How is that possible when there's a law aginst it. Oh I see, people are just breaking the law because we can't enforce it. So if we make it against the law to own them people won't have any. No wait a minute, they already have them. And since we can't enforce the laws we have we can't do anything about that either. Hmmm I guess we just need to enforce the laws we have now.

[thelogicalutopian]

We must look to Hollywood for salvation, since they are the true arbiters of American culture and individual behavior. First, let it be pledged that guns and the portrayal of gun use will be banned from all new movies and television shows. Second, let it be pledged that those in the entertainment industry will not possess or use illegal guns or any other illegal items or substances.

Then, the US Government should strictly enforce all of its laws regarding gun purchases and tracking, and who, or what crosses our borders, in either direction.

That ought to do it.

However, if enforcement still proves difficult, we should construct of some kind of physical barrier along the entire border to protect Mexico from American evils - an anti-gun barrier (AGB). It should be built so as to be effective at stopping people from crossing the border everywhere except at certain crossing stations where enforcement of all of our laws can be effectively applied, so that nothing that is illegal in Mexico shall cross from the US, and vice versa.

In addition, construction of this anti-gun barrier would create thousands of "green" jobs and solve some of our energy problems. Atop this AGB, along its entire length, would be rows of wind turbines and solar voltaic arrays, all feeding energy into our electrical grid.

Furthermore, the large amount of electrical power made available along this strip of mostly arid land could be used to power pumping systems to bring seawater from both coasts to inland desalinization plants (powered mostly from the sun's thermal radiation) to provide water to make vast new areas of usable land on both sides of the border for people, agriculture, and industry, creating entire new cities and millions of jobs. Do you find that (economically) stimulating?

[winchester70]

every1one: Your latest rant sounds very much like the bloviating of the "pathetic" DID afflicted elcantante1. Are you clones?

[aindi]

My point was to explain how adding a adjective to a subject is subjective. Not to provoke.

[aindi]

Soon Oil and petroleom products will be a assault weapon and the enviormental movement will want us all to ride bicycles. Lord what is next.

[tincup356]

My property is protected by Ruger four nights a week and by a pitbull on steroids three nights a week ...you guess which night YOU want to trespass.

[aindi]

The Federal government gave Mexico a massive amount of aid last year. This included arms, humvee's, helecopters etc.. The police and military are fully infiltrated by the narco's. The problem is and always has been is the poor people have no means of defense.
Lawlessness is a way of life down there. The Mexican or any government can not protect anyone on an individual level. This why we have a second ammendment, to protect ourselves from criminals and tryranic governments.
Blaming the NRA or any other pro-gun organization is silly. You can't punish a tool for the acts of a perpetrator.

[all4hdl]

I am just an average guy and yes a gun owner. If there are gun dealers out there doing illegal things then absolutely they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Banning guns will not do anymore good here than it has done in Mexico the only thing it will do is keep regular law abiding citizens like myself from enjoying a hobby that i have enjoyed all of my life since i was young. If the Mexican government was serious about breaking up the drug cartels they would go after them. I really doubt they can be that hard to find I would be willing bet that the Mexican government and the U.S. government know exactly where to find them. If you say assault style weapons weren't meant to be protected by the second amendment then you are wrong very very wrong, assault style weapons are exactly the type of weapons that the second amendment was created to protect. Yes guns are responsible for alot of deaths homicides, suicides, and accidents however, they are just a tool if someone is determined to kill him/herself or someone else and they do not have a gun don't you think they will find another tool to do the job? As far as accidents they are a very tragic event too and like all accidents they are preventable but then do we ban cars, boats, bycycles, rock climbing, swimming etc etc.. I like most gun owners take every precaution to make sure my guns are stored safely and out of the reach of my child. There are millions and millions of law abiding gun owners that you don't read about in the papers and see on tv everyday they are your friends and your neighbors. I have and collect guns as a hobby and as an investment as many people do. Yes it makes me feel a little better knowing that i have the means to protect myself and my family if necessary but i also know that I will probably never have to. But i have the right to make that choice for myself. The moral of my story is no matter what it is guns, cars, drugs(legal or not), alcohol, sporting equipment of any kind , power etc. some people will abuse it but that shouldn't negatively affect the overwhelming majority of us who don't.

[gunownerdan]

Don't blame guns for all the crime and violence caused by a failed policy of drug prohibition! Try to learn from history. Google "Al Capone" or search wikipedia for information about alcohol prohibition and how much crime and violence it caused!
I read that Mexican drug gangs are getting GRENADES and ROCKET LAUNCHERS. You can't buy that stuff at your local gun shop or gun show, you get it from the MILITARY!
Guns are already illegal in Mexico but that doesn't stop the criminals and neither will any other new laws. If anything we should be blaming BAD LAWS like drug prohibition.