Mexico claims US gunmakers sold weapons to cartels

On March 4th, hours after Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on Mexican exports to the United States, Mexico’s government stood before the Supreme Court of the United States to argue that American gunmakers should be held liable for deaths caused by Mexican gangs using the weapons they manufacture. The case highlights the ways in which the United States contributes to the harm caused by Mexico’s criminal gangs.

Most guns used by Mexico’s gangs are smuggled in over the northern border. They wield them to terrible effect. The murder rate is about 20 per 100,000 people, some three times higher than it is in the United States. Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, has repeatedly argued that just as Mexico combats its criminal groups, the United States must take responsibility for its role. Mr Trump seems to concede this. In February he pledged to curb the southern flow of guns.

Mexico contends that American gunmakers, including Smith & Wesson, sell guns knowing that they may end up in the hands of the gangs. Giving weapons names like “El Jefe” (“The Boss”) suggests a deliberate marketing effort. The court in Washington is deciding whether Mexico’s case falls under the “predicate clause” of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which allows exceptions to the legal protections gunmakers enjoy in cases where they knowingly or recklessly sell arms illegally. If successful, the case will return to the lower courts.

Comments by both liberal and conservative judges during the first day of hearings suggest the case may not go Mexico’s way. Some appeared to agree with the defendants’ argument that Mexico’s government is trying to use litigation to limit gun rights in the United States. They are also wary that a ruling in Mexico’s favour could set a precedent for other countries to follow.

Whatever the legal outcome, the hearing is a reminder that Mexico is not the sole protagonist in North America’s problems with crime and drugs. Goods flow across the border illegally in both directions, just as they do legally—albeit now at an extra cost.■

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