Judge dismisses Mexican lawsuit against US arms makers

Gun store in Fort Worth, Texas.

(illustrative image) Getty Images via AFP - SPENCER PLATT

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Last year, the Mexican government filed a lawsuit in Boston, in Massachusetts court, against 11 American firearms manufacturers and distributors.

Mexico accuses them of negligence in the sale of their weapons and of being in some way responsible for the violence and insecurity in the country.

The Mexican government demanded a strong compensation of several billions and the recognition of the traffic by the companies.

But this Friday, September 30, an American federal judge rejects this complaint.  

Advertising

Read more

With our correspondent in Mexico,

Mexico has already announced that it will appeal this decision.

The country's strategy is not to attack the manufacturers for the misuse of weapons because, on this point, the companies are ultra-protected by American law. 

But the complaint is rather about their marketing, the techniques used by these companies to sell firearms, some of which are heavy and military-style weapons.

The Mexican government claims that these business practices are

intended to attract drug traffickers and criminal groups.

Arguments that do not hold for Judge Saylor who handled the case in Boston.

According to him, “

”.

He also said that although the weapons are made in the United States, Mexico was responsible for its own violence and should deal with it under its laws.

Crime figures are at their highest, the country has more than 35,000 murders a year.

And according to the government, every year around 340,000 weapons are smuggled into its territory.

Mexico has more than 3.9 million crimes per year committed with a weapon made in the United States.

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

• Mexico

• United States

• Crime

• Justice