US and Mexican law enforcement officials report a sharp increase in both the flow and firepower of US weapons across the border.
Particularly worrisome are assault rifles and so-called cop-killer pistols.
Mexico has strict firearms laws, few gun stores, and a mere 4,300 private licensed gun holders among its 105 million people.
The United States, with nearly as many guns as people, has more than 100,000 licensed gun sellers, an industry that makes about 2.8 million small arms a year, and gun laws so loose that arms traffickers easily pick up any weapons they need.
Despite Mexico's gun-control laws, criminals have long smuggled guns in from the United States.
"The problem is getting bigger because the illegal possession of arms, and their clandestine introduction to our country, combines with narcotics trafficking," said a government report to Mexico's Senate in June.
It said 99.4 percent of the weapons in the hands of Mexican criminals are suspected of coming from the United States.
At least 11,752 US-sold guns have been found in Mexico since January 2003 -- a tiny fraction of what remains on the streets, according to the report.
Particularly worrisome are US sales of Belgian-made FN-57 pistols. These fire bullets that "will defeat most body armor in military service around the world today," according to the Remtek weapons site on the Internet. They sell for $800 to $1,000 each at dozens of gun stores within a day's drive of the border.
The weapons were unheard of in Mexico until they were used to kill at least a half-dozen police officers this year.
Among them were Mexico City policemen Felix Perez and Jose Rodriguez, slain in May when a car full of suspected mobsters fired FN-57s whose bullets sliced right through the officers' body armor."Ah but where does one even BEGIN to fisk this atrocity.
There are, always have been, and always will be firearms capable of "slicing through body armor."
Problem with using the FN-57's is the fact that there is NO ammunition for it that will do that, unless one hijacks a military supply depot. Off the shelf 57 ammo will not penetrate vests, but lots of home made rounds will and not cost an arm and a leg for gun or ammo.
Assault rifles are fully automatic ones and gun shops in the states do not sell them. Without a special license and then its so expensive you're better off going black market especially when there's all that cartel money in action.
But back to the much maligned 57. I really thought that the days of bitching about the armor piercing rounds for this handgun were long gone. Virtually ANY handgun of major caliber can be loaded with armor piercing rounds. The 57 was the liberal bad-gun-of-the-year a while back, but the true scoop came in hot and heavy and its been a while since I've seen anyone so stupid as to reincarnate that old canard.
If the drug lords are stupid enough to go after police using a handgun when there are so very many better options, then that's actually a good thing. Once again, FN-57 ammunition of the armor piercing variety is illegal in the US, so to spend a grand for such a silly little handgun then have nothing to shoot from it is really dumb. If those two Mexican policemen were killed with 57's, then they spent more for the rounds than the gun, and lets face it...when you've got that kind of money to throw around FN-57's should be at the bottom of the list so it doesn't make a whole lot of sense except that some rich bad guys thought it was cool.
As usual, a doctoral thesis can be written about yet another poorly done, sometimes flat-out disingenuous tale of woe concerning firearms.
From the liberal media. Who can't seem to get the facts straight. Or perhaps don't want to.
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