Jon wrote: > My sources in Mexico tell me most of the heavier or full-auto weapons > come from China, which is the world's leading manufacturer.
I have heard the same claim by a number of LEOs, though it is all personal accounts and not quantitative. There have also been citations like the following: http://www.rightsidenews.com/200806231247/border-and-sovereignty/mexico-s-ma ssive-illegal-weapons-coming-from-china-and-the-u.s.html The main clandestine entry of weapons into the country is done through the northern border and the Pacific, originating from the big American firms and from China, where there is no control for the transfer of weapons produced by their five gigantic firearms industries factories. For Georgina Sanchez, a researcher with the Latin American Social Sciences ("FLACSO") in Mexico, there is an amount estimated at between 12 and 20 million high power firearms, mostly AK-47s from China, and 40 million pistols and rifles, the majority of them in the hands of guerilla fighters, narcotraffickers and organized crime. One of the volunteer Spanish translators for Gun Facts has tried to find Ms. Sanchez and the source of her data, to no avail. Rumor from multiple points, as enticing as it is, isn't usable and I doubt the Mexican government either has a solid accounting or is willing to disclose it. Given the level of institutionalized corruption in Mexico, it would be unsurprising to discover that police/military purchases are being diverted to drug syndicates. Guy Smith www.GunFacts.info _______________________________________________ To post, send message to [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/firearmsregprof Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
