US judge again blocks Mexico’s $10 billion arms trade lawsuit

A U.S. judge has dismissed most of Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit seeking to hold U.S. gun manufacturers accountable for facilitating the trafficking of firearms to violent drug cartels across the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. District Judge Dennis Saylor in Boston has dropped charges against six of eight companies sued by Mexico in 2021, including giants Sturm, Ruger and Glock, over jurisdictional issues.

He described the companies’ ties to Massachusetts as “tenuous at best,” explaining that none of the six companies were incorporated in the state. Saylor said Mexico could not prove that firearms sold in Massachusetts caused harm to the country.

Although Mexico argued that it was statistically likely that some firearms sold in Massachusetts were later illegally smuggled into Mexico, Saylor argued that the country did not provide sufficient evidence to establish jurisdiction.

Lawrence Keane, general counsel for the trade group National Shooting Sports Foundation, praised Saylor’s decision to reject Mexico’s “clear forum shopping” and expressed confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court would ultimately dismiss the rest of the case.

In April, gun manufacturers petitioned the Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court ruling that allowed the lawsuit in Mexico to proceed despite a law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which generally shields the gun industry from liability for misuse of its products.

Steve Shadowen, a lawyer for Mexico, expressed disappointment with the recent decision and indicated that Mexico is considering appealing, re-filing the claims in other courts or exploring other legal avenues.

Mexico accused the gun manufacturers of deliberately undermining its strict gun laws by designing, marketing and distributing military-style assault weapons, knowing that this would eventually arm drug cartels, leading to violence, extortion and kidnappings.

The country alleged that more than 500,000 weapons are smuggled into Mexico from the United States each year, with more than 68 percent of them manufactured by the companies it has sued. This has led to high gun deaths, reduced investment and economic activity, and increased spending on law enforcement and public safety.

Déjà vu as US tries to dismiss case

In 2022, the same judge dismissed the case, saying Mexico’s claims did not meet the extensive protections afforded to gun manufacturers under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2005.

“Unfortunately for the Mexican government, all of its claims are either barred by federal law or fail for other reasons,” Saylor wrote in a 44-page ruling.

“While the court has great sympathy for the people of Mexico, and no sympathy at all for those who smuggle weapons to Mexican criminal organizations, it is nevertheless its duty to follow the law.”

After the judge was dismissed, the Mexican Foreign Ministry said it would continue to investigate the case.

“The civil lawsuit seeking damages against those who profit from the violence suffered by Mexicans is moving to a second phase, in which the State Department will continue to emphasize that the negligence of these companies has serious consequences for our country,” the ministry said in a statement.

Mexico, with a population of 126 million, has been plagued by widespread deadly violence since December 2006, when the government of then-President Felipe Calderon launched a controversial military anti-drug operation.