Federal judge dismisses Mexico lawsuit blaming U.S. gun manufacturers for violence in country

A federal judge in Boston turned down on Wednesday the 10 billion dollar lawsuit that Mexico brought against several US arms manufacturers in 2021.

In the summary proceedings, the Mexican government alleged that seven gun manufacturers (Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt, Glock, Century Arms, Ruger and Barrett and the seller and distributor Interstate Arms) partly responsible for the criminal violence on its territory.

The lawsuit specifically alleged that these Massachusetts manufacturers sold weapons to drug cartels who then used them in their crimes, and so Mexico asked them to take their share of the blame.

However, three years later, The Guardian reports that Judge Dennis Saylor said the lawsuit “insufficient evidence to establish jurisdiction” and, more importantly, he argued that it could not be proven that the crime in Mexico arose from business dealings between Massachusetts gun manufacturers and drug cartels, but that the companies’ ties to the state were “flimsy at best.”

In 2022, another lawsuit was already dismissed, but the Mexican government filed a new lawsuit seeking to hold gun manufacturers accountable. The case failed because none of the six gun manufacturers named in the lawsuit are based in the state.

The lawsuit against Smith & Wesson and distributor Interstate Arms remains active. Both companies must respond to the complaint filed by the Mexican governmentwhich is still going on.

This was assured by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement published on X, which claimed that “this decision does not affect the case against these two companies and does not exclude the other six companies from civil liabilityLegal proceedings against these six companies are still ongoing.”

The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs also assured that it intends to hold the remaining companies accountable for their collaboration with organized crime in their country, going so far as to consider “a possible appeal or recourse to other federal courts in the US“