Mexico’s military is allegedly working to cover up its loss of weapons purchased from other countries.Mexico’s Army (SEDENA) is losing approximately 30 percent of weapons purchased from the U.S., a report from Mexican journalist Carlos Loret De Mola revealed. The report comes as Mexico’s federal government litigates against firearm manufacturers in a U.S. court, blaming them for the raging cartel violence.Those missing weapons are showing up in scene of the crimes. Mexico’s military has also allegedly misplaced weapons bought from Germany, Australia, Italia, Romania, Spain, and Belgium.
In Mexico, the Army is the only entity that can purchase weapons from other countries. Further, all weapons bought by federal, state, and local law enforcement, as well as private citizens, are sold by SEDENA. Loret De Mola reports that a national center called CENAPI within the Attorney General’s Office keeps track of weapons found in scene of the crimes or seized from criminal organizations — but because of the lawsuit, they are suppressing information about Mexican Army guns in the hands of cartels. The CENAPI even denied requests for information about those weapons as a way to protect the military as being partly responsible in Mexico’s illicit gun trade.
The new allegations come at a time when Mexico’s military is plagued by scandals. State authorities in Oaxaca arrested a former general who was a candidate for secretary of defense on extortion charges in December.
Also in December, Canadian authorities arrested General Eduardo Leon Trauwitz on an extradition warrant from Mexico over his alleged role in the widespread theft of fuel, CBC reported.
In October 2020, U.S. authorities arrested former Mexican Secretary of Defense Salvador Cienfuegos on drug trafficking charges. Mexico’s government was able to secure his release claiming they would investigate and prosecute, but ultimately dismissed the case.
