Mexican Drug Cartel Luger

[alanint]

I am not arguing major military weapons nor cartel drug wars, (where did that come from? we were discussing P38s!).

I am arguing that street level guns, (i.e. the ones that your low life street thug can afford, whether in the pay of the cartels or not) are often sourced from the US, be it gun shows, where a straw purchase by a Mexican immigrant will yield 4-5 times the gun's value south of the border, be it from home or vehicle or gun shop or sporting goods burglaries or the street trade. The very point you make that guns are largely unavailable and highly restricted in Mexico is exactly the point. A market will always find its source. Mexico has a vast source of available weapons just north of its border. I am not pointing a finger at gun shows per se, just the general availability of guns here versus there. To argue that the Mexican land border going either way is highly secure is laughable. It is as porous a border as any in the world. My Mexican Godfather's brothers both work in law enforcement there. I know several Mexican army officers as well. They will all confirm that many of the relatively modern, commercially available pistol, revolver or rifle they confiscate during routine crime prevention will have invariably come from the US.