Mexican president threatens terror charges for US gun makers

Mexican president threatens terror charges for US gun makers.

State attorneys general take aim at Musk, DOGE.

Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum warned today that if the State Department designates Mexican cartels as terror groups, her country would expand ongoing litigation against US gun manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers to include charges of complicity with terror groups

Since 2021, Mexico has pursued litigation in US courts against entities in the US gun industry alleging that they have fueled bloodshed in Mexico through negligent and illegal commercial practices. Some of the entities targeted include some of the US’s biggest gun manufacturers, such as Smith & Wesson and Glock, as well as large gun wholesalers. The US has laws on the books which protect gun manufacturers, sellers, and importers from a broad range of civil actions, including wrongful death.

While Mexico itself has very strict gun laws then make it almost impossible to obtain weapons legally, between 200,000 and 500,000 US-made weapons are smuggled into Mexico each year through various commercial and criminal networks. The US Justice Department has acknowledged that “74% of the weapons” used by criminal gangs in Mexico come from the US, Sheinbaum said.

During negotiations over tariffs last month, Sheinbaum secured a commitment from President Trump to do more about illegal weapons smuggling into Mexico. The State Department is preparing to designate two of Mexico’s largest cartels, Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation, as international terror organizations.

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State attorneys general take aim at Musk, DOGE

Attorneys general from 14 states have filed suit in a federal court in Washington, DC, to challenge the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. The states contend that DOGE staffers have overstepped their authority by demanding access to data held by executive branches and by issuing orders to their officials. The suit argues that since Elon Musk does not hold any Senate confirmed position and DOGE has no congressional authority, their actions are both illegal and unconstitutional.

The states suing are Democratic led and include Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says the states are “asking the court to invalidate [Musk’s] directives and actions and to issue a restraining order“. The states also want the court to declare that directives from Musk or DOGE have no legal effect.

This is just the latest of several lawsuits filed in recent weeks challenging DOGE’s authority or the legality of its actions.

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