Mexico Blames US as Main Source of Cartel Firearms After El Mencho’s Death

Following an operation to take down drug lord El Mencho, Mexico has announced that most of the firearms recovered from the cartel were smuggled into the country from the United States. After the kingpin, whose real name was Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, was killed during a clash with the Mexican Army, Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said at a press conference.

During the briefing, Trejo said 80 per cent of firearms recovered from the crime scene had been purchased in the United States. The recovered weapons include handguns, grenades, long arms, and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

While the United States played a key role in the mission to end El Mencho’s terror in Mexico, the two countries have often been at loggerheads over the issue of weapon smuggling. Unlike the United States, where it is legal to own guns, Mexico has strict gun laws. As a result, the country has only two gun stores, which are run by the military.

By comparison, the four U.S. states that share a border with Mexico have more than 10,000 gun stores. Mexico has repeatedly stated that most of the weapons in the country are illegally purchased from gun stores in Arizona and Texas. Data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) supports this claim.

According to the ATF, 74 percent of the guns that were linked to crime and violence in Mexico between 2017 and 2021 were originally purchased in the United States. Earlier in February, the New York Times published a story reporting that Mexican organized crime was using weapons produced at a U.S. military facility. This flow of weapons from north to the south has been dubbed an ‘iron river.’

Following the report, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said in an official statement, “We are reviewing the story so we can speak with the US government about this matter and see how it is possible that these weapons, which are for the exclusive use of their military, are entering Mexico.”

Mexico had earlier filed a lawsuit against U.S. weapon manufacturers, alleging that they were partly responsible for the cartel violence in the country. The Mexican government sought $10 billion from companies like Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Glock, and Colt.

In June 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the manufacturers, citing that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) of 2005 protects them from liability for criminal misuse of their products in Mexico.

The Mexican government then slammed the ruling and said, “Mexico denounces the US Supreme Court decision. The government will continue fighting gun trafficking and pursuing accountability from companies that manufacture weapons and enable their flow into criminal hands.”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation celebrated the decision, as the trade association’s Vice President, Lawrence G. Keane, stated, “This is a tremendous victory... For too long, gun control activists have attempted to twist basic law to malign the highly-regulated US firearm industry with the criminal actions of violent organized crime."