weapons trafficking

A federal judge sentenced a Guatemalan illegal alien to 78 months in federal prison for firearms trafficking after an investigation revealed a scheme to move firearms from Alabama to Maryland. Lester Ramos-Perez, a 29-year-old from Guatemala who is illegally present in the United States, was part of a broader conspiracy to move the weapons, according to court records.

While Mexican government officials continue to point to the United States as the main source of weapons for drug cartels, a federal indictment filed in a U.S. court in Virginia revealed that a Bulgarian arms trafficker was providing terrorist cartels with catalogues of weapons that included rocket launchers, surface-to-air weapons systems, and tanks.

A criminal investigation into the majority owner of the Miss Universe pageant has uncovered allegations that his organization helped smuggle weapons from Guatemala into Mexico, using shipments of clothing and electronics to move guns that ultimately supplied Mexico City’s black market and cartel groups, including Cartel Jalisco New Generation and the Tepito Union.

The majority owner of the Miss Universe pageant, Raul Rocha, is the current target of an organized crime probe in Mexico, where the businessman is alleged to have taken part in weapons trafficking for the Gulf Cartel and illegal fuel trafficking.

Military personnel are in Ukraine to, it is claimed, keep track of weaponry and ammunition supplied by the U.S., the Pentagon says.

A European Commissioner outlined the EU’s plan to stop the flow of arms from Ukrainian from ending up in the hands of criminals.

The largest weapons manufacturer in Latin America, Brazil-based Forjas Taurus SA, has reportedly been accused by Brazilian prosecutors of selling some 8,000 handguns to a known arms trafficker from war-ravaged Yemen in violation of international sanctions.

On Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced former California state senator Leland Yee, 67, to five years in prison after Yee accepted a plea deal over charges of weapons trafficking.

Two National Guard members pleaded guilty in a San Diego federal court on January 14 to illegally selling guns they believed were destined for Mexico—and thus likely the hands of violent drug cartels.

Two alleged gun-runners were arrested in Spain on charges of buying military-grade weapons for drug cartels in Mexico. The controversy over how high-powered weapons get into the hands of Mexican drug cartels has been raging for years. US suppliers are often in the cross-hairs, so the recent arrest of individuals buying military-grade weapons for the cartels in Spain put a twist on perceptions of weapons trafficking to Mexico.

“No More Weapons!” is the emphatic message posted on this controversial Ciudad Juárez sign intended for travelers entering the city from El Paso. The 26×70-foot billboard has lettering made with seized weapons that were brought into Mexico illegally from the US. However, reportedly as a symbol of good faith toward the United States, crews this week started dismantling the sign.