Re: Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos

Adam H. Kerman
>
From what little I've read about this case, the government of Mexico
sued Smith & Wesson for aiding and abetting crime committed by
drug cartels using their weapons.

This is a nonsense lawsuit wholly done to implement more draconian
anti-gun laws in the U.S. that will only affect law abiding Americans,
who are not the problem.

Or are we to believe that El Chapo, who has bazillions of dollars
at his disposal and intimate connections with the global black
market, is buying over priced civilian guns from the Bass Pro Shop
in Albuquerque?...

https://www.foxnews.com/world/mexican-government-hack-reveals-military-sold-arms-received-escort-cartels-report
October 10, 2022

Mexican government hack reveals military sold arms, received escort from Cartels: report

One Mexican military officer offered thousands of rounds of ammunition to the cartels

A major leak of Mexican government documents revealed that members of the military
sold weapons and information to the cartels.

"Sedena [Secretariat of National Defense] reported in its confidential report that the
supplier of weapons and tactical equipment is another alleged member of the Army, whom
the criminals refer to as "antiguo" and who, according to the analysis of his telephone
signal, is based in Campo Military No. 1 of Mexico City," according to the documents.

The information came to light following a security breach at the Secretariat of National
Defense (Sedena), in which hackers from a group calling itself Guacamaya acquired more
than four million confidential documents from the government, Mexican outlet Vallarta
Daily reported.

One of the documents was an intelligence report from June 2019 that stated a military
officer offered tactical equipment, weapons and information on armed forces operations
to drug cartels.

At one point, a cartel leader asked the military for 2,000 rounds of ammunition for AK-47
rifles, 5,000 for the R-15 and 50 magazines for each type of rifle.

The report also mentioned a colonel known as the "new commander" for whom the cartel
acted as an escort for about two weeks. The report described him as a man with a love of
"drinks, smoking" and is "into everything."

The data leak also revealed that defense groups standing in opposition to the cartels
received training from contractors of presumably Russian origin. Emails dated from
Aug. 24, 2022 identified four men who trained the Tlacotepec Community Police over
a nearly two-week period in May of this year.

However, the secretariat also identified a relationship between the group’s leader,
Salvador Alanis Trujillo, and the Sierra Cartel, the Mexico Daily Post reported.

Sedena identified one of the Russian men as Bogdanov Rustam, who is linked with
the European Bodyguard and Security Association. Despite Rustam’s more official
affiliation, the Sedena has opened an investigation into his possible links to
organized crime.

Rustam allegedly served as an operator in the Russian special forces and anti-terrorism
units.

Officials identified another of the instructors as Antonio Rullan Dichter, a businessman
and honorary consul of the Russian Federation as well as the criminal group Los Rusos,
an opponent of the Sierra Cartel.

The men do not appear to have direct ties to the Russian government, but Mexico
has previously raised concerns over Russian influence and presence within its borders.

A report from Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of the U.S. Northern Command,
told the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services in March that Mexico was host to
"the largest portion of GRU members in the world," Business Insider reported.

VanHerck could not specify the number of spies, but he stressed that the operatives
in Mexico "keep an eye very closely on their opportunities to have influences on U.S.
opportunities and access."