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VIDEO |
AUDIO |
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Title sequence |
00:50 NB: this is duration, not time code |
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VO This is a shooting range in the southern United States Here in Texas shooting is a popular and competitive sport. |
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Mel [out of vision] OK, you’re ready? |
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It’s my first time shooting a gun. |
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Mel [out of vision] Magazine Goes in. Make sure it’s shouldered correctly. |
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It’s an assault rifle designed for warfare. |
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Mel There’s your two shots in the 9th, what is 5 o’clock. Juliana So I would have taken this person out? He or
she would be dead? Mel Yes definitely! |
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Today an estimated 270 million guns are privately owned in the United
States. [1],[2] Shooting ranges and gun
shops are everywhere and the the arms industry is a multi-billion dollar
business.[3],[4] But only a few miles south, across the border in Mexico, US sourced
firearms are having a deadly effect. We have come to investigate how Mexican drug cartels exploit weak US
gun laws to arm themselves with American weapons. |
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Our journey begins in a hotel in the northern Mexican state of
Tamaulipas. |
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Relative of Disappeared person Hola! Bienvenido ... Buenas Tardes! |
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We have arranged to meet a group of people whose family members have
gone missing - it’s not known whether they are living or dead. The presence of drug cartels on the streets make it too dangerous to
meet them in an outside location. |
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Woman My daughter’s name is Erendida Garcia Barron.
She’s been missing for five months. I haven’t heard anything from her ever since. Woman 2 My name is Maria Dolores Guadalupe, I lost my son, mans Jose Guadalupe. Young Woman She was a police woman. The only thing we know is that she never turned up for lunch with her friend. |
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Archive - RTV 4200 -
Mexico - Drugs / Police Killing - 02.02.11 - |
But the odds of finding a family member alive are low. Since 2004, well over 150,000 people have
been killed in Mexico’s so called War on Drugs.[5] Here in Tamaulipas the Gulf Cartel and the Los Zetas cartel are in a
violent battle over the control of lucrative drug routes. Civilians are often
forced to take sides or end up in the crossfire.[6] |
14 |
GUILLERMO
GUTIERREZ RIESTRA,
DIRECTOR Colectivo de
familiares y amigos desaparecidos en Tamaulipas - literally: Collective of Relatives
and Friends of the Disappeared of Tamaulipas |
Guillermo There are over 5,000 unidentified bodies kept in Tamaulipas, found in mass graves. These are the results of a kind of civil war with no end in sight. |
03:20 |
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Many bodies haven’t yet been found because it’s too dangerous for
investigators to search. The bodies that do get found end up here: at the state attorney
general’s office in the forensic autopsy centre. |
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Juliana So when did this body arrive? Dr. Lopez Castro This body arrived last night. It's a firearm homicide. Here is a bullet. Right here. |
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The bullet travelled at such high speed it continued to move once
inside the body. It was fired from an assault rifle like the AK47 or AR15 - the
cartels’ favourite weapons. |
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Faced with such deadly firepower the Mexican Police have taken on
a paramilitary appearance |
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CAPTAIN EDGAR VALLEJO AROSA TAMAULIPAS STATE POLICE |
Captain Edgar Vallejo Arosa has agreed to show me
what his officers have to deal with when battling heavily
armed drug cartels. We’ve arrived here at a peak in the violence Since April 2017, close to 100 people have been killed in Tamaulipas
including several police, so they’re on high alert[7][8] |
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Juliana So is this how you normally travel in a
convoy? Edgar Yes we never know when there is going to be an
aggression so we have to be prepared. |
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The streets look deceptively quiet but it’s in transit where most
attacks occur[9] |
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Edgar You can see normal people walking and you
never know who is watching you Juliana: Everybody could be a cartel informer Edgar: Exactly. |
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The impact of the cartels’ gun battles is clearly visible in
residential areas. |
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Edgar You can see the bullets over there where there
was clash before, the cartels where inside, the police arrived and they
started the clash, at that time there were 9 people killed |
05:12 |
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The violence has forced civilians from their homes |
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Edgar Those are empty house, places where they have decided to leave Juliana Because of the violence Edgar Because of the violence they’d rather go
another state of the Mexican Republic or the United States to keep a better
life. |
05:58 |
ARCHIVE - RTV 3065 -
Mexico-Violence/Prison - Ciudad Victoria , Tamaulipas - June 6, 2017. |
Next Edgar takes us to the city’s jail. He wants to show us that the
cartel’s weapons are everywhere. Barely two months before our visit the jail was home to a massive
armed riot.[10]It’s alleged that the
weapons were smuggled in with the help of corrupt prison guards. |
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Edgar They had more than, I would say, 6,000 bullets
inside Juliana What weapons did the prisoners have? Edgar Long guns, just like us Juliana So similar to what you’re carrying? Edgar Exactly. We got some guns but unfortunately we know
there are many guns inside that we don’t know where they’re hidden |
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During the raid seven people were killed: Four inmates but also three
police officers from Edgar’s team. |
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Juliana Can we go closer? Because you say that they
still have guns inside Edgar They won’t be able to see us because we
control this side Juliana And who controls the other side? Edgar We also control the other side Juliana I’m very glad to hear that Edgar: He is in charge of the control right now! |
06:45 |
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Mexico has very prescriptive gun laws and weapons such as
these are only legal in the hands of security forces.[11] Yet the cartels seem to face no shortage of firepower. |
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Sync: (Spanish) Sub-titles: We came across four pickups driven by gunmen. We were able to detain them and confiscate their weapons. They had AK47s, AR15s and a 50mm calibre weapon. Juliana Do you sometimes feel that the cartels on the
other side are better equipped than you are? Female officer Sub-titles: Yes, that's right. They have better weapons than we do, with more magazines of ammo. The government gives us four magazines of ammo. Four or five, that’s
it. You saw it right now. That was one magazine gone,
just like that. In the middle of a confrontation I’m going to go through four magazines and then what? |
33 |
Commissioned footage |
These weapons have been collected by Mexican security forces from
crimes scenes. The cartels obtain firearms from a number of sources including
neighbouring countries and China.[12] But
out of the serial numbers submitted to American authorities for tracing 70%
are tracked to purchases from US gun shops.[13] To take them out of circulation the Tamaulipas government organises
regular destructions. |
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The illegal flow of weapons across the border is a sensitive issue -
Mexico and the US are heavily invested in trade. Victor Manuel Saenz, the
Governor’s Chief of staff, is in regular talks with his US colleagues. |
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VICTOR MANUEL SAENZ CHIEF OF STAFF, GOVERNOR’S
OFFICE |
Victor (Spanish) Sub-titles: We have a great relationship with the state of Texas in particular. // So we have spoken to the US embassy, we have asked them to look more carefully at this issue, particularly gun sales in the Texas valley. Juliana So specifically, in what ways could they
tighten the gun legislation to stop the flood of weapons coming across the
border? Victor Sub-titles: In an ideal world, we’d like the
sale of automatic weapons to stop. We would like these sales to be limited to sport guns, or for personal defence. But if they will carry on selling automatic weapons, then these should be very stringently controlled. |
09:04 |
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We leave to follow the gun smuggling route back north. The authorities insist that we travel with an escort, as the
closer you get to the US the more dangerous it becomes. |
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PTC We’ve just reached the border city of Reynosa
and we’ve told categorically that we can’t film here, the Cartels are
fighting each other and they at war with the security forces |
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And then we reach the calm of the border queues ... On the other side it’s another world. Here in the city of McAllen it’s much more peaceful but suddenly gun
stores are a common sight. They number nearly 5,000 - the highest for any American state[14]. |
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Mel This is the real deal right here, this is a
fully automatic AK-47. It looks ugly, it sounds ugly and it scares
people Of course this is the gun- that most of bad
guys in Mexico like |
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Mel Rodero is a Federally Licensed Firearms or FFL dealer. We’re here want to find out how traffickers manage to purchase weapons
in Texan gun stores |
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MEL RODERO SOUTH TEXAS TACTICAL OR LICENSED GUN DEALER |
Juliana: If somebody comes in and wants to buy a weapon
from you what are you required to do by law? Mel When you are an FFL dealer you can only sell
to people in your state. They have to show some kind of proof of ID. They need to fill out one of these, this is
called a 44-73 and they’re going to ask you are you the buyer the actual
buyer to the gun, they’re going to ask you are you under indictment, ever been
convicted, all these kind of questions. Can they lie? Yes they can lie on the
form. |
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Because buyers must show identification Mexican cartels often
commission locals to buy weapons on their behalf. It’s called a straw
purchase.[15] Since 2011 gun dealers must notify the authorities of multiple sales
of certain guns.[16] It’s a regulation introduced by the Obama
administration to make it easier to spot straw purchases. |
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Mel If you buy rifles that are magazine fed and
above a 22 calibre, you have to do a multiple sale for those two. |
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But since President Trump’s election gun owners think tighter
regulation is a thing of the past. |
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Mel Since Trump has won it’s been very, very slow.
I love Donald Trump, I'll say it right now I love Donald Trump but now that
Trump won, everybody's happy that guns are not going to go away.
Now that they're safe, nobody is buying
anything so we’re in trouble now |
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We want to hear the traffickers side and a law enforcement officer has
put us in touch with a Mexican police informer. This man used to work for the Gulf Cartel. |
12:01 |
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Juliana Can you describe to me how the cartels are
operating the weapons trafficking from the US into Mexico? |
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Nolberto Short guns are brought in on foot, while long guns are disassembled, broken up into various pieces and then they get stashed away in different vehicles in order to bring them in to Mexico. Juliana So what about the Mexican security forces? Do
they make an attempt to stop any of it? Nolberto Corruption is really widespread. If you don’t play along, they'll just kill you.
If you are working at customs, you’re almost certainly getting kickbacks. And if you’re not, you’ll be killed. Or your family will be killed. |
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And US security simply has a different concern. As American border forces are more focused on drugs coming in than
weapons going out traffickers have adapted their business model: |
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Nolberto Now they are offering us guns for drugs, because it's getting trickier to take drugs over the border. |
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Official data about trafficking is hard to come by. But some US gun sellers have come to
attention such as this superstore chain called Academy Sports. |
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PTC It keeps coming up as a purchasing point of
weapons that have been trafficked to Mexico. US agencies are limited by law as to what
information they are allowed to publish but in 2011 a spreadsheet with
thousands of gun traces was leaked and Academy Sports features very
prominently. |
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Academy Sports comes up in nearly 100 traces some linked to weapons
recovered from the Zeta Cartel[2]. |
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PTC Now because the data is a bit old I’ve also gone through recent court documents and Academy sports has come up again as a place where US agencies have mounted an undercover investigation into the illegal sale of firearms[3]. |
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Academy Sport didn’t respond to our interview requests but has
denied any wrongdoing in previous statements, adding that they have removed
tactical weapons from open display[4]. |
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But the federal agency who investigated Academy Sports has agreed to
see us. It’s called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or ATF |
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Nicole, Juliana Nice to meet you |
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Agents Frank Ortega and Nicole Strong work on cases that involve
firearms trafficking. |
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NICOLE STRONG SPECIAL AGENT,
ATF |
Nicole This was one of several that was seized in a
recent investigation. |
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This gun was bought by two US citizens, on behalf of a Mexican Cartel.
The investigation revealed a whole straw purchasing network. But their charge was based on lying on the paperwork. |
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FRANK ORTEGA SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT,
ATF |
Frank Seven of them have been prosecuted in federal
court for providing false statements on the transaction report. |
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Juliana So what you’re prosecuting them for is the
fact that they filled in the form wrongly? Frank Correct! There is currently no firearms
trafficking statute that we can prosecute someone for. |
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In the absence of a targeted federal law, traffickers get off with
minimal or no punishment. |
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Nicole and Frank take us along the route where weapons are trafficked
South. There are 52 border crossings between the US and Mexico[18] used by thousands of
people every day. This one connects Brownsville with the city of
Matamoros. |
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Juliana Basically what we’re looking at it, this is
your front line. |
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In spite
of a massive drive to increase border security the ATF has seen a series of
budget cuts and the number of agents has been substantially reduced. [19] |
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Juliana President Trump wants to build a wall to keep
refugees and migrants out of the united states. Do you think such a wall could
stop the flood of American weapons going into Mexico? Frank That’s not the trend that we’re currently
seeing, they don’t focus or cross firearms by crossing the river, they cross
them in vehicles through the international bridges Juliana What does it take to stop the weapons crossing
the border? Nicole What we could really use, is the trafficking
firearms statute because that would allow us to go after not just the straw
purchaser but the entire network of people that are getting these guns to arm
the cartel. |
16:20 |
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But some legal gun sales take place virtually outside the law. Here in Texas so-called private sellers can sell weapons without any
background checks[5]. Many private sellers use specialist websites and I have made contact. A former Texan law enforcement officer has agreed to help us. Since he still does private undercover work
we’re hiding his face. |
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JR: I went onto Armslist, there is actually
somebody who’s is selling a Romanian AK $650, it’s got the package, looks new ... |
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The investigator takes over contact with the seller. He will show us how easy it is to buy a
weapon completely anonymously. |
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Juliana So you’re texting with him now? Rob I told him that I was only interested in the
Romanian, the AK |
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VO The vendor has at least four other rifles for sale. |
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Rob He just replied to me, he said the mag,
question mag, question mark, it’s in perfect condition, not in a package, I
will call you at noon to set up a meeting place |
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The seller wants to meet at this service station - a busy and public
place. He’s waiting with the AK47 in the boot of his car. We record the audio |
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Rob Hey Tom, how you doing? 650, right? Tom Yes sir You want to look at it? It has the case and I
gave you an extra mag Rob Excellent, you want to count it? Tom Nah, gun guys are honest Rob Thank you |
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Within
minutes the deal is done. Later, in a private place, we meet to look at Rob’s
purchase. It’s an AK-47, the cartel’s favourite weapon |
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Juliana I find it pretty extraordinary, I mean this is
a weapon that was designed for war and it took you about five minutes to buy
it Rob: I think it took me about two minutes ... less
than two minutes! Juliana Did you at any point of time show
identification? Did he ask anything about your second name, who you were? Rob No, no, it was just a sale! Right now it was me, an experienced person but
it could have been a cartel member |
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To make sure the weapon doesn’t end up in the wrong hands we decide to
destroy it. |
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PTC So this Kalashnikov actually broke the
machine, and it’s really hot, but nobody is going to shoot this gun again,
that’s for sure |
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So what can American
authorities do to keep track of firearms? Our next stop is a 1,000 miles north in West Virginia. It is here that
the Bureau of Tobacco and Firearms traces weapons found at crime scenes -
including those in Mexico. |
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NEIL TROPPMAN PROGRAM MANAGER, ATF TRACING NATIONAL CENTRE |
Neil So we do trace US sourced firearms for
anywhere between 75 to 100 foreign countries |
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In 2016 alone the ATF traced nearly 10,000 [20]
weapons found in Mexico back to dealers and owners in the US. But
American laws stop Neil. from sharing details. Instead he takes us on a tour. |
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Neil What you’ll see here are hallways and rows and
rows of boxes |
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US laws only allow the agency to keep records from gun dealers who are
no longer in business. Each month the ATF receives around two million paper documents. |
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Neil We’re simply prohibited from creating any kind
of a searchable database Juliana [Off]: Why? Neil [laughs] It’s just the way the legislation is
written |
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Even records submitted by dealers in electronic format must be
reversioned |
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UPSOT NEIL: ... the guys here are the e-media
conversion group |
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Man When we receive the documents in an electronic
format what we do is we take that and we make an image so it’s not searchable
any more Juliana So you’re talking something that was easily
searchable, electronically searchable and you’re making the search harder Man Yes, that’s what happens |
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If investigators want to trace a gun from a crime scene in Mexico or
the US - ATF employees must navigate a mountain of paperwork. |
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Juliana Your life is made so much more difficult by
all these laws that restrict how you can actually do your work. Who’s
responsible for those laws? Neil US congress is responsible for any of the
laws, particularly the federal gun laws and it would be literally an act of
Congress if that were to be changed |
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Washington - the place to find out who really shapes US gun laws. A group of congressmen is bringing a bill which could further limit
the ATF’s ability to investigate trafficking.
Our interview requests to them have gone unanswered so we try to find
them in person. Congressman Evan Jenkins is the sponsor of the proposed new law. |
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JR: Hi, I am from Al Jazeera, I’m looking for
Congressman Jenkins. Is he around
today? |
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His staff say they haven’t received our emails and we are sent away. |
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We go in search of the co-sponsors of the bill. Actuality and UPSOT |
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We have records of our emails but it’s the same answer everywhere: |
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11.07.50 – Looking for
Congressman Olsen MELISSA KELLY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR
CONGRESSMAN PETE OLSON COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR
REP. PETE OLSON |
MK: Well, I didn’t get any requests from you. I’m his communications director. JR: Right, ok, we’ve put in a few requests
over time! MK: Well, the house email system ... we don’t
always get emails. Sometimes they
don’t come through my email inbox.
They go to a spam filter. JR: Right, so how as the press do we get in
touch with you? ... MK: Call?! |
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But call we did - without results! Finally we are in luck! |
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REP. BLAKE FARENTHOLD CONGRESSMAN R-TX BLAKE FARENTHOLD US REP. TEXAS, REPUBLICAN |
JR: Hi Good Morning Congressman! We know that you are supporting this bill,
which cancels the multiple reporting requirement for assault rifles. Now the ATF is saying that it’s one of the
few tools they have to stop trafficking and straw purchasing. Can you just tell us why you support this
bill? |
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BF: Because the Second Amendment is very clear
on the limitation of the government’s ability to regulate firearms and I
think the second amendment speaks for itself.
I took an oath when I ran for congress to observe, protect and defend
the constitution and this bill is one of the ways I’m doing it. |
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JR: But it helps to prevent a crime and helps
to stop trafficking and straw purchasing – Congressman? Aren’t you interested in stopping crime? |
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The second amendment of the US constitution guarantees Americans the
right to carry weapons. We know the congressman is due at a meeting so we wait again. |
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JR: Congressman, anything else beyond the
second amendment? BF: It’s not the weapons that do the crime,
it’s the the people |
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JR: There’s a bill here that’s an
anti-trafficking bill, would you vote in favour of that? BF: I don’t know what bill that is? JR: Would you like to – can I show it to you? BF: Sure – I’ve got to get to a
committee. Ask me this afternoon –
I’ll have looked at it! JR: Thanks very much, we’ll do that, |
107 |
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We called Congressman Farenthold’s office several times thereafter -
he never did provide a response. But Evan Jenkins - the sponsor of the proposed law which would limit
the ATF’s investigative powers - sent a written statement. He says he wants
to stop government intrusion into the lives of responsible gun owners. |
108 |
Archive -
AP 4093800 ++US Trump NRA 2 - Atlanta - 28.04.17 - |
With President Trump now in power laws that target trafficking have
become much less likely to get passed.
Here he is addressing the 2017 convention of the National Rifle
Association who contributed over 30 million USD to his campaign. |
109 |
Archive
- AP 4093800 ++US Trump NRA 2 - Atlanta - 28.04.17 |
DONALD TRUMP You have a true friend and champion in the
White House, no longer will Federal Agencies be coming after law-abiding gun
owners. |
110 |
Ruptly -
20120722-043-Trump-Supporters
(outdoors chanting build the wall) Archive - AP ++US Trump
Rally 4 - Phoenix - 22.08.17- 4112176 - |
At rallies across the country Trump voters have urged him to construct
a wall between Mexico and the US - Shouts: Build the wall, build the wall! - a promise President Trump has vowed to deliver. |
111 |
Archive - AP ++US Trump
Rally 4 - Phoenix - 22.08.17- 4112176 - + Archive - AP ++US Trump
Rally 3 - Phoenix - 22.08.17 |
Trump: That wall is going to help us, very
importantly, with the deadly and heartbreaking consequences of illegal
immigration - the loss of lives, the drugs, the gangs, the cartels, the
crisis of smuggling and trafficking. |
112 |
Archive - AFP 20170430 -
US Trump 100 days rally politics - 29.04.17 - Pennsylvania. + Archive TBC |
But do Trump and his supporters connect their freedom to buy guns with
the destruction suffered by Mexico’s people? If America intends to keep drugs and migrants out it should get
tougher on weapons going in. |
113 |
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For now the families of the disappeared are waiting for the violence
to end. They want the search for their loved ones to finally begin ... |
[1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/09/22/study-guns-owners-violence/90858752/
[2] https://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/firearms-trafficking-u-s-mexico-border
[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/san-bernardino-shooting/americas-gun-business-numbers-n437566
[4] https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/09/the-gun-lobbying-group-you-dont-hear-about/279616/
[5]http://secretariadoejecutivo.gob.mx/docs/pdfs/estadisticas%20del%20fuero%20comun/Cieisp2016_012017.pdf (Mexican Ministry of the Interior figures)
[6] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-violence/mexico-kills-gulf-cartel-boss-in-reynosa-shootout-idUSKBN17O0MQ
[7] http://uk.businessinsider.com/cartel-gang-violence-in-reynosa-nuevo-laredo-matamoros-mexico-border-2017-6
[8] http://www.torontosun.com/2017/06/06/three-cops-killed-in-mexican-prison-uprising
[9] http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/05/09/five-killed-gulf-cartel-attack-mexican-border-police/
[10] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/07/mexico-prison-gun-fight-ciudad-victoria
[11] http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/mexico [Civilians
are very limited in the types of guns they can own.]
[12] http://articles.latimes.com/1997-03-15/news/mn-38557_1_arms-smuggling
[13] Report obtained from ATF - wording “US sources” taken from the
report
[14] https://www.wola.org/sites/default/files/Gun_Running_Nation.pdf
[15] https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/texas/
[16] https://www.atf.gov/file/11046/download
[17] http://lawcenter.giffords.org/scorecard/
[18] http://www.wwu.edu/bpri/files/2010_fall_border_brief.pdf
[19] http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-553
[20] https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B27oXXQTvZxASWN1cVVLdWhmbDg
[2] Leaked ATF database - link to our google doc where we
saved the data: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B27oXXQTvZxAQ1hoNHdaUnE1dTQ
[3] Criminal complaint dating May 2017 signed by an ATF
agent stating that in April 2017 ATF agents bought rifles from the McAllen
Academy Sports to prove that the employee is “coordinating the sale of firearms
from the state of Texas to Reynosa, Mexico.
The ATF did not want to speak about this case as it was still under
investigations at the time of filming.
Link to our google doc folder with legal documents downloaded from
PACER: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bzk6_yIVJqeGdXFYTnlfangzaEk
[4] No right to reply received from Academy Sports. Quote included from this piece: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/12/AR2010121202667_5.html?sid=ST2010121203267