Mexico rejects US top court ruling on lawsuit against gun companies

by IANS |

Mexico City, June 6 (IANS) The Mexican government said that it strongly disagrees with a US Supreme Court ruling to dismiss its lawsuit against eight US gun companies for their alleged role in trafficking illegal arms into Mexico.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly expresses its disagreement with the decision issued by the Supreme Court of the United States, the government said in a statement, reiterating that Mexico "will continue to do everything in its power to curb illicit arms trafficking" by exhausting all available legal and diplomatic remedies, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier in the day, the US top court spared the American gun companies from a lawsuit by Mexico's government accusing them of aiding illegal firearms trafficking to drug cartels and fueling gun violence in Mexico.

In August 2021, Mexico filed a lawsuit against eight US gun manufacturers and distributors in a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, seeking to hold them legally accountable for the flow of weapons that fuels violence and strengthens criminal rings that threaten the safety of Mexicans.

Thursday's court ruling does not affect the course of a second lawsuit filed in 2022 in a court in Tucson, Arizona against five gun dealers, the ministry said. This second case is ongoing and is in the evidence-gathering stage.

"Mexico has presented solid arguments demonstrating the harm that gun manufacturing companies cause to our country, and will continue its fight against arms trafficking and hold accountable those who allow the flow of weapons to continue fueling violence," the ministry said.