In the wake of recent mass shootings, the debate about the place of powerful firearms in our country continues. But the proliferation of guns in the U.S. may have wider-reaching implications than just the domestic gun control debate.
High-powered guns are also making their way south of the border, and ending up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. Many of them come from Texas.
Seth Harp is a writer for Rolling Stone, which just published his feature, “Arming the Cartels: The Inside Story of a Texas Gun-Smuggling Ring.” He says his story began with a retired police officer, living in Georgetown – Michael Fox – who smuggled mini guns across the border with Mexico and into the hands of a drug cartel. Despite the diminutive name, a mini-gun is actually a fully-automatic weapon, usually powered by electricity, that is banned in the U.S.
“Sometimes we refer to assault rifles as weapons of war, but this is a true weapon of war,” Harp says.
What you’ll hear in this segment:
– Who was part of the mini-gun smuggling effort
– How guns were smuggled
– Why the smugglers were caught
Written by Shelly Brisbin.
