Two men have been charged by a federal grand jury in Texas of attempting to smuggle thousands of rounds of ammunition into Mexico, court documents show.
Concretely, Jaime Noe Ceballos Maturin and Daniel Soberanes Nuñez were charged with two counts of conspiracy and smuggling goods from the United States, according to Border Report.
The incident took place on June 11, when the U.S. Border Patrol Anti-Smuggling unit took action after receiving intelligence on the matter. They stopped them on a truck as they were attempting to leave the U.S. on that day. The two were accompanied by a woman who had a 5-month-old child with her.
Even though they initially told investigators they had crossed the border to sell goats and buy clothing, Soberanes then requested assurances the woman and her baby would be allowed to return to Mexico in exchange for his cooperation. He then allegedly pointed at the wheel well, where officers found the ammo.
The smuggling of guns and ammo from the U.S. to Mexico has long been an issue in border regions, with Mexico suing American gun manufacturers and saying they "design, market, distribute and sell guns in ways" that arm Mexican drug cartels, playing a role in the rise of gun violence in the country.
The complaint was dismissed by a US district court in September 2022, arguing the claims were "barred by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act," but Mexico won an appeal and, in March this year, a three-judge panel in Boston determined that "Mexico's complaint plausibly alleges a type of claim that is statutorily exempt from the PLCAA's general prohibition," allowing it to move forward. The defendants include Smith & Wesson, Colt and Glock.
The Department of Justice arrested five men in Texas that same month and accused them of illegally purchasing firearms with the goal of later smuggling them across the border with Mexico and selling them to drug cartels.
The suit details that a man, Gerardo Rafael Perez Jr. of Laredo coordinated the purchase of more than 100 arms with said purpose. Four others aided him in his goal of transporting them to Nuevo Laredo, in Mexico.
The men were charged with conspiracy to straw purchase firearms and smuggling across the southern border, offenses established by a 2022 gun safety bill. The bipartisan bill made it illegal to buy a gun for another person who is prohibited from owning it or doesn't want its name associated with the transaction.
Over 300 people have been prosecuted for offenses of this nature since the law was passed, according to The Texas Tribune. If found guilty, the defendants could spend up to 15 years in prison.
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