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Sunday, May 31, 2015

Mexican spending spree, purchasing military equipment from the U.S.

Lucio R. Borderland Beat- Republished from NCLA...

Mexico has purchased at least $1.15 billion in military equipment from the United States over the past 12 months.  Despite his campaign rhetoric condemning  former President Felipe Calderón’s military model used against organized crime, President Enrique Peña Nieto’s promises of a drastic military departure in his plan in Mexico's drug war is but a distant memory.  Not only  has his administration remained highly militarized,  but to a greater degree than President Felipe Calderón. It should be noted that Mexico asked for greater number of military equipment than was approved. [Lucio]


Mexico has been on a buying spree for U.S. military equipment, especially helicopters and armored vehicles, with purchases amounting to more than a billion dollars in the last 12 months. U.S. Northern Command chief Admiral William Gortney said the combined deals represent "a 100-fold increase from prior years." For a military supposedly proud of its independence from the United States, it is a dependent client.

On Tuesday, March 17, the State Department approved the sale of three Blackhawk helicopters to the Mexican military for $110 million, to support Mexican troops engaged in counter-drug operations. The deal comes on the heels of a larger agreement last April for Mexico to buy 18 Blackhawks for $680 million. The helicopters are produced by Sikorsky, based in Connecticut (also supplier to Colombia and other countries), and General Electric, in Lynn, MA. The deals include training and the construction of a facility. The United States will also reportedly supply six M134 7.62mm machine guns for the helicopters, which fire up to 6,000 rounds a minute.

Last May, Washington approved a sale of more than 3,000 Humvees for the Mexican military, at a cost of $556 million, in order to expand "existing army architecture to combat drug trafficking organizations" and enhance "interoperability between Mexico and the U.S." The Humvees will be built by AM General in Mishawaka, Indiana. A later report said that in December the Pentagon approved sale of 2,200 of the Humvee vehicles, for just $245 million.

Mexico City police purchased five helicopters from Texas-based Bell last month, for another $26.4 million. The helicopters will be assigned to the Condores, a group of special police. Two weeks later, the Mexican Air Force sealed a deal for 15 Bell helicopters, valued for at least $37 million, to be based at an airbase in Jalisco state.


In January, the Pentagon said that the Mexican Navy, too, is buying Blackhawks – five of them, for $56 million. Last September, the Navy also announced the purchase of four King Air 350ER aircraft, to be used for "maritime surveillance of strategic installations, light transport, and medical evacuation." The aircraft are built by Beechcraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation, which sold another four aircraft to the Mexican Navy in 2013.


Until 2014, arms sales to Mexico were mostly commercial sales. But in the last 12 months, deals through the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales program have shot up to more than $1 billion. (Defense Security Cooperation Agency)

All told, these agreements represent at least $1.15 billion in arms sales to the Mexican military or police in the last year, mostly facilitated by the Pentagon through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. FMS sales frequently come at a discount, and are not subject to human rights restrictions, such as the Leahy Law.

These sales do not include guns and ammunition. In 2014, the U.S. legally transferred more than 28,000 firearms to Mexico, most of them military rifles, at a value of $21.6 million. The year saw the most firearms sales in dollars of the 15 years that the U.S. Census Bureau has kept data.

Many more weapons crossed the border from the United States illegally. In 2013, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms traced 10,488 firearms recovered at crime scenes in Mexico back to U.S. manufacturers or sales. A University of San Diego study estimated that a quarter of a million firearms were purchased annually in the United States to be trafficked into Mexico from 2010 to 2012. These numbers dwarf the disastrous "Fast and Furious" program by which ATF allowed hundreds of weapons purchased in Arizona to cross into Mexico in 2009 and 2010.

Mexico also gets military equipment from the United States through direct commercial sales, which are disclosed later. In 2013, the U.S. approved more than a billion dollars in sales of military equipment to Mexico, most of it for "spacecraft systems and associated equipment." This could include satellites, GPS systems, or ground control stations. It also approved sales of more than 116 million rounds of ammunition and $187 million in "military electronics."

Mexico began to buy Blackhawks in the 1990s, and already had a fleet of 20 Blackhawks before the buying spree. Sikorsky opened a training center in Queretaro in 2012 to facilitate regional sales and training.
The massive militarization represented by billions of dollars of U.S. arms sales to Mexico as well as illegal gun trafficking is bad news for the many Mexicans devastated by the abuses of police and soldiers, the escalation of firepower when fights between government and non-governmental criminal groups occur, and the weapons that make their way illegally to trafficking organizations. The United States must develop other capacities besides producing guns and military equipment for finding a healthy balance of trade and addressing our own problems.

This month, a caravan is crisscrossing the country with Mexican families and classmates of the 43 students murdered in Guerrero last September by Mexican police in concert with organized crime. The "Ayotzinapa 43" caravan is traveling through California, the Midwest, and East Coast en route to Washington to speak with policymakers. Their visit offers a clear opportunity to those of us living in the United States to show our solidarity and to call for different approaches to violence in Mexico and to drug use in the United States.




Thanks to the BB reader giving us a heads up

59 comments:

  1. But will it stop the violence?? I don't think so

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    1. Bullshit...The US should be giving that hardware away to Mexico free of charge given the damned costs to Mexican society in terms of violence.

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  2. Go on and update yo status Mexico.Get with it!

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    1. yes and put down the revolution

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  3. Mexico is buying on credit, of course, because the pemex windfall went away with the falling price of oil, as I prognosticators a few months ago, so by the time any money from pemex rolls in, it will all be owed...
    --Mexico is not to get any benefit for its oil, not very soon...

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    1. Actually US taxpayers are picking up the military toys thanks to Democrat and Republican friends in the defense industry

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    2. US taxpayers pay for weapons...
      Weapons dealers get the money...
      Mexican politicians get commissions, and to reinforce the gorilla state...
      --The mexican people get murdered and abused to make them fall in line all bent over, to receive the new gospel of capitalist jesus and a new education reform that wants to make them the servile robots of the world powers...

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  4. Time for full all out war on the cartels. The special police, the Mexican City police, the federal police, the military and the Marinas all getting decked out for battle. Full blown war coming against the cartels. The last ranch massacre was a warm up 6 Gatling guns with 6 barrels each on every chopper thats up to 36,000 rounds per minute. These meth and crack head cartel scum will stand no chance especially when there s no place to go and the choppers just sit there and make hamburger. LOL

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    1. LOL. I agree!

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    2. ,,,Or is the Mexican Gov't buying all these on behalf of the cartel? So we are, essentially, arming the cartels more.

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    3. The cartel de las Lomas getting their sicarios more weapons, more powerful, with less brains...
      -- the results will be negative, and onerous, as most of the politics coming out of Washington for the last 65 years, since kissinger started growing more and more powerful at the shade of the Rockefeller money tree...
      --Those fucking "statesmen" sure know how to shake some dollahs from the money trees, even from their death beds...

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    4. Just sent in the Furguson PD.

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  5. What happened to the days when a country's military protected the country from foreign invasion?

    Mexico is, basically, loading up on military hardware to use against its own citizens. Pretty wild, when you think about it.

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    1. The US has been arming their local police departments exactly the.same way for years because somebody has plans against the american citizen, and none of them include "taking their weapons" from their cold brainwashed hands...

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    2. The US is doing the same, look at all the cops they look like military.

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    3. Actually, the US government dumping all its old stuff of police departments was a genius move. Since that equipment, mostly vehicles, isnt being used because of the end of the wars; it makes sense to let cops play army man while keeping the vehicles maintained and parked somewhere other than federal land where they would take up space in hangars since you cant leave them out. If they ever become necessary again , the government will have no problem either buying them back for a fraction of what the cops paid or just straight up saying fuck you were taling our shit back.

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  6. The US gave mexico billions with the plan merida in order to fight organized crime. Now mexico is given those billions right back to them.

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  7. Yeah, because more violence is always the answer to violence. EPN is in the pocket of every corrupt component of Mexican and American business. Imagine what the kickbacks are on $1 billion+ in arms purchases.

    Enrique Peña Nieto makes the drug cartels and other criminals look like rank amateurs, when it comes to the wholesale theft of Mexico's financial resources. He and his cohorts in crime are laughing all the way to the bank.

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  8. Oh shit the narcos need to be afraid very afraid. Remember what happened in Colombia when the Colombian government played ball with the US? Remember panama? The same could happen in Mexico if the people of Mexico stay the course and really want to decrease the violence. It won't happen today and maybe not tomorrow but it's possible in the future.

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    1. they r not afraid they own Pena Nieto

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  9. Who says crime dont pay
    Ask the USA bling bling

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  10. The "narcs" earn their way...24/7
    --the government steals from the armed forces and sends them to murder other mexicans who are as fucked up as the soldiers, in the end, the mexican governing narco-mierdocracia who is the worst, will win this one...I don't know about others, later...

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  11. Like the old saying USA to mexico nothing personal its just business

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  12. If Mexico did not buy from the USA, it would buy from another country; Canada also manufactures good military hardware for instance; therefore, the premise of your complaint, the base of your convictions (however sincere) relayed through this report becomes moot; moreover, what would you have soldiers do to fight the evil present in Mexico, throw stones back at people who posess no souls and who fight with automatic weaponry? Do you suggest The Mahatma's approach to the cartels; would that work in Mexico, or would they have just beheaded Gandhi too? Now to fight the evil that exists in the USA takes other types of weaponry, and that is not military hardware.

    Please, lead all of us not into ignorance, this violence is a world problem not just between the USA and Mexico; so that we should not grow ignorant, view http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-exporting-arms-to-countries-with-suspicious-human-rights-records/article15817569/ and http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/mexico/industry.htm . Sincerely.

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    1. Yeah but this is from the Merida Initiative so its strictly US hardware.Why should Mexico purchase from another country if they can get theirs from the US for free?

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  13. @8:15 do the world a favor and jump of a bridge please you sound like a idiot

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    1. Who you callin' an idiot Willis? He's got the right philosophy, got to fight fire with fire, no prisoners and make a statement. Enough is enough and brute force is needed to reign in these spawns of Satan. Unless you want to wait until they chainsaw and hack your family to death in front of you while they dismember you piece by piece? Military force is what's needed so I beg for you to jump off that bridge you are talking about and let me know when so I can verify that you are not just all talk.

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    2. Actually 10:51 is the willis not 11:03. I can't speak for 11:53 but I could feel his/her frustration at people not seeing the big picture as to what is happening here. If you support killing anyone that the feds THINK are bad guys then you support extrajudicial killings.

      and when you support extrajudicial actions you support
      students being killed or imprisoned
      protestors being killed or imprisoned
      social activists being killed or imprisoned
      social cleaning by killing
      political activist killed or imprisoned
      inconvenient reporters killed or vanish

      and so forth. when you give the license for EPN's government to being jailer-judge-and jury- without judicial process, you have given up the constructional rights of people, let alone human rights.

      you cannot pick and choose. and that is the danger.

      than is why 10:52 is an idiot. You can't Rambo your way in. change has to be with integrity to build a democracy that will control crime and corruption.

      THIS IS CORRUPTION. this is illegal. and that is what we are saying.
      It is easy for people from afar to cheer on the killings because they are smug in a nation that for the most part preserves their rights. Mexico does not.

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    3. O you are not playing nice.

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  14. The billions that Mexico received from the US with the "plan merida" to fight organized crime are being sent right back to the US.

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  15. U$A is doing a great business on the war on drugs in Mexico :-)

    It seems that whenever and wherever is war on the planet
    U$A is there and making big money.

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  16. I see the U.S. will be including 6 M134 machine guns with the Blackhawk purchase. 6,000 rounds per minute--100 rounds per second!! Get ready cartels--your ass is grass and the M134 is going to be the mower that sends you to hell!!

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    1. thats 6 each per helicopter and each has 6 barrels they are mini Gatling guns and each is capable of up to 6000 rounds per minute times 6 guns equals 36000 rounds per minute if all were firing at the same time. chopped liver and swiss cheese at its finest.

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    2. two door mounts and undercarriages, if partial fixed wing, two more mounted on sides pilot firing, two door gunners in movable pintle mounts. awesome weapon. no survivors after these babies start ripping. can re-sod a football filed in a few minutes.

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  17. 10:51 canada like the US has been seeding mexico with crime and drug trafficking since the 20's , accelerating in the 80's until today but the US has more stakes to claim in mexico.
    All the weapons sold to "mexico" benefit no one other than the weapons merchants, and not the US, canadian or mexico, and those merchants deserve to die first, then the lawyers...

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  18. It seems the Mexican drug war benefits the USA , its a market for American military hardware sales...I wonder who is really running CJNG?????

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  19. Has it occurred to anyone that it may not be fightong the cartels that these weapons are being bought for? Maybe the Gob. realizes that the people may be getting fed up with there alliance with the cartels and the rape of the economy of mexico. Maybe they are preping for a long overdue revolution.

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    1. That's exactly whats gonna happen. The goverment has all the weapons and the ppl none. The outcome is very grim for the ppl of Mexico.

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  20. It is a good thing that the United Mexican States is entering the 21st Century with military arms. Hopefully, the government of EPN will understand the importance of training and vetting. With increased authority comes increased responsibility to the people. If one drills down on the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to Defense Trade and Arms and then enters Mexico in the search function, much detail is provided as to the number and type of arms purchased. You should not bring a knife to a gun fight. K.O.

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    1. Weapons, weapons, weapons, has not solved one single problem for humanity, no wonder the Russians have mentioned "casually" that they still have "niuculiar" weapons, and the iranis are working hard to achieve some, and the Israeli work hard at hiding theirs, even the north Koreans have been working on the most powerful of the cardboard rocketry...
      --It will work for a while, to subdue some, while making others richer, maybe, for a while only...

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  21. I guess the "plan merida" is really working out for the US

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    1. I was just thinking the same thing!

      USA give Mexico money taken from American taxpayers so that Mexico can then funnel it back to the corporations

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  22. I see no problem with trying to help, if the weapons do not wind up in the criminal group hands. It appears someone from the article disagree with the money spent on preparing to fight drugs in Mexico Let;s be realistic, it does cost quite a bit to do this. Unless the government in Mexico do the same thing as the cartels. Find a gullible kid to fight for 40 US dollars. Not really. The US is willing to help, but Mexico has to pay for that help. Mexico civilians claim to want the violence to stop, then the government must prepare to do so. Everything has a cost to it. Or should the US just throw it in for free?

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    1. If the criminal government of mexico is the one doing the drug trafficking, why are they getting more and more powerful weapons from the countries that do and protect all the drug trafficking profits?
      --To impose more and more austerity on the rabble...

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    2. You just dont know how the world really is. This is the endgame. The whole purpose of this is not to stop trafficking or prevent crime or any law enforcement endeavor as you so willingly beleive. It is the perpetual buying and selling of weapons that is the goal....and Mexico is not buying these weapons with their money. It is using the American tax payers money given by the crooks in Washington to the crooks in los Pinos and recycled back to buy low grade weaponry from the Arms dealers that came up with the original Plan Merida Plot.

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  23. This millitary equipment is not for fighting organized crime because organized crime and government are the same thing. This equipment is to fight the people who are fed up with the insane corruption. We are sick of the situation and want to fight back. But government is preparing themselves with the help of the US.

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  24. Major score for the cartels. Guess who pays the piso to these suited leeches?. The narcos who with no shadow of a doubt take advantage of the arms being bought, which equates to more dead mexicans. Keep the drugs coming Mexico and the DEA &CIA will continue to prosper on your silly turf battles.

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  25. Okay EPN you have the military and weapons. Now bring in some universities and schools across the country. Not shitty ones. Nice ones with beautiful architect

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  26. This reminds me of subcomandante marcos' letter that was published here on BB a couple years ago as to what the purpose of this war was about. After everything that has happened and everything weve seen both governments do. I dont think anybody would disagree with him anymore. Unless ur one of the many government shills that troll this site and blindly support their actions like the killing of 43 innocent people on a ranch or in apatzingan or in iguala.

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  27. Their buying all these military vehicles with drug proceeds

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  28. All those weapons wont help the mexican government. Mexicans will learn the art of guerrilla warfare.

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  29. Keep pushing! Mexican govt the people will overthrow you once again how many times has it happened before.

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  30. This equipment, will help aid, in the trafficking of drugs.. Them big boy toys, aren't going to be used,in any fake ass war on drugs.The real war, is against those who are opposing this fake ass war, exposing it for what it is.

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  31. The history of the US army is so high. They had played a great role during the world war 2. Nowadays the US military is the most powerful military in the world. If you want to know about the US military then you can visit our site. US military bases

    ReplyDelete

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