Tag: grenade launchers

Mexican drug cartels pay Americans to smuggle weapons across the border, intelligence documents show

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Mexican drug cartels have been smuggling a vast arsenal of even military-grade weapons out of the U.S. with the help of American citizens, a CBS Reports investigation has found.

Mexican drug cartels pay Americans to smuggle weapons across the border, intelligence documents show

Related:

Documents: ATF used “Fast and Furious” to make the case for gun regulations

Rifle Capable of Taking Down a Helicopter, Found in El Chapo’s House – Guess Who Gave it to Him

Operation Fast and Furious: The Forgotten History of the ATF’s Notorious Gunwalking Scandal

Fast & Furious Gun Found At Mexican Beauty Queen Murder Scene

Biden green-lights deployment to Mexican border + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

The US president signed an order allowing active duty reserve troops as needed to fight international drug trafficking

Biden green-lights deployment to Mexican border

Related:

Message to the Congress on Executive Order on Authority to Order the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces to Active Duty to Address International Drug Trafficking

U.S. says it ‘infiltrated’ the Sinaloa drug cartel in the fight against fentanyl

Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers

[3-8-22] Trump Calls Out ‘Fake News’ Over Reports He Did Nothing for Ukraine

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Trump Calls Out ‘Fake News’ Over Reports He Did Nothing for Ukraine

“The fake news media refuses to report that I was the one who, very early and strongly, gave the anti-tank busters (Javelins) to Ukraine, while Obama/Biden was giving blankets, to great and open complaints,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday.

“Then [President Joe] Biden came in, and canceled the remaining military equipment that was packed, loaded, and ready to be shipped. Now the fake news media is trying to say that Trump gave Ukraine nothing, and it was Biden who is their great friend and gave them weaponry. The dishonesty is so unbelievable. All I can do is report it!”

…

“When Trump was elected, the first thing they did was send in the Javelin,” U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy Jim Townsend said at the time. “It wasn’t exactly high-end, but we were very happy, and they built on a very firm foundation.”

Related:

Trump Says Russia-Ukraine Tensions ‘Would Never Have Happened’ Under His Presidency:

The Russian Embassy in Washington said if the U.S. was “truly committed to diplomatic efforts to resolve the internal Ukrainian conflict” it would “abandon plans to supply new batches of weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

On the claim that Obama didn’t send military weapons to Ukraine (supposedly he just didn’t send Javelins)

U.S. officials were concerned that providing the Javelins to Ukraine would escalate their conflict with Russia. Key allies, including Germany, were not keen on sending weapons into the conflict zone, said Michael Kofman, an expert on Russia and senior research scientist at the CNA Corporation.

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The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, which became law in November 2015, called for “lethal assistance such as anti-armor weapon systems, mortars, crew-served weapons and ammunition, grenade launchers and ammunition, and small arms and ammunition.”

She’s a Doctor. He Was a Limo Driver. They Pitched a $30 Million Arms Deal.

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

She’s a Doctor. He Was a Limo Driver. They Pitched a $30 Million Arms Deal.

The Biden administration encourages private sector deals for several reasons. It saves the Pentagon from further depleting its own armory after months of sending arms to Ukraine. And private sellers can provide weapons that the government cannot — like the Soviet-style weapons* already used by Ukrainian soldiers.

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Whether the deal goes forward or not, the BMI documents show that the Ukraine war presents an opportunity to charge big prices. The bullets that Mr. Zlatev planned to sell were 50 percent more expensive than those publicly listed by other vendors. His grenade launchers were selling for more than twice what is listed on a price list for United Nations peacekeeping forces. Experts say these increases typically help pay the middlemen — at the expense of a nation in the middle of a war.

*Wonder if they’ll buy these?! 😉