The Assault Weapons Ban and American Guns in Latin America

https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-01-20/carlos-perez-ricart-theres-never-been-a-better-time-for-the-us-arms-industry-than-right-now.html

This article does not affirm what many of us intuitively already know - the US arms industry is experiencing something of a golden age. From sales to the EU (for Ukraine), to client states across Asia and the Middle East, to Latin America - there's a lot of money being made. And as I'm often keen to note - a lot of this blood money flows into the coffers of Christians by means of investment, particularly in mutual funds and 401k portfolios.

But there's another aspect to the arms industry that also constitutes big business.

The article in question focuses on the American firearm industry and in particular its relationship to Latin America. The year 2004 is key as it marks the end of the assault weapons ban. For the past twenty years American manufacturers have flooded the market with these weapons and a lot of them have made their way south.

Of course there have been scandals - attempts to track shipped weapons and I am among those convinced the US has at times armed some of the cartels as it tends to back certain groups at the expense of others. The article in question also provides some interesting food for thought with regard to American culture and its relationship to things like the automobile, guns, and video games. The word decadent should immediately come to mind.

The questions of the Brady Bill, and the courts in the Trump era are also worthy of some reflection. Additionally, there is the nagging issue (unmentioned in the article) of Christians who have conflated American Idealism with their faith, resulting in a kind of divine inspiration with regard to the founding documents which are functionally granted something akin to deutero-canonical status. As such, the 2nd Amendment (which is misread and misapplied from its original context) is rendered as a 'God given' codified sanction for individual gun ownership and an ethical justification for their use and even the gun culture that has resulted. It is safe to say, this entire question exemplifies nothing less than a Satanic infiltration within the Church - the baptizing of an ethic that is antithetical to the religion of the New Testament. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.

While I've never been a fan of the ATF, the motives behind Trump's reduction of its budget and (it would seem) intent on folding the organisation (or subordinating it to the DEA or another agency) is rooted in Right-wing hatred harking back to the Fast and Furious operation under Obama (and the narrative traction it afforded the Right), the Randy Weaver/Ruby Ridge fiasco, and the various interpretations of the WACO siege and cataclysm in 1993. For many, the ATF and FBI under Janet Reno represented a kind of coming globalist anti-Christian shock force being employed by the communistic Clinton administration. Again, one need not be a fan of these organisations or people to dismiss these theories - some of which are just laughable and ridiculous. There were some genuine scandals and cover-ups to be sure but these narratives (which fuel hatred for the ATF) border on the absurd.

The article fails to cover the effects of the Drug War which began in 2006 by Mexican president Felipe Calderon - under considerable pressure from George Bush. The war escalated under Peña Nieto his successor. Lopez Obrador (AMLO) attempted to end the Drug War, but in fact escalated it and now Sheinbaum (who took office in 2024) has given no indication of a policy shift. The war has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, assassinations, and a sharp increase in state corruption - the most notorious example being that of Genaro Garcia Luna. He was effectively the man in charge of the drug war, but was revealed to be in the pay of the cartels. He's not rotting away in the Supermax prison in Colorado. Some have spoken of social collapse and the overall effect of the war and its corollary economic issues has played a significant role in the increase of northward immigration. It's a sick and twisted irony but as many Americans hate these immigrants, so often it is the policies of their government that have created the conditions that cause them to flee - seeking security and opportunities to survive economically. The United States wreaks havoc in these countries and then spits on the people whose lives are ruined, who seek to escape.

Now that Trump has shut the border down, some are waiting to see what this produces in Mexico and Central America. The expectation is more violence and given the amount of firearms flowing south - there's potential for a lot of killing.

While this piece represents yet another indictment of American's firearms industry - it will certainly have no effect. The kind of numbers involved and the amounts invested in Wall Street guarantee the US Congress won't seriously challenge them.

See also:

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-drug-war-corruption-and-cover-up-at.html