This is how weapons are trafficked from Arizona to Mexico

PHOENIX (AZFamille) — The discovery of guns and magazines by U.S. Border Patrol agents at an Arizona port of entry ultimately connected the dots to what investigators believe was a cross-border arms smuggling operation. country.

According to a search warrant, Jorge Casahonda Padilla, a Mexican citizen, was attempting to enter Mexico in August 2023 through the Mariposa port of entry in Nogales when he was arrested and firearms were discovered in the trunk spare wheel area.

The serial numbers of some weapons had been “obliterated”. But some guns were able to get their serial numbers back.

According to a search warrant, the firearms were traced back to Daniel Nastari, of Fort Pierce, Florida, who purchased the firearms in Florida just two weeks before the discovery in Nogales.

Homeland Security Investigations and ATF agents were able to connect Padilla, Nastari and Carlos Juarez to arms trafficking from Florida to Mexico.

According to a March indictment of the three men, investigators followed Juarez driving a Cadillac Escalade with Florida license plates traveling west near Tyler, Texas, Albuquerque and Phoenix .

The vehicle was spotted three days later returning to the United States through the Nogales port of entry. Investigators noted that the vehicle returned to Florida through the same towns.

Investigators estimate that these men are responsible for the trafficking of more than a hundred rifles between July and October 2023.

“Weapons of choice”

The discovery in Nogales is just one example of what the ATF considers trafficking in what it calls “weapons of choice.”

The ATF says Mexican trafficking organizations use straw buyers in the United States to illegally purchase firearms and ammunition and pass them to people in order to smuggle the weapons across domestic and international borders .

Peter Forcelli is a retired deputy assistant director of the ATF who recently published a book on gun smuggling called “The Deadly Path.”

“The reality is that gun trafficking into Mexico is no longer just a border state matter,” Forcelli said.

But Arizona remains a major artery for gun trafficking, ranking among the top three states where guns were sold and then used in crimes in Mexico. Forcelli says this latest case is an example of the extent of the cartel's influence in the United States. But it may also signal that federal prosecutors are serious about cracking down on the pipeline.

“If this kind of continued success occurs, it will be necessary to stop the flow of guns — or at least significantly slow it down to Mexico,” Forcelli said.

The Mexican government is also taking steps to end the trend of weapons purchased in the United States ending up in their country. In 2022, Mexico prosecuted five Arizona gun traffickers in federal court, accusing the traffickers of participating in trafficking assault rifles and ammunition to drug gangs in Mexico.

In March, that lawsuit got the green light to proceed to trial.

Mexico's foreign secretary at the time said about 60 percent of weapons seized in Mexico in recent years were believed to have been sold in 10 U.S. counties, mostly along the border. Mexico has very strict restrictions on gun ownership, but drug cartel violence has cost hundreds of thousands of lives in the country in recent years.

The Mexican government estimates that 70% of weapons imported into Mexico come from the United States, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2019 alone, at least 17,000 homicides in Mexico were linked to gun trafficking.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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