A Roma woman has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for lying about her purchase of at least 25 military-style assault weapons that made their way into the hands of the Gulf Cartel.
One of the firearms — which federal prosecutors say she bought for a man she knew only as “El Mano” — has since been linked to the torture and execution of a retired Mexican general earlier this year.
“I didn’t know what they would be used for,” 44-year-old Mireya Rivera Juarez said in Spanish at her sentencing hearing Thursday. “This is my first time in jail. I’ve always been hardworking.”
The motherly, 5-foot woman with a courtroom full of children and family members looked like an unlikely accomplice in Mexico’s ongoing drug war — which has contributed to the deaths of more than 11,000 since late 2006.
Why don't they arrest El Mano or some of the so-called legitimate gun dealers who sold assault rifles to a "motherly, 5-foot" Mexican woman? It seems to me she's the least of the guilty in this deal.
One of the difficulties is that background checks which are supposedly done each time she bought a gun are destroyed almost immediately, according to law. Guess who lobbied for that law? Had those records been maintained a big red flag could have been available to law enforcement personnel. Lives would have been saved.
The best part of the article is the final line. I guess no one told The Monitor.
According to agency data, 90 percent of the traceable weapons used in Mexican drug violence originated in the United States.
What's your opinion? What do you think a law-abiding gun dealer thinks when a woman like this buys more than one assault rifle from him, when he fills out the paperwork for her background check for the second or third time? Do you think he realized exactly what she's up to and turns a blind eye? That's what I think?
Please leave a comment.
"Why don't they arrest El Mano or some of the so-called legitimate gun dealers who sold assault rifles to a "motherly, 5-foot" Mexican woman?"
ReplyDeleteWhy don't they arrest the FBI agent who approved the sales?
"One of the difficulties is that background checks which are supposedly done each time she bought a gun are destroyed almost immediately, according to law."
The NICs records are destroyed but the dealer's records are kept for 20 years.
"when he fills out the paperwork for her background check for the second or third time?"
This accusation appears nowhere in the story. This is a fabrication by you.
MikeB,
ReplyDeleteI've asked before and I'll ask again.
How many firearms should a person be "allowed" to purchase?
You seem to think that approximately 8 firearms a year is too much. So how many a year should a person be allowed to buy?
We don't know how long this was going on. Perhaps over a couple of years. She may even be within the magic one gun per month that all the antis think is a good ration.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad the background check records are destroyed, we might know what we're talking about.
ReplyDeleteMaybe she did spread the purchases out, but others don't and would be picked up if it weren't for that unbelievable law.
I'm preparing a post about it today. You're gonna love it.
MikeB,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the acceptable number of firearms we "allow" people to buy each year?
Once again Mike.
ReplyDeleteThe requirement to destroy records has NO BEARING on whether or not someone can pass the background check.
It has nothing to do with whether someone walks out with a gun at the point of sale.
MikeB,
ReplyDeleteYou ever going to answer how many firearms it is 'acceptable' for a person to purchase?