Does anyone find anything ambiguous or unclear about this sign?
It is posted prominently at every entry point into Mexico. It means if you take guns or ammunition into Mexico you will go to jail. Just like it says in plain English.
Two people recently were not clear on it’s meaning and both went directly to jail without passing “Go”.
The first, an American, was driving near the International Bridge crossing in El Paso, TX with “no intention of going into Mexico”. This was a good thing because he just happened to be carrying 268,000 rounds of NATO grade ammunition in a trailer. Just an everyday thing for him I guess. You never know when you are going to need it. As he approached the turnoff to the Mexican border, as his story goes, he was “cut off” by a pickup truck and “forced” into the turnoff lane and onto the International Bridge. While watching his GPS for a place to turn around he totally missed seeing the above sign and inadvertently drove into Mexico where he was stopped, searched and thrown into jail for illegally importing 268,000 rounds of NATO grade ammunition. That is his totally believable story and he is sticking to it.
If he had not been caught he just might have inadvertently bumped into a cartel buyer who might have traded the ammunition for some US greenbacks. But of course that was never his intention.
In the other case, a returned US Marine and a friend decided to drive an old Winnebago from their Florida homes through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and finally into Costa Rica where they were going to hunt with his grandfathers short barrelled shotgun that they were carrying in the motorhome. His totally believable story is that they stopped on the US side of the border and asked a “US officer” if they could take the gun into Mexico. As his story continues, this officer (standing within spitting distance of the above sign) told him he could as long as it was registered. This obliging US officer then gave him a paper to be filled out later which he said would register the gun in Mexico and collected a fee. They then drove across the border where he was searched and thrown in jail for illegally importing a firearm, just like the sign said they would do.
They were actually lucky they were stopped in Mexico because each of the next four countries they say they were planning to take their gun into also have pesky laws concerning importing forearms and the pizza delivery to their jails is even slower.
The ex marine is from a well to do, well connected Florida family where his mother is the editor of a Florida architectural magazine. They also have the ears of both FL Senators who are saying that he is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and was confused and perhaps misled by a US Customs official. Unsurprisingly, they are demanding his immediate release. Equally unsurprisingly, US Customs is denying any of the above interaction with a US ”officer” ever took place.
There are a thousand tales in The Naked City”.
The world is more likely to end today than it is likely there would be any law(s) even remotely like that in the U.S. After all, the NRA doesn't have a chapter in Mexico, does it?
ReplyDeleteActually, it is legal to take firearms and ammunition in to Mexico. I have a friend who does it every year as he has a deer lease across the border. It just requires the proper paperwork, which the media is reporting the Marine did have.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would never do it. I don't think it is worth it.
Even assuming he thought he had the correct papers for Mexico, what were his well thought out plans for Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica?
DeleteThe weapon, although looking like an Elmer Fudd shotgun was short barreled and on the restricted list. Even the NRA lists them as an assault type weapon. I know little about guns but what type of "hunting" do you do with a short barreled shotgun?
I agree with you. You would think a person would not want to risk the consequences of trying to transport a weapon through several Latin American countries. There is probably more to this story.
ReplyDeleteToo many problems with firearms.
ReplyDeleteConcerning your blog post of 12.19.12: You may be a gun owner if you are a Texas politician.
According to salon.com, incoming state Representative Kyle Kacal says that he's heard of people being killed playing ping-pong, and that ping-pongs are more dangerous than guns. He also states that flat-screen TV's can be dangerous.