Mexico is preparing to present part of its case before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 4 in a lawsuit against eight U.S. firearms manufacturers. The lawsuit, filed in 2021, accuses the manufacturers of supplying weapons that end up in the hands of drug cartels operating in Mexico, leading to significant economic and social harm.
Pablo Arrocha, a legal consultant for Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, clarified on Tuesday at the International Forum on Arms Trafficking and Diversion in Latin America that the Supreme Court’s review will focus on the case’s admissibility, not the substance of the allegations.
The Mexican government claims that between 70% and 90% of firearms recovered from crime scenes in the country originate from the U.S. A 2024 report from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) confirmed that 72% of international gun trafficking cases linked to the U.S. involve Mexico.
The case gained traction in 2024 when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson, which had sought to overturn a federal appeals court ruling. That ruling revived the case after a lower court dismissed it under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. This law shields gun manufacturers from civil lawsuits related to the criminal use of their products.
The manufacturers have denied Mexico’s allegations, arguing that they are not responsible for illegal gun sales and pointing to a 2023 Supreme Court decision that protected Twitter from a lawsuit for hosting ISIS-related content.
In addition to the Supreme Court case, Mexico filed a second lawsuit in 2022 in an Arizona court against five gun stores accused of negligence and public nuisance for their role in trafficking firearms to Mexico. According to the ATF, the Arizona-to-Mexico gun trafficking route is one of the largest, second only to Texas.
Arrocha stated that both lawsuits are progressing and could lead to broader legal strategies in the future.
This case comes amid growing tensions between Mexico and the U.S. Last week, the U.S. officially designated six Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has expressed concerns over this designation, saying it could threaten Mexican sovereignty. She has also vowed to pursue legal reforms to target the illicit trafficking of weapons into Mexico.
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