The main character, Franklin is brilliant. If not, they should be left alone. The raw power of therifle, which weighs about 31 lb and is 4.9 feet long, was on show in mid-2020 during a military-style assassination attempt on Mexico Cityspolicechief that was captured by surveillance cameras. MEXICO CITY, Aug 6 The flow of high-caliber arms smuggled across the porousUS border has alarmedMexicanofficials and few weapons are as powerful as theUS-made M82 semi-automaticrifleincreasingly favored by the powerfuldrugcartels. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents contend Vasquez told them he was headed to the city ofMatehuala, a seven-hour drive south of Laredo, Texas, in the Mexican state of San Luis Potos. not mexican. A Dallas man claimed he didn't knowassault rifles, pistols and ammunitionwere hidden in his silver SUV as he attempted to cross into Mexico from Laredo, Texas. I do like tacos though. 12 of 29 13 of 29 Guns and munitions confiscated from alleged Mexican drug dealers . After paying the piso and traveling throughCoahuila, Diaz still wouldhave faced a 14-hour drive south toMichoacn. *awkward shrug*, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News/Getty Images. A Washington man drove to a U.S. border crossing last year in his teal Ford pickup truck loadedwith a hidden arsenal bound for a Mexican cartel war zone. Violence in Mexico has claimed nearly 40,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon began a military offensive aimed at overpowering drug cartels. GREENVILLE, S.C. . Under tight security, an anonymous New York federal court jury deliberated for three days before reaching a verdict in the drug trafficking case against ex-Public Security Secretary Genaro Garca Luna. What i believe is that If i want to sale you ballons ,i give you a good price nd you will greatly say my ballons are the best .. quoteTijuanas Director of Public Safety, Marco Antonio Sotomayor, says most of the guns flowing into his city come from north of the border.quote. But, the ATF's "sell guns to cartels and then maybe try to catch them if we've got time" plan actually dates back to the Bush Administration. This made for an interesting customer service dilemma: How do you deal with a customer you know is: 1. See any connections here? That sounds great, but the agent working with our source and his store told everyone that the charges wouldn't stick: "Our agent was pretty candid with us: He let us know the guys doing it had been arrested. The Mexican government claims that more than 68% of illegal guns smuggled across the border are made by those companies, along withBarrett and Witmer Public Safety Group, which acquired Interstate Arms. Majority all arms used in Mexico, where gun control laws are very strict, are bought in the U.S . In Michoacn, the global powerhouse Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin, or CJNG, has been engaged in a long and deadly battle with Sinaloa and other rival cartels. Now I cannot make this any more simple for you to understand. Cartels:As Mexican drug groups cut in on avocado sales by extorting growers, armed locals fight back. Given the record number of murders there last year almost 36,000 Mexicans could certainly use some self-defense tools. "As a result of the continued use and possession of many of these guns, residents of Mexico will continue to be killed and injured by these guns, and the public will continue to fear for their health, safety, and welfare," Americanattorneys wrote in the suit on behalf of Mexico. Officers found all of those brands, except Century Arms,in the shipments smuggled by Diaz, court records show. The M82 can easily penetrate bulletproof vests, concrete walls and even tanks, says its manufacturer Barrett Firearms. (PS, you may want to arm your Civilians so they can fight the cartel) American firearms power a brutal conflict that has claimed more than 100,000 lives. An estimated 19% came from California, 15%from Arizona and 25% from other states. Vasquez'sattorney, Silverio Martinez, said he plans to lobby for leniency, even probation, arguing this is his client's first arrest. If Diaz had sneaked his arsenal past U.S. Customs officials, he would have had to pay a "piso," or fee, to members of the Crtel del Noreste,or CDN, which dominates this area of northern Mexico, Jonessaid. Mexican military forces confiscated 71 armor-piercing 50-caliber gunsin the year ending January 2020, according to the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Mexico. None of the manufacturers, including Barrett, responded to Reuters requests for comment. Hell, our source might have sold El Chapo that very rifle. If someone is breaking the law, go after them. But in all honesty the article above does not tell the whole truth about illegal guns in Mexico or South America as drug gangs also get guns from international arms traffickers as well, especially factory made full auto weapons. A special investigative report in 2019 by TheCourier Journal warned of CJNG's ruthlessness in Mexico and its reach across the U.S. into small towns. Mexican Cartels Are Arming Themselves to the Teeth With Powerful US Sniper Rifles High-powered .50-caliber rifles can be purchased legally in most of the U.S. and they keep showing up in the. So CA is itself one of those neighboring States that is (cough) responsible for illegal firearms/use across a boundry? Fast and Furious was a Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) "gunrunning" operation in which the Obama administration allowed guns to be sold to Mexican drug cartels in the hope the weapons would be recovered at crime scenes. There is strict gun control in Mexico despite the fact that bearing arms is constitutionally protected. Military-style weaponry has enabled the drug trafficking organizations to match and sometimes overwhelm the firepower of Mexican law enforcement. Our source and his employer had just been drawn into the ATF's latest kooky adventure. The Insider: Reggie Yates - Episode 2: Mexican Army: War Against Powerful and Violent Drug Cartels | Crime DocumentaryThe Insider: Reggie Yates - Episode 1: . Between all the illegal guns and millions in gold, jewelry and diamonds, there are armed guards on constant watch. You try and keep it as normal as possible; you don't want to spook him because then everything's shot as well. Drug cartels have been using monster type armored cars for about 15 years these recent photos clashes in tamaulipas between cdn and cdg they use m82 m017 barrets also m2 machine guns and 40mm grenades this doesn't happen very far from egle pass texas or mcallen texas . Sincerely, Build the wall, Mexico. Another solid reason for the U.S. to pass universal back ground checks. SHARE AK-47 favorite gun of cartels WASHINGTON Convicted gun smuggler John Phillip Hernandez of Houston was likely not the kind of customer that Bushmaster Firearms International had in mind when he purchased 14 of the company's .223 caliber AR-15s at Houston area gun shops in 2006 and 2007. Whats so hard to understand about that? Mexican cartels exploiting border chaos to smuggle fentanyl into US By Isabel Vincent June 10, 2022 3:53pm Updated Mexican drug cartels are taking advantage of the chaotic influx of migrants. That's the NRA position.". Explain again how the two assists are not in prison for supplying weapons to know criminals that used the weapons to kill US citizens. , Mexican Drug Cartels Say Americas Gunms The Best , , , , , , fck n A ,HiPoint told yah so. If our source's store had just followed their guts and refused to sell to the most obviously sketchy buyers, the world would've been a little bit safer. Declare Eric Holder a domestic terrorist and arrest him. Tell you what, you let me have what the Cartels are able to get from the Mexican Military and Ill let you have what I have now. Pass a domestic terrorism bill.. You have entered an incorrect email address! It was run by brothers Jorge Luis, Juan David, and Fabio Ochoa Vasquez; Pablo Escobar; Carlos Lehder; George Jung; and Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez. Now, he's militarized the country. American and Mexican law enforcement officials say nearly all of the gun violence in Mexico is fueled by the illicit import and sale of U.S. firearms. One of the most dangerous pockets of Mexico City: Teptio, the primary-black market area, under the thumb of the Union Cartel. Answer (1 of 16): There a ton of AK and Russian type military machine guns (I've seen a Russian equivalent 12.6 MM of the .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a truck. Now its used by more than 70 security agencies across the world, according to Barrett. Some of the reasons so many guns come from Texas: people can cross the border on land or by theRio Grande River, and"in places like Houston and San Antonio, theres a gun store on every corner, said Will Glaspy, formerly in charge of DEA's Houston Division. "The majority of weapons we've seized since we started this operation have been in the corridor by Laredo, Texas from Laredo to El Paso," he said. It would help gangs and cartels to increase their presence and elevate homicide and crime rates in the U.S. As troll names go, yours is especially stupid. Drug cartels have the flashiest of weapons in their arsenal. Excuse the pun, but when are you gonna pull the trigger on this? Agents launched 534 investigations, seized $29 million and intercepted more than 1,200 guns, 4,700 magazines for semi-automatic and automatic weapons and 700,000 rounds of ammunition headed to. El Mencho:Daughter of Mexican cartel boss sentenced to US prison for violation of Kingpin Act. Thanks for contacting us. You don't buy five to six of the same 10k rifle for a collection. National Police Chief Gen. Oscar Naranjo, holds a handgun seized to Colombian drug lord and former paramilitary leader Pedro Guerrero Castillo, known as "Cuchillo" (Knife), as he speaks during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, on December 29, 2010. Not the party of civil rights,, wait the Democratic Party is not nor has it ever been the Party of Civil Rights as it has always opposed and still opposes the Constitution; it has been and continues to be the Party of Civil Right Suppression, the Party of Slavery, the Party of the KKK, the Party who opposed voting rights,, (just Google it, Google any historic Democratic Politician in history). Mexico: 18 bodies found after suspected drug cartel gun battle The bullet-ridden bodies of 18 men were discovered in Zacatecas state after apparent confrontation between suspected. California, by contrast, accounted for 90 guns, three percent of the total. And that region continues struggling with. Then, basic questions: Did you feel they knew what they were buying? Army officials said they confiscated 288 assault rifles, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, numerous grenades and several .50-caliber rifles at a house in the city of Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. Are insane ticket costs pricing Astros fans out of Opening Day? 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Agreed. Instead, the ATF lost 1,400 (or more!) We've received your submission. AP/Eduardo Verdugo. By Jared Olson. "Their goal is the bulk purchase of maximum firepower.". A straw purchase is when someone buys a gun legally, but then hands it over illegally to another person. A Hearst Newspapers survey of 1,600 guns purchased mostly in Texas and Arizona which were either shipped to Mexico or intercepted en route shows the Bushmaster .223 AR-15 ranks second among firearms apparently used in drug warfare. So, the ATF was like, "We'll show you! We sat down with "James," who worked at one of the gun stores the ATF ordered to sell firearms to drug cartels. Called a "technical" by US military.) weapons to Mexico. In the world of assault-type weaponry, power is measured by bullet caliber, velocity and range, as well rapidity of fire and ammunition magazine capacity. Mexico remains a cautionary preview of what might happen in America if we adopted Mexican-style gun control.. Pass universal background checks, end loopholes: gunshow and Charleston. Would they be interested in Hello Kitty grips or SpongeBob sights? . View of cartridges and weapons from the gangsters and drug-traffickers at the Military Headquarter in Mexico City, on November 7, 2008. An arrogant armed American Gringo. Even the much worshiped pre-64 Winchester Model 70s were laughed at by the Europeans when they were first marketed even though the pre-war guns were not all that bad but workmanship after WWII went down rapidly at Winchester. These agencies team withthe U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, Firearms and Explosivesto investigate the financing, transportation, and communications methods of smuggling networks. A gold plated pistol and jewelry, allegedly seized from Manuel Alquisires Garcia, aka "El Meme," sit on display during his presentation to the press of in Mexico City, Monday Sept. 12, 2011. 24 of 29 25 of 29 A handgun covered with gold and money sized to alleged financial agent of the drug "Cartel . Automatic guns and rocket-propelled grenades follow drug trade routes back to China, Guatemala, and the black markets in Central and South America. Not with all their progressive laws. Further investigation revealed that from Jan. 21, 2020 to July 11, 2022, Hernandez had purchased 231 handguns 9mm's, .380's and .22's which officials suspect he smuggled into Mexico. We had a bunch of light machine guns, like an M249 SAW what caught me off guard is that he and I shot the crap about that one day. They also discoveredmore than 10,000 rounds of ammunition hidden in an ice chest in the gas tankand inside the spare tire,court records show. Here's what he told us. "The gun traffickers supplying Mexican drug organizations have become more selective and sophisticated in the weapons they acquire,"' said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Washington-based Violence Policy Center, which extensively studied the issue. Two women were killed in the crossfire when rival gangs started shooting at a popular sidewalk restaurant in Tulum. It is also one of the weapons of choice fordrugcartels, according to theMexicangovernment, which this week filed a lawsuit in theUS District Court in Massachusetts against the company and 10 other gun manufacturers. A total of 852, 29 percent, were from Arizona. When he entered office in 2006, Caldern immediately moved on the cartels. Why was President Biden talking about Utahs 2002 Winter Games at the White House? btw Thousands evacuated in North Korea as heavy rain destroys Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, Buster Murdaugh got 'very drunk' with dad 2 months after mom, brother murdered: source, Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss planned to tell Ariana Madix about affair, Prince Harry says hes not a victim: I never looked for sympathy, Allison Holker pens touching note to kids after Stephen tWitch Boss death, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant allegedly flashes gun at a strip club, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. View of gun butts made of gold, diamonds, emeralds and rubies to form the Mexican flag, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state on July 12, 2011. It fires the same round as the AK-47 but is significantly shorter and easier to conceal. Together the men funneled nearly 340 firearms valued at almost $370,000 to Mexican drug cartels. Distraction. (zero miles currently built 1 mo gov shut down trump heights built tho??? Mexican officials want to disarm America so the can finally claim Texas again and spread there filth into the lungs and veins of every Godless heathen that exists :). Have a story to share with Cracked? Enough-time for real action. And then paperwork started. They have special loopholes that allow them to form their own government or something like that. of violence in this conflict: intra-cartel disputes, inter-cartel rivalries, and the overall war that Mexican President Felipe Caldern's government is waging on the cartels. The survey drawn from guns identified by manufacturer or importer in U.S. court documents from 44 cases involving 165 defendants in Texas, Arizona and three other states shows the purveyors of guns to Mexican drug traffickers followed a time-honored maxim of product salesmanship: Bigger is definitely better. How U.S. Its compactness makes it easy to conceal and some versions can hold a 30-round magazine, made of lightweight polymer. The indigenous people of Mexico do arm themselves and fight the government. Mayor: HISD has two optionsclose school or be taken over, Rare photos show 2 ocelots crossing South Texas road, Willie Nelson pays lovely tribute to another country legend. Its all too easy to legally ship a batch of guns to a South American Corrupt Government that just happens to have some come up missing and they get sold to drug cartels for big bucks. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to . Yes, Mexico has some house cleaning of their own to do, but it would help a great deal if the U.S. had much tighter gun control and drug enforcement. Workers repair the facade of City Hall riddled with bullet holes in Villa Union, Mexico, in December 2019, after a gun battle between a heavily armed drug cartel assault group and security forces. No, they published this piece in an effort to get the US Congress to tighten Americas gun control laws, ostensibly to stop the alleged flow of guns to Mexico. For thecartels, the M82 has also become a status symbol. Homeland Security teamed with the ATF tolauncha confidential tip line asking for help from the public, displaying the number on about 200 billboards near the border,asking for information on illegal guns bound for Mexico. Theres no way for people to buy guns like these in Mexico. He campaigned on "Hugs, Not Bullets.". Really, these propagandists have got to get on the same page. Soldiers stand guard around a presentation of arms captured in an operation against the Gulf cartel in Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. A gold plated pistol and jewelry, allegedly seized from Manuel Alquisires Garcia, alias "El Meme," sit on display during his presentation to the press of in Mexico City, Monday Sept. 12, 2011. Formed by ex-military men who became armed enforcers for the Gulf Cartel, the Zetas split with their former patrons nearly three years ago and have since become one of Mexico's largest and most . Once in the hands of cartel capos, however, the modern sporting rifle becomes very much an assault weapon. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. So, you would come in, say hello, shoot the shit, ask him about his kid. John Boch, you said: The California Maniac could just as easily bought a second hand gun and instead of killing people with it could have made handsome profit by selling it and more like it to Mexico because he is not connected by paperwork to what he is selling. Cartel gunmen armed with AK-47s purchased in Arizona overwhelmed the police, killing eight. I could have sworn that at one time there was a federal law that banned face masks, a law intended to force the KKK out into the open. Damn Democrat Pipeline! Agents launched 534 investigations, seized $29 million and intercepted more than 1,200 guns, 4,700 magazines for semi-automatic and automatic weapons and 700,000 rounds of ammunition headed to. None of this is rocket science and all the slick lies and smoke and mirrors Barn Brain attempts to use only discredit anything else he panders to an unsuspecting right wing crowd eager to hear preaching from a Messiah to the choir of the uneducated. The tribes in America are not allowed to do things like that, instead they have to follow 3 sets of laws, otherwise a lot of white Americans would move to the reservations for some liberty. John Allen Muhammad, the D.C. sniper, and his youthful accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, used a Bushmaster .223 in nine of 10 sniper-style murders that terrorized the Washington area in 2002. That leaves the military as the only ones able to battle thecartels.. How could the ATF make selling firearms to the cartels a more pleasurable process? That included riflesmanufactured in Tennessee and Arkansas capable of downing aircraft or ripping through armored police cars andtanks. "I was working in a very large gun store in Phoenix at the time, and we sold everything. But, gradually, their suspicions began to pile up " then, we started getting more and more phone calls over the weeks. Just look at the numbers for their drug war: leaks of official weaponry bought by the Mexican military. . Of those murders, at least 20,005 were carried out with guns. In fact, according to Newsweek, cartel criminals view American guns as status symbols because, well, they work. We know theyre being illegally trafficked through California into Tijuana. Email us here. The Medellin cartel surged to power in the 1980s. Yes Colt and Smith at one time made some very nice revolvers I will give them that but our rifles have been a joke for years. Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan argued against doubts raised by the National Rifle Association that ninety percent of all assault weapons seized in . California already has background check laws & every other useless gun control policy you fools have dreamed up. Agents launched 534investigations, seized $29 million and intercepted more than 1,200 guns,4,700 magazines for semi-automatic and automatic weaponsand 700,000 rounds of ammunition headed to Mexico, Lestrange told The Courier Journalthis month. From the finest gems, to gold-plated weapons, law enforcement officials say these accused drug dealers have a passion for flashy things. Exactly, if America had adopted Mexican-style gun control, it probably wouldve had as many mass shootings as Mexico has had in the past 30 years. Why havent you closed your northern border with a massive military presence to stop south bound smuggling? The M82 can easily penetrate bulletproof vests, concrete walls and even tanks, says its manufacturer Barrett Firearms. 3. June 23, 2022, 4:35 PM. Cartels often use drug profits to pay Americans to buy weaponsfor them at retail stores andgun shows, called straw purchases. Of course, thats not primary the message Newsweek and the mainstream media (not to mention Mexican officials) want readers to take away from their report. In November 2009, the ATF's Phoenix field office launched an operation in which guns bought by drug-cartel straw purchasers in the U.S. were allowed to "walk" across the border into Mexico. One exhibit features weapons seized from cartel members. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Drug_War. I'm a projects reporter, examining key education topics and other local issues. Once inside the U.S., Century Arms converts the rifles into military-style AK-47s capable of holding 30-round magazines. Coke was originally supposed to make you smarter or something. Snowfall is my favorite show centered around drugs - EVER. Cracked is up for TWO Webby Awards, for Best Humor Site and Best Video Entertainment! "The brand names are inconsequential what matters is that our laws aren't being enforced," said Andrew Arulanandam, director of public affairs for the National Rifle Association. https://tucson.com/news/national/mexican-drug-cartels-using-grenades/article_9bafe2d8-ecf2-5925-8e85-167e066dd2e9.html. It depicts one cartel member dressed in a garish shirt, cowboy hat and belt buckle. For more insider perspectives, check out 5 Insane Things I Learned About Drugs As An Undercover Agent and 6 Ways Life In Cartel-Run Mexico Is Nothing Like You Imagine. Some suspects won't talk after their arrests and othersadmit smuggling guns but claim they don't know the names of the buyers or the cartel involved. If you want to keep guns out of the country, you do not appear to be making any real effort at it. build the wall you promised us! Sept. 7, 2010 -- A shocking new report obtained by ABC News says that as many as three out of four guns used in crimes in Mexico and recovered and capable of being traced can be traced to gun . U.S. agents also are helping train Mexican police on investigative techniques and evidence collection and improving intelligence sharing, Lestrange said. Pass a domestic terrorism bill. While we're busy patting ourselves on the back, you can pat too by voting here and here. Also FN57 pistols but, the Barretts were the big one. The gun should not be in the hands of civilians, the official said. Pass national weapons carry reciprocity with jail time and heavy fines for any government agent who violates any citizens carry rights. In fact these Paperwork-Americans are even more American than us evil racists! Scarface stars Pacino as the indelible gangster and charts his rise as a Cuban immigrant-turned-cocaine cartel captain . SHARE AK-47 favorite gun of Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious TV interview, Houston is ugly, and I've never felt more at home, Astros GM Dana Brown has more praise team's top prospect, Turner: TEA is giving Houston ISD two optionsclose school or be taken over, Two ocelots were photographed crossing a road in rare South Texas sighting, Willie Nelson's new album is a lovely tribute to a fellow country legend. They only wanted a couple of us dealing with it fill out this form, have the money counted, so we can bring drug dogs in to check the bills for drugs. "It doesn't say anything about conduct of retailer, manufacturer or purchaser.". This is a carousel. Really, who? All wars are fought with weapons, and the guns used to murder tens of thousands of people in the Mexican War on Drugs mostly come from America.From handguns,. M53 gun truck "LIL SURESHOT", outfitted with a forward fighting box . I bet they have favorite beers and hand grenades, too. Then, they were let go, because what they had done hadn't been illegal -- they hadn't seen a hand off. Its a very symbolic weapon in the narco world and for the narco esthetic, Grandmaison said. As of 2018 you have lost 395 servicemen killed and 137 missing, presumed killed by over 100,000 cartel fighters. Bullet holes are seen after a battle between the CJNG and Los Viagras cartels in Aguililla. Diazis part of what cartel members call the Hormiga, Spanish for ant, referring to an ant trail of reliably flowing weapons transported from the southern U.S. to Mexico, said JaesonJones, who tracks cartel trends and previouslymanaged the daily operations of the Texas Rangers'Border Security Operations Center. November 23, 2022 Contact: Phone Number: (571) 387-3831 For Immediate Release Debt Collector and Drug Distributor for Cartel Connected, Violent, Drug Distribution Ring, Sentenced to 10 years in Prison Previous slide Next slide Handgun in leather holster Plastic bag of fentanyl pills Move slider to item #1 Move slider to item #2 Shut your pie hole Holder. And we're on commission at the time, so all of us involved are like sweet! Top ATF officials have said in congressional testimony that 90 percent of the guns submitted for tracing by Mexican authorities are from the United States. Theres a little bit of The Dude in a lot of Jeff Bridges performances. We were a large store you meet these border patrol agents coming to pick up extra stuff. Hundreds of firearms on display before being destroyed at . Havent you heard anyone who comes to the US and gets a magic piece of paper is just as American and you and I. We can reduce the carnage if pols have the guts to act, Eric Holder (@EricHolder) August 5, 2019, Enough-time for real action. ReporterKarolSurez contributed to this story. Hesometimes loaned his SUV tohis employees and his relatives and argues that one of them could have hidden the guns, Martinez said. SALT LAKE CITY A Utah woman is heading to federal prison for buying dozens of high powered rifles for Mexican drug cartel members. It is not clear if Century Arms imported the Draco in that case. American guns are ok, and many of the gun companies from the above countries have some US manufacturing. It's made it easier than ever to drive to any Texas gun shop and legally stockpile guns, whether or not the customers belong to a Mexican cartel. But then, he broke out the huge bag of cash. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration blames CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel for the bulk of America's illicit fentanyl, the top killer during the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history. [nearly all the guns they bother to trace through the ATFwhich is basically those with US markings on them, duh], The underground trade of weapons to Mexico is worth hundreds of millions of dollars annuallywith American guns used to kill tens of thousands of Mexicans each year. We were placing special orders with Barrett because we couldn't keep up demand. We know theyre being illegally trafficked through California into Tijuana. [Theres no way for people to buy guns like those in California, either; they are not ban compliant], In 2018, the homicide rate in Mexico hit a record high of 35,964, spiking 12 percent from the year before, according to the countrys National Institute of Statistics and Geography.