Tucson, United States.- Five Arizona arms dealers filed a legal petition in a US court Friday night to dismiss a lawsuit by Mexico that accuses them of participating in arms trafficking to the country.
The motion says that dealers are covered by the Protection of Legal Trade in Guns Act (PLCAA), a 2005 piece of legislation that protects gun manufacturers and sellers from liability when their products are used in a crime.
The complaint, filed in October, came days after a judge threw out another $10 billion Mexican government lawsuit against arms manufacturers seeking to hold them accountable for facilitating their access to violent drug cartels.
The judge in that case cited the PLCAA in his decision, which Mexico is appealing.
“As expected, the defendants argue that they can continue selling weapons to anyone,” Alejandro Celorio, legal adviser to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Saturday. “They point out that there is nothing the Mexican government can do to prevent it, or to hold them accountable.”
Lawyers for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
