
Originally Posted by
kidrock
Here it is in a nutshell, from someone who's worked on both borders for 20+ years, and lived near Mexico almost my entire life:
1) It is illegal for foreigners/tourists to possess or sell any type of firearm or ammunition in Mexico, PERIOD. There is no such thing as a "legal-length shotgun", particularly if you are not a Mexican citizen. Laws concerning firearms for Mexican citizens are extremely strict, and there is only ONE legal place in the entire country that is allowed to sell firearms to Mexican citizens, and it is tightly controlled by the military. That being said, anybody who has traveled into Mexico knows that there is a wide gap between "Mexican Law", and what actually happens down there.
2) A few of the posters here have stated that Mexico is a lawless toilet that our government should not be assisting in any way.
But what if we shut down Mexico completely, and turned them into our "enemy"? What type of enemy do you think they could become, right at our backdoor? My guess is, that they would be ruthless and dangerous. The Mexicans have proven that they will do ANYTHING for a dollar....they hate us already; why should we believe that they wouldn't allow terrorists or weapons of mass destruction through our doorstep for a handful of pesos?
I don't condone our government's relationship with Mexico....I'm only playing the Devil's Advocate. Obviously, Mexico fits the old adage of "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer".
And for those who believe we should just go down there and kick their arses: Don't forget your history. We've already done it once, and look where it got us....exactly where we are today.
I don't believe that we know the whole story about what actually happened with this young man. I find it extremely hard to believe that any U.S. Customs officer, U.S. Immigration officer or Border Patrol Agent told him that it was OK to take ANY type of weapon down there.
My experience has been that with enough money, he will eventually be set free. The Mexicans, both the government as well as criminals, are extremely adept at this. You tell them you have $20, and they will find a way to get $50 out of you. They will hold him until they feel they won't be able to "bleed" him and his family any more, and they will deport him back to the U.S. after a lot of bullschitt fabricated red tape.
End of story.