Cartels are increasingly arming themselves with more powerful weapons, as they push to outgun rivals and Mexican police, according to U.S. military estimates and security experts. In the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel are using heavy weapons in a turf war for control of the smuggling of fentanyl and other drugs to the U.S., Mexican authorities say. More than 100 people have been killed in the conflict sparked by the abduction of Sinaloa Cartel patriarch Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. He is now awaiting trial in the U.S. on drug-trafficking charges.
Mexico has seized more than 186,000 weapons since 2006, according to the country’s defense ministry. But that is a fraction of the more than 200,000 weapons a year that transnational criminal organizations smuggle into Mexico just from the U.S., according to the Mexican government.
“It’s an arms race,” said Romain Le Cour, senior expert at Global Initiative, an organization focused on organized crime.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a gun-industry bid to quash a lawsuit filed by the Mexican government alleging American firearms manufacturers have illegally flooded the country with weapons used by drug cartels. Mexico sued companies including Smith & Wesson Brands; Beretta U.S.A.; Glock; Sturm, Ruger & Co.; and Colt’s Manufacturing. The gun makers said the lawsuit is a stalking horse for gun-control advocates in the U.S.
The industry’s brief described the suit as “a foreign sovereign that is trying to bully the industry into adopting a host of gun-control measures that have been repeatedly rejected by American voters.”
Security experts say that many American weapons go to the drug cartel’s rank and file, but that there are also trophy items—gold-plated customized weapons that a kingpin collects to show status.
Here are some of the more coveted weapons getting smuggled into Mexico from the U.S.
Note: Price estimates of the following weapons and ammunition can fluctuate depending on brand, model and purchase location.
The Minigun
The Minigun, a six-barreled machine-fed weapon that can destroy a small car in minutes, is reserved for defense of high-profile drug leaders, said José Alberto Baena, a former security chief in the southwestern city of Morelia. That includes Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, the leader of the violent Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
“Not everyone has the ability to use these sophisticated weapons,” Baena said.
The Mexican military seized the first Minigun from a crime scene in 2018, according to military documents released by the nonprofit DDoSecrets.
The weapon is used primarily to repel Mexican special forces or when a gang needs to enter a battle zone to take a predetermined target and exit quickly by eliminating any possibility of return fire. “In an attack with a multibarreled machine gun, that’s thousands of bullets a minute,” Baena said. “So there’s no opportunity to react.”
The Barrett
The Barrett, designed to pierce armor plating and penetrate buildings, is popular among criminal groups who use the weapon to repel military gunships and armored vehicles. Barretts are only assigned to midlevel gang members, some trained in special combat. “They are the people who are actually fighting federal forces,” Baena said.
The belt-fed M249 SAW
The belt-fed M249 SAW is a prized weapon for top drug lords in Mexico, said Timothy Sloan, a former Mexico City attaché for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is a light weapon with devastating firepower, because of the number of rounds it holds. It can fire up to 850 bullets a minute and is used to keep the enemy pinned down while other fighters move in and flank the target.
The weapon also denotes status, with the security detail of Mexico’s biggest drug lords wielding the M249 SAW. It’s “like a Gucci bag. It’s more of a way to recognize who’s in charge of the cartel teams. Who’s the boss. Who’s the closest to leadership,” Sloan said.
Cartels are increasingly trying to mimic the look of elite law-enforcement teams, and the M249 SAW is part of that image, Le Cour said. “Drug cartels today want to look very professional,” he said. “They want to look much more like SWAT teams.”
Zapata, “El Jefe” and “El Grito” pistols
Some of the most sought-after collector items are the custom-engraved guns made by weapons manufacturer Colt. Mexico’s government says Colt has designed some of its pistols specifically for the Mexican market, according to the lawsuit the Mexican government has brought against Colt and other manufacturers. The weapons are seen as status symbols for cartel leaders.
Two models that convey cartel rank are the .38 caliber Super “El Jefe” pistol and the 38-caliber Super “El Grito” pistol.
“It’s like having a scepter, or a crown for a king,” said security consultant David Saucedo.
When Mexican authorities captured Gulf Cartel boss José Luis “El Wicho” Zúñiga in 2011, they seized from him a gold-plated, diamond-and-ruby-encrusted Colt .38 Super handgun. Zúñiga had paid $57,000 to have the gun customized, according to Mexico’s lawsuit.
One coveted Colt pistol has a portrait of Mexico’s revolutionary general Emiliano Zapata on one side and on the other a phrase attributed to him: “It is better to die standing than to live on your knees.”
Colt said it didn’t have any part in the design, engraving or marketing of the Emiliano Zapata pistol, without providing additional details. One Emiliano Zapata pistol was used in 2017 to assassinate Miroslava Breach, an investigative journalist, Mexico’s lawsuit said.
“America’s firearms industry isn’t a longstanding criminal accomplice to Mexico’s drug cartels,” the U.S. gun makers told the Supreme Court. Colt said it produces, markets and sells its products according to the relevant U.S. and country-specific legislation.
Rocket launchers
Gangs are also known to use rocket launchers in Mexico smuggled from the U.S. and other countries to take down targets. They include the M72 LAW antitank rocket, which has been used against the Mexican military, and makeshift bulletproof vehicles built by cartel engineers and mechanics, Baena said. The Mexican military seized 127 rocket launchers from 2008 to 2023, according to the Defense Ministry.
The “goat’s horn”
The AK-47 is perhaps the most common assault-style weapon among drug cartels in Mexico, security experts said. The rifle is light, easy to use, easily accessible and relatively cheap, making it a weapon of choice for the rank and file.
“The street thugs know how to operate those,” said Sloan, the former ATF attaché in Mexico. “You can fire a lot of rounds and hopefully hit your target.”
The Beretta
The Beretta .22 pistol is given to the lowest-ranking cartel members, including children recruited to fight for gangs, Saucedo said. The weapon, one of the market’s cheapest, is used for low-stakes assassinations and extortion threats. “They are used to kill a market merchant, a taxi driver,” Saucedo said.
In addition, new recruits are given cheap, 3-D printed weapons, or artisanal weapons that are often inaccurate and aren’t a great loss if the sicario, or assassin, dies in battle.
