Journalist Covered Cartels, Met Violent End; US Funds Both
The story details Beltran's death, his body found with a message, a common cartel signature. Yet, reports like these consistently omit the glaring fact that the very cartels perpetrating this violence are often armed with weapons legally purchased in the United States and trafficked across the border. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), over 70% of firearms
traced from Mexico to 2019-2023 originated in the U.S. (Source: ATF, 'Mexican Firearms Tracing Statistics', 2023). We mourn a journalist killed exposing one side of this war, while our own government's policies ensure the flow of the other side's armaments. It seems 'freedom of the press' ends where the arms dealers' profits begin. One might wonder, how many Mexican journalists must die before we
address the source of their murderers' firepower?