Arizona gun dealer accused of selling firearms to two Mexican cartels | Arizona
An Arizona-licensed gun dealer was charged this month with trying to provide material support to terrorist organizations after federal agents caught him allegedly selling an array of rifles and weapons to two Mexican cartels.
The federal charges against the American firearms dealer come amid years of pressure from the Mexican government to stop the flow of weapons into the country. Mexico’s violent and bloody civil conflict between drug cartels and the Mexican government is largely fueled by American weapons smuggled into the country.
Laurence Gray, owner of Grips by Larry, an Arizona-based gun dealer, is accused of facilitating the sale of three semi-automatic rifles, a machine gun and two handguns to the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa cartel. federal indictment.
One of the weapons Gray is trying to sell includes a military-grade rifle “designed for airborne, armored infantry and close-quarters combat operations,” according to the manufacturer’s website. Another weapon was a high-caliber machine gun used for rapid fire, similar to the M2 Browning.
Charges of terrorist support and conspiracy against Gray and his accomplice, Barrett Weinberger, were also added to the March 17 indictment. The two were arrested last year while trying to sell weapons to the CJNG and the Sinaloa cartel. The Trump administration designated both Mexican criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations last year.
The two cartels are the largest criminal organizations in Mexico and often resort to violent tactics against other groups to expand and maintain territorial control of drug routes. The Mexican government has been waging a war against these groups and others with U.S. support for years.
The CJNG recently sparked a wave of violence across Mexico after the group’s leader, “El Mencho,” was killed during a military operation in Mexico with the assistance of U.S. intelligence. And the Sinaloa cartel, which is at odds with the CJNG, has been embroiled in a violent infighting after its top boss was kidnapped and brought to the United States, where he was arrested by U.S. authorities.
While the Trump administration has pressured Mexico to stop the flow of drugs into the United States, the Mexican government has also sought to pressure the United States over its role in the conflict in recent years.
Mexico has extremely strict gun laws; There are only two legal arms depots operated by the military; This means that the majority of weapons used in the conflict came from the United States.
The Mexican government has an ongoing lawsuit against a number of American arms manufacturers, accusing them of helping smuggle illegal weapons to drug cartels. Last June, the Supreme Court blocked Mexico from suing the two companies. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and her predecessor have called on the U.S. government, including the Trump administration, to help stop the flow of weapons into the country.
Criminal groups in the United States often use “straw buyers” to purchase weapons and help smuggle those weapons into Mexico. Criminal groups often purchase weapons from states such as Texas or Arizona, where lax gun laws make it easier to purchase high-caliber weapons.
Typically, after Mexican authorities seize guns in the country, they will share serial numbers with their U.S. counterparts. The Guardian reported this week that 62% of guns seized in Mexico and tracked to the US in 2024, according to the latest available data, came from Arizona.
“We have a huge problem with Mexican drug cartels smuggling guns from Arizona into Mexico,” Arizona attorney general Kris Mayes told the Guardian for this story. “There’s no doubt in my mind about that.”
The federal agency Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was tasked with investigating gun smuggling into Mexico. ATF is responsible for the Gray and Weinberger investigation. Lawyers for the two men did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
