Ebrard litigated, Mexico lost

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected the lawsuit the Mexican government filed in 2021 against eight U.S. arms manufacturers. The argument was clear: the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), in force since 2005, which protects U.S. arms manufacturers when their products function as designed, even if they are used illegally by third parties.

I warned from the beginning. In August 2021, I wrote in this space that this lawsuit was doomed to fail because it violated the PLCAA. Then, in October 2022, when a federal judge dismissed the case in the first instance, I reiterated: the Mexican government's legal action had no legal basis and would only generate unnecessary expenses.

The initiative was promoted by then-Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard, who presented the lawsuit as "a brave and innovative act." In reality, it was a propaganda strategy that served his political aspirations more than the national interest. Despite the provisions of the PLCAA, Ebrard decided to litigate for almost four years with the support of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The outcome was predictable: the lawsuit was dismissed for lack of legal basis. The Supreme Court refused to even review the merits of the case. The federal judge said as much in 2022: although he sympathized with the Mexican people and condemned arms trafficking, he was obligated to apply the law.

The most ironic thing is that the problem exists and is serious. According to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), approximately 74% of the guns tracked in Mexico originate from that country, primarily from Texas, Arizona, and California. Each year, some 200,000 firearms enter our country illegally from the U.S., and Mexican authorities only manage to recover about 20,000.

Since the so-called "war on drug trafficking" began in December 2006 until last May, approximately 464,000 intentional homicides have been committed in Mexico, 73% of which were committed with firearms. The magnitude of the problem is undeniable. President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration has reported a decline in homicides, but this is not the time for premature optimism.

How much did this legal venture cost us in legal fees, court costs, translations, travel expenses, and diplomatic staff?

With that money, they could have easily strengthened customs, invested in border intelligence, or improved internal arms controls. But no. They opted for a legal spectacle, designed to be applauded in the morning press conference, not to win in court.

The failure was evident from the beginning. The lawyers knew it, the analysts knew it, I knew it, and anyone who had read the PLCAA knew it. What AMLO and Ebrard didn't know—or refused to accept—was that international law does not bend to political rhetoric, no matter how "courageous" it may call itself. The real tragedy is not having lost a lawsuit that could never have been won, but having squandered an opportunity to seriously—and not theatrically—demand more effective control of the flow of arms from the US to Mexico.

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