American weapons delivered to Ukraine are making their way back to the United States, where they are being used by Mexican drug cartels. What Ukrainians sell on the DarkNet is purchased globally. The DarkNet, like a massive supermarket, supplies criminal organizations regardless of the origin of the weapon. According to BulgarianMilitary.com, Interpol warned last year that similar transactions are expected and that weapons delivered to Ukraine may end up in “criminal and terrorist organizations.”
The first reports of weapons smuggled into Mexico from Ukraine began to arrive. Mexican drug cartels reportedly not only already use it, but also make no effort to conceal the fact that it was supplied by Ukraine. There have already been direct death threats directed at Mexican journalists who have spoken out about a “demonstration of Ukrainian weapons.”
A video posted on YouTube by a man claiming to be a Mexican journalist [vlogger] discusses his investigation into the supply of weapons to Mexican drug cartels.
He received the following death threat: “We will find you. You and everyone dear to you will suffer for your words. A bounty has already been set on your head.”
Indeed, the arrival of smuggled Ukrainian weapons in North America was predicted. BulgarianMilitary.com reported at the end of last year on a Finnish police officer who was monitoring the ports with his team. Mr. Christer Algren, crime commissioner of the Central Criminal Police, spoke about his operations against smuggled Ukrainian weapons that reach motorcycle gangs throughout the country and Scandinavia.
Ukraine is sending combat weapons, assault rifles, grenades, bombs, and even drones. Mr. Algren stated at the time that Finnish intelligence monitors ports and airports. Along with Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands are being forced to organise covert operations to seize illicit weapons from Ukraine. Officer Christer Algren’s entire story can be read here.
It stands to reason that once the weapons have returned to the continent from which they were smuggled, they will end up in the hands of well-known terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Although BulgarianMilitary.com has no reports that this is true at the moment, logic points us in this direction.
Let us consider an intriguing case. On June 20, last year, French lawyer Régis de Castelnau tweeted that two French Caesar self-propelled howitzers were discovered at the Russian tank factory UralVagonZavod. “The Russians intercepted two intact French Caesar guns.” They are currently being researched and possibly reverse engineered at the Uralvagonzavod factory in the Urals. Mr. Régis de Castelnau tweeted, “Thank you Macron, we are paying.”
According to some reports, each of the two howitzers was sold for $120,000. Official Paris later dismissed Castelnau’s assertions as false and false.
Confirmed by Ukraine
At one point last year, Ukraine admitted to smuggling both humanitarian aid and weapons into the country. In mid-July, Ukraine’s Economic Security Bureau announced that it had registered repeated sales of humanitarian aid and arms from Western countries. Vadim Melnik, the department’s director, announced this on the air of the TV channel “24 Ukraine News.”
“Even military goods are sold for cash. We have such facts,” Melnik said. According to him, the bureau is investigating cases related to the sale of humanitarian aid received from foreign partners.
In terms of the sale of military products and weapons, the department has already registered approximately ten such criminal cases. Melnik emphasized that this is an incomplete list of similar crimes, as similar violations are reported by other Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.
US DSCA
Not only Ukraine and Interpol have expressed concern about illegal trade, but so has DSCA, the agency in charge of foreign US arms sales. The agency, for example, claims to have no knowledge of the weapons delivered. They are solely relying on information provided by Ukraine. As a result, DSCA insisted on field control. Please read the DSCA’s position on gun control in Ukraine.
These examples, and any others that have not yet been reported, are not meant to tarnish Ukraine’s fight against Russia. To be fair, there is evidence of illegal and contraband trade during times of war throughout human history. When there is no control, it is logical to have. There is a saying that best describes this entire situation:
“You always reap what you sow”.
