The myth that "90 percent" of guns seized in Mexico come from the United States, spread by the Times and other liberals, cropped up again in Sheryl Gay Stolberg's Friday story, "In Mexico, Obama [1]Seeks Curbs on Arms Sales to Thwart Drug Cartels [1]."
But while the two pledged their "shared responsibility" in the drug wars during a news conference here, they seemed to diverge on the issue of the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004. Mr. Calderón said nearly 90 percent of the weapons seized in Mexico could be traced to the United States, adding that organized crime increased after the ban expired.
Stolberg didn't challenge that assertion, althoughthat "90 percent" figure is highly misleading, as Times Watch has previously pointed [2]out [2]. AFox [3]News investigation [3] [3]found that most guns seized in Mexico aren't sent anywhere for tracing, because it's obvious they don't come from the United States. The investigation indicated that only a fraction of guns found at crime scenes in Mexico, around 17%, were actually traced back to the United States.