Barrett .50 rifles: the flow that exceeds half of civilian sales in the US

The organization Stop US Arms to Mexico published a report that places the trafficking of .50 caliber Barrett rifles into Mexico at the center of the debate. Based on official production, sales and seizure figures, the analysis estimates that more than 1,700 of these rifles could enter the country illegally each year, an amount that would represent more than half of total civilian sales of this type of weapon in the United States.

The data is especially relevant if one considers that the United States is one of the countries with the largest number of weapons in the hands of civilians and that the Barrett .50 rifle is a high-powered weapon originally designed for military purposes.

In 2023, the manufacturer produced 5,903 .50 caliber rifles. Approximately half was destined for military and police forces, which limits the supply available for the civilian market. However, the organization’s estimate maintains that a significant proportion of rifles legally sold to civilians end up in Mexico through illegal trafficking.

FROM SEIZURES TO REAL ESTIMATE

The report is based on a comparative exercise. In 2025, the Mexican Army secured 10,689 firearms in total. That figure, according to official estimates, represents less than a tenth of the approximately 135,000 weapons that are trafficked from the United States to Mexico each year.

That same year, the confiscation of 140 .50 caliber Barrett rifles was reported. If the same ratio between seized weapons and trafficked weapons is applied to the Barretts’ specific case, the actual number could multiply between 11 and 12 times, reaching around 1,768 rifles annually.

The organization clarifies that this is not an official figure of real traffic, but rather a projection prepared based on public data. Even so, the calculation paints a scenario in which the flow of high-powered rifles to Mexico is constant and systematic.

FIRE POWER IN THE HANDS OF CRIME

Barrett .50 caliber rifles are not conventional weaponry. Popularly known as “police killers,” they have the capacity to shoot from more than a kilometer away, pierce armor and shoot down low- or slow-flying aircraft. Their projectiles can be five to ten times larger than those of rifles such as the AR-15 or AK-47.

One of the most emblematic episodes occurred in June 2020, when a commando attributed to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel attacked the then Secretary of Citizen Security of Mexico City, Omar García Harfuch. .50 caliber weapons were used in the attack, which showed the level of sophistication and firepower of the criminal organizations.

According to the Secretary of National Defense, Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, since the beginning of the current administration, 18 thousand weapons have been seized, of which between 77 and 78 percent come from the United States. Among them are 215 .50 caliber Barrett rifles.

“MADE IN THE USA” AMMUNITION

International journalistic investigations have documented that .50 caliber cartridges manufactured at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, property of the United States Government and the main producer of ammunition for its Army, have been found at attack scenes in Mexico.

However, specialists rule out that these are necessarily diversions from military installations. The same contracting companies that supply the Army also sell ammunition to the civilian market. In the United States, the purchase of .50 caliber bullets does not require a background check in many states, making them easier to purchase.

For Stop US Arms to Mexico, the problem is structural and responds to a logic of supply and demand: in Mexico there is a market of violence that demands high-powered weapons; In the United States, a wide and poorly regulated offer that allows its circulation in the civil sphere.

THE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE MANUFACTURERS

The Government of Mexico included Barrett, along with other manufacturers such as Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Century Arms, Colt, Glock and Ruger, in a lawsuit filed against American gun shops and producers.

In the document, Mexico maintains that the .50 caliber rifle has become one of the cartels’ favorite weapons and points out that the company promotes its 82A1 model as a weapon of war, although it also sells it in the civilian market.

The lawsuit cites official United States records that, since 1999, linked these rifles to criminal activities and trafficking networks. For the Mexican Government, it is not surprising that a weapon with these characteristics is regularly trafficked to strengthen criminal organizations.

PROHIBITION OR GREATER REGULATION?

For John Lindsay-Poland, coordinator of the organization, the magnitude of the trafficking should lead to a ban on the sale of .50 caliber rifles to civilians in the United States. There is a legislative proposal, the Stop Arming Cartels Act, that seeks to veto their commercialization, although it has not been successful.

The specialist maintains that trying to stop the flow only at the border is insufficient, given the volume of goods and vehicles that cross daily. In his opinion, the focus should be on regulating the US market.

The discussion, however, faces political and legal resistance in a country where the right to bear arms is constitutionally protected and where the arms industry has considerable economic and political weight.

Meanwhile, the data from the report and official seizures coincide on one point: .50 caliber Barrett rifles, designed for war, continue to appear in scenes of violence in Mexico, in a flow that reveals the transnational dimension of the problem.

With information from INFOBAE