McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Two south Texas men were sentenced Tuesday to prison for buying guns that were resold in Mexico.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Roel Cavazos, 43, to four years and Rogelio Cavazos, 71, to three years for their scheme to buy high-powered handguns in the U.S. and resell them in Mexico for $700 to $800 profit per gun.
Attorneys for both men didn't immediately return calls from The Associated Press late Tuesday.
According to court documents, the men sometimes bought guns in the names of unsuspecting U.S. citizens for customers in Mexico.
In December 2007, Roel Cavazos told a gun dealer — while agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives listened — that he was buying eight 5.7-millimeter pistols, or FN 5.7s, that would be going to members of a SWAT team in Mexico, according to court documents. He said he had a friend who sold guns to the Zetas, the brutal enforcers of the Mexican Gulf Cartel, after removing the serial numbers with a laser.
Between February 2007 and February 2008, agents determined that Roel Cavazos bought 72 firearms, several of which were recovered in Mexico, and Rogelio Cavazos bought 18, court documents say.
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