Mexico Ejects U.S. Citizen, Accuses him Of Being Among 'Largest Provider Of Illegal Firearms' To Cartels

An American citizen was expelled from Mexico after authorities found him guilty of being one of the "largest provider of illegal firearms" for cartels in the state of Chihuahua.

Concretely, Roland Albert Muñoz has apprehended on a highway in Chihuahua after Mexican authorities were tipped off by American counterparts. Muñoz was also wanted on gun-running charges in Texas.

The Chihuahua Attorney General's Office informed that Muñoz, a native of Dallas, was delivered to the U.S. Marshals Service. He stands accused of selling the guns used in the 2020 assassination attempt of Omar Garcia Harfuch, Mexico's current security secretary.

On June 26, 2020 Harfuch, back then Mexico City's Security Secretary, and two of his security guards were attacked by a group of 20 armed individuals along the popular Paseo de la Reforma road when he was making his way to his office in Mexico City. Although Harfuch did not suffer any injuries, three people died during the attack that saw more than 400 bullets being fired at his vehicle.

Muñoz is now contributing to a statistic showing that the arrests of U.S. citizens in Mexico due connections with cartels have skyrocketed over the past years.

In February, local outlet Animal Politico cited FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests, open-source data and interviews with local authorities to show that between 2018-2024, under the Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador administration (2018-2024) 2,500 Americans were arrested for crimes such as drug trafficking. The figure represents a 457% increase compared to the tenure of his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, when there were 449 such arrests.

That number could increase over the next six years, the duration of President Claudia Sheinbaum's term. According to the analysis, the first-female Mexican president may be on track to beat her predecessor's number, having seen the arrest of 185 Americans during her first two months in office. That figure amounts to three arrests per day, while Lopez Obrador saw an average of 1.1 arrests per day throughout his presidency.

Those arrested in Mexico for connection to cartels and organized crime often carried, transported, or unloaded "material" between the U.S. and Mexico. That includes weapons, money, drugs or people. Americans often do it willingly, looking for an additional source of income, while others are coerced into that kind of activity.