Mistranslated news report sparks baseless claim about Mexican cartel getting weapon from Ukraine
CLAIM: A Mexican news outlet reported that a member of a local organized crime group was pictured with a U.S.-made Javelin anti-tank guided missile that had been trafficked from Ukraine to cartels.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. A video shows a news anchor claiming in Spanish that a cartel member had been filmed with a Javelin, but she only noted that such weapons have also been used in Ukraine, not that it originated there. Additionally, the anchor misidentified the weapon, which is an AT4, another anti-tank weapon. While AT4s are being used in Ukraine, experts say there’s nothing to indicate that the one in the video came from there, and that it’s far more likely to have come from other black market channels.
THE FACTS: Social media users are sharing a Spanish language clip from Milenio, a Mexico TV network, to suggest that weapons sent by the U.S. to Ukraine have made their way into the hands of Mexican cartel members.
The video shows a news anchor reporting on a presumed member of the Gulf Cartel — or Cartel Golfo in Spanish —- which is based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. The program shows a video of a man in a light pink shirt and blue jeans, carrying a large weapon with a logo on his backpack that shows a scorpion.
“A Mexican cartel member was just filmed with a US-made Javelin anti-tank missile,” reads one tweet with more than 9,000 likes sharing the news report. “These were the missiles the US flooded into Ukraine in 2022.”
“A Javelin anti-tank missile given to Ukraine valued at $80,000 ends up in the hands of a Mexican cartel (Gulf) member,” reads another tweet sharing the clip.
But the clip is being mistranslated, and the weapon was misidentified.
The anchor only mentions Ukraine once during the report, and never claims that the weapon seen in the video originated there
“A presumed member of the Tamaulipas cartel was recorded carrying one of the most exclusive and powerful weapons, a Javelin, which is theoretically only sold to the military and has been used in the invasion of Ukraine, for example,” she says in Spanish.
Mark Hvizda, a defense analyst from Rand, said the weapon in the clip is not a Javelin, but rather an AT4, another anti-tank weapon that fires grenades.
AT4s are normally produced by a Swedish company and are widely used by many militaries throughout the world. There is a U.S. version of an AT4, which the Army calls a M136 AT-4, however it’s unclear from the video which model this was, Hvizda said.
Additionally, there is no evidence that the AT4 from the video is from a cache of weapons sent to Ukraine, experts who research organized crime specifically in Mexico told The Associated Press.
While it is theoretically possible, it is more likely to have come from other black market channels where rocket-propelled grenades are available closer to Mexico, explained Falko Ernst, a senior Mexico analyst at the International Crisis Group, in an email to the AP. These channels include from the U.S. directly, or from several Latin American countries’ militaries, such as the Mexican army, which also has AT4s.
“Very hypothetically, yes, some from Ukraine could be channeled to Latin America — but again, other channels are more likely,” said Ernst.
Nathan Jones, an associate professor at Sam Houston State University in Texas, said weapons being diverted from the U.S. to Mexico are likely to have come from the legal domestic market.
Jones cited a U.S. Government Accountability Office study that found 70 percent of illegally smuggled guns in Mexico were made in America. Jones said it’s “extremely unlikely” that the cartel would get an AT4 from Ukraine. “Typically, heavier weapons like this are not going to be diverted from US military stockpiles,” said Jones.
Hvizda also noted that these weapons are used by many militaries around the world, including Iraq and various NATO countries.
Experts also noted that while the man in the video has a pack featuring an emblem matching the Gulf Cartel — a scorpion, an eagle and a phoenix — it’s difficult to independently verify that it shows a member of the group.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.