The then most wanted criminal in the world had to be extremely careful. But at its 44. Birthday he can’t help it. He is calling from a telephone close to his hideout in Medellin, his wife and two children. Exactly six Times, finally he missed his family, he lives for weeks from a security separate reasons. But the search command, and can hardly believe his luck, intercepts the calls.
A day later special forces storm the house in the district of Los Olivos and shoot his Bodyguard on the pile. The man who controlled temporarily 90 per cent of the global cocaine trade, it manages just to catch his favorite gun and flees to the roof. There he fires his weapon, he’s been wearing for years, and on his pursuers. But there are too many: some Of the bullets hit, drops it on the red roof tiles, dead.
At the 2. In December 1993, dies of Pablo Escobar. Right next to his dead body: a, his Sig Sauer 9mm, he shot dozens of people had.
the export ban to third countries, which is bypassed
Maybe you have to know the history to understand the fascination of guns from Sig to exercise mad even today at the NRA in Colombia. Some unscrupulous companies cold this attraction for their business use – and, therefore, the ban on the export of small arms in the so-called third countries, which imposed the Federal government a year ago, deal full of ideas.
in 2019, the German small arms manufacturer rubbed their hands, it was a fantastic year. Machine guns and pistols for nearly 70 million euros went over the counter abroad, a whopping increase by a whopping 79 percent compared to the previous year. Especially after Norway, the UK and Lithuania. But also in the United States.
unfortunately, if companies like Sig Sauer USA to sell them the weapons – without a permit – as it should have happened in the last few years. And the guns then, with the imprint “Made in Germany” in countries such as Nicaragua, Mexico and Colombia show up and hundreds of people to maim or kill. For Ralf Willinger from the children’s charity “terre des homes” this is a Farce. The End-use of German weapons deliveries will not be checked:
“soldiers of the Colombian army have used Sig Sauer guns to kill innocent young people, even minors, and in the fight killed guerrillas represent. Armed criminal gangs and paramilitaries, the underage recruit, these are forced to use Sig Sauer firearms.”
In Colombia committed four of the five murders with small arms. Willinger is sure that this is the person responsible in the company, nevertheless, you provided, apparently, more weapons illegally to Latin America. “This is a ruthless business must be stopped policy at the expense of the local people urgently.”
Heckler & Koch and the killings in Mexico
The case Sig reminds mad fatal to the story that just shook this country so far, the most dust in terms of illegal arms exports: the distribution of 4500 G-36 assault rifles to Mexico by the German manufacturer Heckler & Koch. Because of the breach of the war weapons control act, the company from Baden-Württemberg was sentenced a year ago to a fine of 3.7 million euros, was sentenced to two employees to suspended sentences. The money not about the families of the victims, but to the German state but went.
Carola house otter of the German human rights coordination, Mexico has followed the process at the time, the attention, the lawyer has been engaged for years for the observance of human rights in Mexico: “September 2014, were deported by the local police in the southern state of Guerrero, one of the focal points of the violence, 43 students of a University, heavy killed during the clashes six people and injured another 40 people. The security forces are proof of a Lich G36 assault rifles of German manufacture.”
The 43 students are still missing, until today there is no trace of them. For house otter is: “The German Federal government, the precarious people, was aware of the legal situation in Mexico. But it is a compromise solution was found, in order to allow the exports.”
Perhaps the cases Sig not resemble Sauer and Heckler & Koch, but they are even directly: Many experts believe that Sig Sauer is pushed into the vacuum, the Heckler & Koch in Latin America has left.
German policy responsible?
But what about the responsibility of German policy, that such people have no more rights violations occur in the future? You will ask Professor Joachim Krause, the answer is clear: “Here it comes to possible violations of the war weapons control act and the foreign trade law. This is not a matter of arms export policy.”
The political scientist and Chairman of the Foundation for science and democracy at Sig Sauer on the responsibility of the public Prosecutor’s offices and courts. While Ralf Willinger, and Carola house otter calling for increased and systematic control of the German exports of small arms to the export ban, is about to Krause, to forget the German efforts in this field: “The German government is an international leader in attempts, small arms and light weapons in conflict regions to collect and scrap.”
Not even the conveyor of the Sig by the way, with the finished weapons in the Ecker mad possible: on all guns is an attachment seal sticks now.
author: Oliver Pieper, “is”: With horror, organizer reports of images from Berlin, FOCUS Online “Then it is”: With horror, organizer reports of pictures from Berlin
*The contribution of “German arms manufacturer Sig Sauer: Bloody trail leads to Colombia,” published by Deutsche Welle. Contact with the executives here.
Deutsche Welle
