What law regulates the possession of firearms in Mexico and who may be subject to sanctions by this Law?
Penalties for firearms offences in Mexico?, the law that regulates the possession and carrying firearms, as well as the requirements and rules to follow in order to possess them is the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives, said law is federal in nature, that is, it applies to the entire Mexican Republic. All issues related to firearms are federal in nature, so this will be the only law that you should analyze when you have a problem for crimes related to this problem.
On the other hand, in case of having been arrested or being investigated for a crime of this nature, the code that will regulate the legal procedure to follow will be the national code of criminal procedures, which governs criminal procedure throughout Mexico.
People who may be subject to penalties for firearms-related crimes include the following people.
- Civilians, whether Mexican or Foreign, who do not have a permit to carry a weapon issued by the Mexican authority empowered to do so (Secretary of National Defense).
- Mexicans or foreigners who enter Mexico through any border customs or airport and are surprised with a firearm prohibited by law without having the corresponding permission from Secretary of National Defense.
- Mexicans or Foreigners who are in some of the cases indicated in the points that we are going to indicate in the points below.
Content index
- Penalties for firearms offenses.
- Penalties for carrying firearms without a license.
- Penalties for carrying firearms for the exclusive use of the army without a license.
- Penalties for transferring ownership of a firearm without the proper license.
- Penalties for Stockpiling weapons without permission from Secretary of national defense.
- Penalties for Possessing firearms for the exclusive use of the army without the corresponding license.
- Penalties for Possession of firearm cartridges.
- Penalties for Possession of firearm cartridge magazines.
- Penalties for Clandestine introduction into Mexico of Firearms for the exclusive use of the army.
- Penalties for Acquire clandestine of firearms for the exclusive use of the army for commercial purposes.
Penalties for firearms offenses
This is the list of events that can constitute a crime in Mexico.
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Carrying one or more of the following firearms without permission from Secretary of National Defense
1.- Semi-automatic pistols with a caliber no greater than .380 (9mm.), with the exception of .38 Super and .38 Commando caliber pistols, and also in 9 mm calibers. the Mausser, Luger, Parabellum and Commando, as well as similar models of the same caliber as the excepted ones, from other brands.
2.- Revolvers in calibers not higher than .38 Special, with the exception of .357 Magnum caliber.
3.- Pistols, revolvers and .22 caliber rifles, round fire.
4.- .38 caliber pistols for Olympic or competition shooting purposes.
5.- Shotguns in all their calibers and models, except those with a barrel length of less than 635 mm. (25), and those of caliber greater than 12 (.729 or 18. 5 mm.).
6.- 3-barrel shotguns in the calibers authorized in the previous section, with a barrel for metallic cartridges of different caliber.
7.- High-powered, repeating or semi-automatic rifles, not convertible to automatic, with the exception of 30” caliber carbines, rifles, carabiners and .223” caliber carbines, 7 and 7.62 mm. and .30 caliber Garand rifles.
8.- High-powered rifles of calibers greater than those indicated in the previous paragraph, with special permission for their use abroad, in hunting large game that does not exist in the national fauna.
9.- The other weapons of sporting characteristics in accordance with the legal regulations of hunting, applicable by the State Secretariats or Organizations that have interference, as well as the national and international regulations for competition shooting.
10.- .357 Magnum caliber revolvers and those greater than .38 Special.
11.- 9 mm caliber pistols. Parabellum, Luger and the like, the .38 Super and Commando, and those of higher calibers.
12.- Rifles, carabiners, carbines and tercerolas in caliber .223”, 7 mm., 7.62 mm. and .30” caliber carbines in all its models.
13.- Pistols, carbines and rifles with a burst system, submachine guns, submachine guns and machine guns in all their calibers.
14.- Shotguns with a barrel length of less than 635 mm. (25), those with a caliber greater than 12 (.729 or 18.5 mm) and gas launchers, with the exception of those for industrial use.
15.- Ammunition for the aforementioned weapons and cartridges with special devices such as tracers, incendiaries, perforating, smoke, gas expansives and those loaded with shots greater than 00 (.84 cms. in diameter) for shotguns.
16.- Cannons, artillery pieces, mortars and tanks with their attachments, accessories, projectiles and ammunition.
17.- Rocket projectiles, torpedoes, grenades, bombs, mines, depth charges, flamethrowers and the like, as well as the devices, artifices and machines for their launching.
18.- Bayonets, sabers and spears.
19.- Ships, submarines, boats and seaplanes for naval warfare and their weapons.
20.- War aircraft and their weapons.
21.- War devices, gases and chemical substances for exclusively military application, and various devices for use by the armed forces.
In general, all weapons, ammunition and materials intended exclusively for war.
For the purposes of greater understanding, the concept of Carrying firearms means carrying the firearm outside the residence address, that is, the possession occurs when you carry the weapon with you in your car or with you outside your home.
Transferring ownership of a firearm without the proper license
Any of the firearms indicated in the previous section apply to this crime.
Stockpiling weapons without permission from Secretary of national defense
Stockpiling must be understood as the possession of more than five firearms of the exclusive use of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Possessing firearms without the corresponding license
For Mexican law, possessing means having the weapon out of your range of disposal but with the possibility of being able to take it and use it, such as having the firearm in your house stored in a drawer or safe.
Possession of firearm cartridges
Mexican law also punishes whoever owns cartridges like the ones that appear in the image below, since it is considered to endanger public safety and peace of the nation.
Possession of firearm cartridge magazines
These objects also constitute a crime in Mexico, so it is important to get them out of your car if you live in the United States and intend to travel to Mexico.
Clandestine introduction into Mexico of Firearms for the exclusive use of the army
Mexican law also seeks to protect the clandestine introduction of weapons in order to prevent their distribution to criminal groups or unauthorized persons who may endanger public safety.
Acquire clandestine of firearms for the exclusive use of the army for commercial purposes
The same objective on the part of the Mexican government as the previous point, to avoid the lack of control in the sale of arms and that it reaches the hands of organized crime.
Penalties for carrying firearms without a license
- Penalty: from 3 to 8 years in prison.
- Aggravated by carrying two or more weapons: could reach a maximum penalty of up to 13 years and 4 months in prison.
- Weapons that apply to this crime : Those indicated from number 1 to 9 of the list that appears at the beginning of this article.
Penalties for carrying firearms for the exclusive use of the army without a license.
- Penalty: from 3 months to a year in the case of bayonets, sabers and spears.
- Penalty: from 3 to 10 years in prison if it is about the firearms. indicated in number 10 and 11 of the list that appears in this article.
- Penalty: from 4 to 15 years if it is one of the firearms indicated from numbers 12 to 21 of the list that appears above.
Penalties for transferring ownership of a firearm without the proper license.
- Penalty: from 1 to 6 years in prison.
- Aggravated to transfer 2 or more firearms : From 5 to 15 years in prision.
- Weapons that apply to this crime : All
Penalties for Stockpiling weapons without permission from Secretary of national defense
- Penalty: from 2 to 9 years if it is about the firearms indicated in number 10 and 11 of the list that appears in this article.
- Penalty: from 1 to 3 years in prision in the case of bayonets, sabers and spears.
- Penalty: from 5 to 30 years if it is one of the firearms indicated from numbers 12 to 21 of the list that appears above.
Penalties for Possessing firearms for the exclusive use of the army without the corresponding license.
- Penalty: from 3 months to a year in the case of bayonets, sabers and spears.
- Penalty: from 4 to 7 years in prison if it is about the firearms. indicated in number 10 and 11 of the list that appears in this article.
- Penalty: from 2 to 12 years if it is one of the firearms indicated from numbers 12 to 21 of the list that appears above.
Penalties for Possession of firearm cartridges.
- Penalty: from 1 to 4 years in prison if it is about the firearms. indicated in number 1 and 11 of the list that appears in this article.
- Penalty: from 4 to 7 years if it is one of the firearms indicated from numbers 12 to 21 of the list that appears above.
Penalties for Possession of firearm cartridge magazines
- Penalty: from 1 to 2 years in prison for 2 to 5 cartridge magazines.
- Penalty: from 4 to 8 years for 5 or more cartridge magazines.
Penalties for Clandestine introduction into Mexico of Firearms for the exclusive use of the army
- Penalty: from 5 to 30 years To those who participate in the introduction to the territory nationally, clandestinely, of weapons, ammunition, cartridges, explosives and materials for use exclusive to the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Penalties for Acquire clandestine of firearms for the exclusive use of the army for commercial purposes.
Penalty: from 2 to 10 years in prision
Finally, we want to mention that all foreigners who enter Mexico through any of its borders or its airports may be subject to these sanctions, for which they must check if they do not have a weapon in their possessions, remember that the fact of having A permit to carry a weapon in the United States or your country of origin is not valid in Mexico.
The Mexican criminal process explained in English
