Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Since when did a 1919 become an Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun?

Anahi Beltran Cabrera, center, who was arrested guarding an arsenal, is presented to the media at a police base in Mexico City, Tuesday, April 14, 2009. Police on a routine patrol detained the 20-year-old woman guarding the arsenal, allegedly belonged to a group linked to the powerful Beltran Leyva drug cartel, at a house in northern Sonora state. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Mexican detained with anti-aircraft machine gun
Apr 14 02:12 PM US/Eastern
By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO
Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY (AP) - A woman was arrested guarding an arsenal that included an anti-aircraft machine gun�the first weapon of its kind seized in Mexico, police said Tuesday.

The arsenal belonged to a group linked to the powerful Beltran Leyva drug cartel, federal police coordinator Gen. Rodolfo Cruz said. It also included ammunition, five rifles, a grenade and part of a grenade launcher.

Mexican drug cartels, battling a fierce crackdown by soldiers and federal police, have increasingly gotten hold of higher-powered weapons, even military-grade arms such as grenades and machine guns. That has left police�particularly state and municipal forces�grossly outgunned, and many officers have quit following attacks.

Cruz said the confiscated .50-caliber, anti-aircraft machine gun can fire 800 rounds per minute and is capable of penetrating armor from more than 5,000 feet (1,500 meters). Police on a routine patrol Monday found the gun fitted atop an SUV at a house in northern Sonora state.

Authorities did not release any other details about the gun, including its make, where it was manufactured, or where it was sold.

The arrested suspect, Anahi Beltran Cabrera, apparently is not related to the Beltran Leyva clan, Cruz said.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has traced many guns seized at scenes of drug violence in Mexico to U.S. commercial sources. But determining the source of military-grade weapons such as grenades and fully automatic machine guns is more complicated.

The ATF says the grenades are mostly smuggled in through Central America, and have been traced back to the militaries of many countries, from South Korea to Spain and Israel. Some may be leftovers from the Central American civil wars.

Assailants have fired on government aircraft performing anti-drug missions in Mexico in the past, but apparently never with the caliber of weapon found Monday.

In 2006, a helicopter on a federal drug-eradication mission crashed while trying to escape ground fire, and a second helicopter was damaged by gunfire in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero.

Mexico is upgrading its northern and southern border checkpoints in an effort to detect and seize more guns and other contraband, installing equipment that will weigh and photograph each car and truck coming into the country.

President Barack Obama has promised to do more to stop gun trafficking from the United States to Mexico. He has pledged to dispatch nearly 500 more federal agents to the border, along with X-ray machines and drug-sniffing dogs.

Mexico's drug violence has claimed more than 10,650 lives since President Felipe Calderon launched a military-led offensive against trafficking cartels in December 2006.

In March, the government sent thousands more troops to the northern border to quell escalating violence. The government announced Sunday that drug-related homicides fell 26 percent across the country in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period in 2008.

An anti air-craft machine gun, the first weapon of its kind seized in Mexico, is displayed to the media at a police base in Mexico City, Tuesday, April 14, 2009. Police on a routine patrol detained a 20-year-old woman guarding an arsenal, allegedly belonged to a group linked to the powerful Beltran Leyva drug cartel, at a house in northern Sonora state.(AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Hey, it is whatever the media care to call it.

The cache included an antiaircraft gun, numerous rifles and a large amount of ammunition

She looks kind of like Maser.

Oops, there is an evil Barrett .50 there too.

Hmmmmm, wasn't Hillary down that way recently...

Hmmmmm. It aint an antiaircraftgun, it aint .50 caliber and 5 rifles aint an arsenal. More media hype.

First anti aircraft gun I've ever seen that you coulnd't point "up".

About the same time that 90% of the weapons seized in Mexico came from the U.S.

Truth has nothing to do with this, this is all propaganda for the masses.

With the belt inserted, is there a round in the chamber for the photo op?

Another US gunshow machine gun.

when you consider that Mexicos airforce is 2 guy's in a 172 with a .38 and a handgrenade,that is an AA gun.

Well, there�s a .50 rifle and a 1919�so I think they got mixed up and merged the two�sounds better when you say it like that.

actually if you take the time to read the text it states that a 50 caliber machine gun was also found fitted to an SUV. I may be wrong but weren't 50 cal m-2's mounted on planes to dog fight other planes with? Wouldn't that make it an anti aircraft gun. I'm in no way agreeing with the media I think all forms of "news" should be banned, but people in our ranks need to make sure they comprehend what they are reading.

AS DEFINED


An arsenal is an establishment for the construction, repair, storage and issue of weapons and ammunition.

A Remington 870 is an anti-aircraft gun..........























If the aircraft are ducks or doves.


Mike

UHhhhhhh, an M 1919 is a .30 cal gun, Sport.

GTC

the two federalies look kinda hot behind them masks

There is a version of the 1919, type classified as the M2 AN, for use in aircraft and as an anti-aircraft weapon.

Cyclic rate is around 1200 rpm.

For the WW2 History enthusiasts, this weapon was the basis for Tony Stein's "stinger".

Yup,....and that's NOT an M2 AN on that tripod, is it.....?

it's sure as hell not a 50, either.

More Mexican hype gets lost in hair splitting.

GTC