Recruitment through social media and $14,000 payments: How a network sends trafficked weapons from Arizona to Mexico

"In December 2022, at a gun show in Phoenix, Arizona, Ana Camarillo tried to buy a Barrett M82, a .50 caliber semi-automatic sniper rifle. It's a weapon designed to destroy light armor, structures, communications equipment, and aircraft on the ground. It's known for its power and effective range of 1.5 to 2.5 kilometers. Its price ranges from $8,000 to $14,000."

"However, Carrillo was just a pawn in this network of phantom buyers, the term for those who lend their names, in exchange for payment, for the legal acquisition of weapons for a third party. According to the statement by ATF agent Jesus Alvarez, the people pulling the strings were the brothers Jorge and Alejandro Corona, who are accused of acquiring eight .50 caliber rifles, four M240-SLR semi-automatic machine guns, one semi-automatic rifle, and two 9mm pistols."

In December 2022 at a Phoenix gun show, Ana Camarillo legally purchased a Barrett M82 .50-caliber semi-automatic sniper rifle by paying cash, despite being unable to lift it. The same day, another group bought seven .50-caliber rifles, five assault rifles, and two pistols; one rifle was recovered in Sinaloa on March 24, 2025. An ATF investigation linked Camarillo and eight other U.S. citizens to a trafficking network that purchased and moved weapons from Arizona to Mexico between 2022 and 2024. The network used phantom buyers who lent their names for payment. Brothers Jorge and Alejandro Corona are accused of acquiring multiple .50-caliber rifles, M240-SLR machine guns, and pistols. The .50-caliber weapons are described as prized warlike artillery among organized crime for their destructive power and long range.

Read at english.elpais.com