Back in April Mexican President Felipe Calderón pleaded to a joint session of U.S. Congress for more help in limiting the flow of weapons to Mexico. “Believe me, many of these guns are not going to honest American hands,” said Calderón. Earlier this week, a report released based on Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) data and prepared by the advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns justified Calderón’s cry for help, revealing that three out of four recovered guns used in crimes in Mexico can be traced to gun stores in the U.S.

Today Calderón told Univision Al Punto anchor Maria Elena Salinas that U.S. lawmakers are not only failing to address immigration or the drug trade, they also aren’t doing enough to stop the flow of weapons across the border:

CALDERON: The principle thing we have in common with Colombia is that we suffer from the consumption of drugs of the United States — we’re both victims of the enormous consumption of drugs by America and now the the sale of arms by the American industry.

SALINAS: What is being done to avoid this situation?

CALDERON: The Mexican government is confiscating the guns, the American authorities — you’d have to ask them. I haven’t seen much in terms of stopping the flow of guns. [...] The truth is if it weren’t for the flow of weapons from the United States to Mexican criminals and other parts of the world, we wouldn’t be seeing the levels of violence that we’re witnessing. [...]

The Americans, rather than regulating or establishing an adequate drug or immigration or arms legislation have allowed organized crime to regulate those markets. And the massacre of San Fernando shows the consequences of not addressing issues that need to be regulated such as immigration, drugs, or weapons.

Watch it:

Calderón once again pointed to the expiration of the assault weapons ban in the U.S. as part of the problem, stating, “[t]his problem [drug war] is also a problem of the United States, caused by the consumption of drugs in the United States and now exacerbated by the irresponsable sale of guns in the United States.” The Washington Post reported this past week that “the National Rifle Association…is pushing for legislation that threatens to gut the ATF’s already limited ability to keep illegal guns off the streets.”

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recognized the role the U.S. plays in Mexico woes. “It’s not only guns; it’s weapons, it’s arsenals of all kinds that come south,” Clinton told the Council on Foreign Relations. “So I feel a real sense of responsibility to do everything we can. And again, we’re working hard to come up with approaches that will actually deliver.”

Meanwhile, Calderón’s militarization of the drug war has also come under heavy criticism. During the interview, Calderon also touched on immigration policy, without, as the Wonk Room explains, mentioning Mexico’s own complicity in the issue.

Back in April Mexican President Felipe Calderón pleaded to a joint session of U.S. Congress for more help in limiting the flow of weapons to Mexico. “Believe me, many of these guns are not going to honest American hands,” said Calderón. Earlier this week, a report released based on Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) data and prepared by the advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns justified Calderón’s cry for help, revealing that three out of four recovered guns used in crimes in Mexico can be traced to gun stores in the U.S.

Today Calderón told Univision Al Punto anchor Maria Elena Salinas that U.S. lawmakers are not only failing to address immigration or the drug trade, they also aren’t doing enough to stop the flow of weapons across the border:

CALDERON: The principle thing we have in common with Colombia is that we suffer from the consumption of drugs of the United States — we’re both victims of the enormous consumption of drugs by America and now the the sale of arms by the American industry.

SALINAS: What is being done to avoid this situation?

CALDERON: The Mexican government is confiscating the guns, the American authorities — you’d have to ask them. I haven’t seen much in terms of stopping the flow of guns. [...] The truth is if it weren’t for the flow of weapons from the United States to Mexican criminals and other parts of the world, we wouldn’t be seeing the levels of violence that we’re witnessing. [...]

The Americans, rather than regulating or establishing an adequate drug or immigration or arms legislation have allowed organized crime to regulate those markets. And the massacre of San Fernando shows the consequences of not addressing issues that need to be regulated such as immigration, drugs, or weapons.

Watch it:

Calderón once again pointed to the expiration of the assault weapons ban in the U.S. as part of the problem, stating, “[t]his problem [drug war] is also a problem of the United States, caused by the consumption of drugs in the United States and now exacerbated by the irresponsable sale of guns in the United States.” Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported this past week that “the National Rifle Association…is pushing for legislation that threatens to gut the ATF’s already limited ability to keep illegal guns off the streets.”

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recognized the role the U.S. plays in Mexico woes. “It’s not only guns; it’s weapons, it’s arsenals of all kinds that come south,” Clinton told the Council on Foreign Relations. “So I feel a real sense of responsibility to do everything we can. And again, we’re working hard to come up with approaches that will actually deliver.”

On immigration, Calderón also insisted that Mexico has the moral authority to criticize U.S. policy, despite the bloody massacre of 72 Central and South American migrants that took place in Mexico a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, though he noted that Mexico has decriminalized illegal immigration, Calderón did not mention Mexico’s own complicity. Article 67 of Mexico’s immigration law still requires law enforcement to demand that foreigners prove their legal presence in the country and, as a result, most migrant abuse goes unreported.

Meanwhile, Calderón’s militarization of the drug war has also come under heavy criticism.

Speaking yesterday at Stop Islamization of America‘s rally at Ground Zero against the Park 51 Islamic cultural center, North Carolina GOP congressional candidate Ilario Pantano attempted to turn the event into an anti-Iran rally. Pantano also spun a bizarre conspiracy theory in which Imam Abdul Feisal Rauf, the leader of the Park 51 group, was in league with Iran to support the Gaza flotilla in late May that resulted in the killing of nine Turks — including one Turkish American — by Israeli commandos.

“Let’s take a moment to take a look at the person that wants to bring it [the Islamic center] here,” Pantano said, referring to Rauf. “Does anyone find it interesting that he’s also involved in the Free Gaza flotilla movement that had a made-for-TV action with Israel just as all of this was developing?”

PANTANO: But there was something else that happened. Because, and I want to stretch your imagination for a second, but every time Iran is about to face a nuclear sanction, from the EU or the UN, what happens? Something flares up with Israel! I wonder how that happens? I wonder in 2006 when Iran was about to face nuclear sanctions for their nuclear weapons program — yes folks, we want to give radical extremists nuclear weapons, it’s unconscionable to me — but remember back to 2006, a fight in Lebanon with the Israelis. Who provoked that? Iran! Iran! Think back to 2008, again, Iran about to face sanctions, who provoked attacks from Gaza, missile attacks on Israel? Iran. And radical Islam. That’s exactly right.

Ladies and gentlemen, in 2010 as Iran faced its toughest round of sanctions, we have the made-for-TV episode, with Israel rightfully trying to protect itself by maintaining a blockade to make sure murderous rockets don’t kill its innocent citizens, where did that come from? Imam Rauf is a member of the organization that has been behind all of that. We know that Iran has been complicit in all of that. I want to know where the money for this mosque is coming from!

Watch it:

Pantano’s rant was neatly emblematic of the entire event, stirring together half-truths with outright falsehoods into a stew of anti-Muslim paranoia. His claim that Imam Rauf is a member of the organization behind the Free Gaza movement is probably a reference to the Malaysian-based Perdana Global Peace Organization, a major donor to the flotilla campaign. Like much of the misinformation floating around about the Park 51 project, this claim originated with the New York Post. But a Cordoba Initiative FAQ page notes that Imam Rauf “has never been a member of this group,” explaining that “several years ago, Imam Feisal was invited to Malaysia, the most moderate Islamic country in the world, to participate in a Peace Conference sponsored by the Perdana Peace Group. He was one of the hundreds of speakers present.”

The idea that Iran was “complicit,” along with Rauf, in the Gaza flotilla is a strange new element, one that hasn’t been claimed elsewhere, let alone proven. And while it’s clear that Iran maintains supportive relationships with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, it’s simply false to present the aims and actions of the groups as identical to those of Iran, or to suggest that they have anything to do with Imam Rauf. Unless, of course, your purpose is to gin up paranoia and hatred against an Islamic cultural center in lower Manhattan.