One part of the @FbdnStories #CartelProject was a months-long investigation that focused on the presence and flow of weapons into Mexico. Many of them were imported from European companies like Glock (Austria), FN Herstal (Belgium), Heckler & Koch (Germany) and Beretta (Italy).

a tweet from the Secretaria de Seguridad Pública in Michoacán nicely illustrates what this means. During their November operations they seized about 80 firearms, among them weapons from FN Herstal (FN M249), Beretta (Beretta 92) and Heckler & Koch (HK G3) https://twitter.com/MICHOACANSSP/status/1336498267509706753

earlier in 2020, during several LE surveillance operations and confrontations with cartels or criminal groups, military grade weapons from FN Herstal were discovered and seized in multiple Mexican states. A few cases :

at the end of June 2020 two FN SCAR 17S assault rifles were among the confiscated arms seen in the back of a truck after the assassination attempt, orchestrated by the CJNG cartel, on Mexico City's security head Garcia Harfuch

at the very beginning of October 2020, a significant LE operation in the town of Comanja de Corona resulted in the confiscation of an exceptional load of weapons, ammunition, etc. Among them two arms from FN Herstal: a P90 submachine gun and a M2HB heavy machine gun

in November 2020 three Mexicans, suspected of trafficking huge quantities of illicit drugs for the Sinaloa Cartel, were arrested at a truck yard in Otay Mesa. Next to the huge quantities of drugs, cash and .50 caliber ammunition, also a handgun was confiscated: an FN Five-Seven.

at the beginning of December 2020, there were several LE operations in the western part of the state of Michoacán, near the border with Jalisco state, including a heavy shoot out with the CJNG cartel. Amidst all this, SSP Michoacán personnel found an FN M249 in a field in Cotija

Throughout the past year, the frequent operations from both Mexican police forces and/or the National Guard also revealed the presence of German weapons with armed groups and cartels. Another brief overview :

In April 2020 a joint LE operation resulted in capturing multiple arms and tactical equipment near the town of El Mirabal. Among the weapons was a Heckler & Koch G36, a weapon that has also been in use by the Mexican Federal Police

in June 2020 the 'Grupo de Operaciones Especiales' secured weaponry in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, well hidden inside cooling equipment used in semi-trailers. The arms would reportedly have crossed the border illegally. Among them was a batch of about 20 (!) Heckler & Koch G3 rifles

during the earlier mentioned LE operation in Comanja de Corona in October 2020, where also FN Herstal weapons were found, another German assault rifle was seen among the big batch of seized weapons, i.e. a Heckler & Koch MP5-SD (h/t @ElParece)