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Out of Control - Germany’s Global Arms Trade

September 9, 2014

Weapons made in Germany are exported all over the world, but it is almost impossible to monitor where they end up. This documentary goes on the trail of an arms dealer and shows who ultimately profits from the trade.

https://p.dw.com/p/1CpF1

Mexico. For years, a drug war has been raging in the state of Guerrero – and German weapons have apparently been discovered here. The pictures show: Mexican police, who are themselves often involved in daily murders, have been using G36 assault rifles from the German armaments company Heckler and Koch in their fight against the drug gangs. But German export controls mean the weapons should never have ended up in the troubled province in the first place.

A Mexican general says nobody in his country knows about the German regulations. Arms export controls have failed - but how were the German laws circumvented? The Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office has been investigating since 2010, and now this film provides new evidence: G36 rifles with serial numbers are seen in a forbidden region the first time. Using these numbers, the police can track how the weapons got there.

German armaments exporters have to sign a so-called end-use certificate for each weapon, thus supposedly guaranteeing that it does not fall into the wrong hands. But our research shows that the German security authorities are unable to control where the weapons go, and certainly not their final destination. The German government’s moral principles are high, but not enshrined in law. The Federal Export Office and the Federal Security Council have a lot of discretion.

In addition: All decisions on war weapons exports are made behind closed doors. The film’s research constantly leads back to Heckler and Koch, the great German armorers of world renown, whose products turn up in so many crisis zones. "Weapons of the world" is an exciting and critical insight into the secret world of arms dealers – a film about victims, profiteers and loopholes in Germany’s arms export controls.

04.09.2014 DW Dokumentation und Reportage Sabas Duque
Sabas Duque was responsible for smuggling weapons to the FARC guerrillas in Colombia. He has been in a wheelchair since an attack.
04.09.2014 DW Dokumentation und Reportage Polizist
The Mexican police are well-equipped: their arsenal includes German weapons such as the G3 assault rifle, the MP5 submachine gun and, more recently, the G36 assault rifle.
04.09.2014 DW Dokumentation und Reportage CRAC
The CRAC is a kind of militia in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It came about out of despair and anger at the arbitrariness of the corrupt police force.




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