A video diverted to serve as support for an anti-Ukrainian narrative. On Facebook, pages share a video from a Mexican news channel to claim, falsely, that “dozens of American M136 grenade launchers destined for Ukraine” have finally landed in the hands of a Mexican cartel.
“Dozens of American M136 grenade launchers destined for Ukraine ended up in the hands of the Golfo drug cartel in Mexico, reports Milenio Televisión, we read on Facebook. According to them, the criminals simply bought weapons. The assertion is accompanied by a video of about thirty seconds, in which a presenter comments, in Spanish, a video of a man walking from behind, a weapon in each hand.
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The M136 is not a grenade launcher, as claimed in Facebook posts, but an assault rifle. As for the video of the man carrying the weapons, it does indeed come from a Mexican television program, however at no time does the presenter affirm that the two visible weapons were not intended for Ukraine. She simply explains that the weapon carried by the man on her right, a Javelin according to her, is similar to weapons used during the war in Ukraine. The Javelin is an anti-tank missile launcher.
On the channel’s website, in an article on the subject, there still it is not affirmed that it is about a weapon which was initially intended for Ukraine. Here is how the journalist presents the object: “The weapon, which is only sold to the armies and was widely used during the invasion of Ukraine, was in the hands of a hitman from Los Escorpiones, a cell of the Gulf Cartel, which operates in Reynosa”.
If the Americans delivered Javelins to the Ukrainians, it is unlikely that the weapon visible in the video is indeed one. The company that makes it, Raytheon Technologies, replied to our colleagues at Lead Stories that this is not a Javelin. According to several experts contacted by Lead Stories, the visible weapon is an AT-4, an anti-tank rocket launcher that is lighter than the Javelin.