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Typically, straw purchasers are ordinary, law-abiding citizens who are often offered a financial incentive—perhaps a few hundred dollars—to buy specific firearms, such as AK variants. These individuals may be down on their luck or simply willing to take the risk for quick cash. Importantly, they are usually people with clean records, possessing valid driver’s licenses and passing background checks, which makes their purchases appear legitimate.
Once purchased, these guns are not used by the straw purchasers themselves. Instead, they are handed off to traffickers who operate within the cartel's network. These traffickers then coordinate their smuggling into Mexico, where the firearms are used in criminal activities.