MEXICO CITY, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Five U.S. gun dealers filed a motion late Friday in a U.S. court to dismiss a lawsuit by Mexico accusing them of participating in illicit weapons trafficking. Mexico's government filed the suit in October, arguing that the five dealers in Arizona were responsible for selling guns. Mexico has strict gun laws, but the government alleges that drug cartels use guns purchased in the United States to commit crimes in Mexico. Mexico's lawsuit against the dealers in October came days after a U.S. federal judge in late September dismissed Mexico's historic $10 billion lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers seeking to hold them responsible for facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug cartels. Celorio told Reuters in October that Mexico's lawsuits aim to address the "root causes" of gun violence in Mexico.

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