"Mexican Army takes over customs on US border"?
I would have thought that this would have gotten more attention.
Mexico's Army took control of customs Sunday on the busy US border, as federal authorities pulled agents off the job in a massive anti-corruption shakeup, officials told AFP.
An Interior Ministry official said the dismissals were being carried out at all Mexican border facilities, and that the customs agents were being replaced.
Customs agents were sacked after some were found to be linked to contraband operations, according to sources at the ministry.
Agents in Nuevo Laredo, on the border with the southern US state of Texas, were called in Saturday to be told they were fired, and to hand in their badges and weapons. A total of 1,100 agents were sacked, Mexican media said.
Army troops took over customs border posts temporarily on Sunday.
Mexico and the United States share a border that stretches across some 2,000 miles (3,220 kilometers) and are partners with Canada in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Mexico is in the midst of a raging war on organized crime, and has expressed serious concern about US weapons crossing into the country.
During a visit to Mexico last week, US President Barack Obama praised President Felipe Calderon for his controversial military crackdown on the country's drug gangs, which involves more than 36,000 troops.
The United States has pledged around 1.6 billion dollars to tackle drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America under the Merida Initiative, which also includes funds for training and equipment to boost security on the Mexican side of the border. . . .
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posted by John Lott at 2:52 AM
2 Comments:
Well Professor John as someone who grew up on the Texas-Mexican border, Laredo specifically this announcement of the Mexican army taking over customs is in reality less than nothing at all...
700 Mexican customs agents fired
Story Created: Aug 16, 2009 (video clip)
From the El Paso Times: Juarez, El Paso border crossings closed by protesters Tuesday afternoon
02/17/2009
Hundreds of people blocked the international bridges to the U.S. to protest alleged army raids and arrests.
Officials said the protests happened in three cities: Ciudad Juarez; Nuevo Laredo across from Laredo, Texas; and Reynosa, across from McAllen, Texas.
Many of the protesters were holding signs demanding the army leave. Many were masked men, but some were women and children.
The army has blamed previous protests on drug cartels, which they say are trying to disrupt the government's anti-drug crackdown.
Ahhh, one more thing I forgot to add...
If you occassionally want to look in on conditions on the Texas-Mexican border consider perusing this newspaper: El Mañana
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