New Mexican Customs Force Doesn’t Impede Trade

(American Shipper – Eric Kulisch)

U.S. customs brokers and logistics companies that manage international shipments across the Southwest border say Mexico’s surprise move to swap out its entire border inspection force has not had any perceptible impact on trade flows so far.

Mexico’s customs agency on Sunday unexpectedly terminated its entire 700-person force of inspectors and replaced them with 1,454 newly vetted and trained agents in an effort to eliminate corruption as the government of Felipe Calderon continues its aggressive 30-month campaign to crush Mexican drug cartels, which have evolved into mafia-style organizations controlling many aspects of the economy. Drug gangs have murdered about 13,000 people, mostly rivals and police, as they fight to control their territory. The Mexican military was dispatched to airports and border stations to collect firearms from the terminated customs inspectors, the Associated Press reported. Read more here.