DHS and Mexico Cooperate to Reduce Crime at the Southwest Border

On October 22, 2010, twenty-four Mexican Customs officers graduated from the inaugural Mexican Customs Investigator Training (MEXIT) in Charleston, S.C. The 10 week training session, modeled on the U.S. ICE Special Agent Training Program, was designed to train Mexican law enforcement officials to more effectively identify and fight crime along the southern border and within Mexico. The training and graduation represents the continuing effort of DHS/ICE to partner with Mexico in combating drug cartels; money laundering; weapons, drug, and human trafficking; and other criminal organizations that operate across the U.S.-Mexico border, threatening the security of people living in both countries.

The training included instruction in both Mexican and U.S. customs law, as well as an emphasis on investigative techniques and officer safety. Both Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Mexican Secretary of Finance, Ernesto Cordero Arroyo, attended the graduation ceremony. In an ICE news release, Secretary Napolitano said that fighting the drug cartels “demands a response that is transnational and coordinated,” while Secretary Cordero remarked that “A well-functioning border is an opportunity for growth – it opens doors to commercial exchange, peace, progress, and human development.” The training is designed to lead to more cooperation and information sharing so both countries can more effectively fight crime on the border.

The Mexican Customs Investigator Training is part of a multiyear, Department of State-led initiative designed to provide assistance to Mexico and Central America to better equip law enforcement agencies to complete their missions. So far, the United States has contributed $1.4 billion in aid for Mexico through the initiative. President Obama is committed to shared responsibility with President Felipe Calderón and the government of Mexico to secure the Southwest border and ensure the security of both nations.

Read more:
http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1010/101022northcharleston2.htm

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