mexico border control

August 18, 2009
by AQ Online

In a greater effort to target tax-evasion and thwart potential efforts of smuggling and corruption, the Mexican government has replaced its 700 customs agents with over 1,400 newly trained and better-educated customs inspectors who have undergone extensive background checks. Announced on Sunday, Mexico’s customs authority spokesman Pedro Canabal said that “this change is part of our response to new demands in the fight against contraband” and also noted that the new deployments would improve Mexico’s tax collection, but the main benefit would be to prevent the entry of pirated and cheap goods that flood Mexico’s domestic industries. Military soldiers aided with some of the border controls during the transition.