INL Assistance for Mexico’s Southern Border Strategy
Mexico’s Southern Border Strategy is designed to increase inspection and
interdiction capacities, and reduce drug and human trafficking along Mexico’s
southern border with Guatemala and Belize. Mexico’s southern border has only 11
formal crossings and more than 370 informal crossings. Mexico’s efforts to
improve security along its southern border include the construction of twelve
permanent naval bases along its southern river borders and the development of
multiple choke points in the region to counter illegal migration and drug
trafficking.
To date, the U.S. government has provided $6.6 million of mobile Non-Intrusive
Inspection Equipment to Mexican services stationed at the southern border and
approximately $3.5 million in mobile kiosks, operated by Mexico’s National
Migration Institute, that capture the biometric and biographic data of migrants
living, working, and transiting southern Mexico.
We are prepared to support Mexico in their efforts to advance one of the Pena
Nieto administration’s priority initiatives -- to strengthen the southern border -through equipment donation and border management training. The U.S.
government and the Government of Mexico have evaluated the types of assistance
that would most aptly support Mexico’s southern border and have reached
agreement on how INL can best assist.
INL assistance will provide a more mobile, integrated border management system
that incorporates sophisticated non-intrusive inspection equipment and
communication technologies, supporting Mexico’s efforts to increase its
interdiction and criminal detection capabilities. The equipment will allow security
officials in the field increased operational capabilities by facilitating direct
communication with the Federal Police, Customs, and Navy installations and their
respective databases, as well as with other operational elements present in the
region. It is estimated that a total of $86.6 million in validated requirements are
needed to support this southern border strategy.
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs, “INL Assistance for Mexico’s Southern Border Strategy,” fact sheet, June
2014