Spring Break
United States concerned with smuggling in Mexican trucks
Issue date: 4/5/07 Section: World News
The Eagle Tampa's cordial captain was handed a business card, and he politely discussed global port-security issues while complaining that tough security regulations at U.S. ports often prohibit his young crew from going on shore leave.
In one instance, a heavily armed security guard at the oil terminal came within inches of the journalist in Coatzacoalcos but never asked for identification or probed why an unauthorized foreigner was in a supposedly protected terminal.
Port security has been a major issue in the United States and elsewhere since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, with critics saying that not nearly enough attention is being paid to security at seaports, which receive millions of containers annually, only a few of which are inspected.
James Giermanski, an international business professor at North Carolina's Belmont Abbey College, outside Charlotte, and a specialist in Mexican transportation and cargo-security issues, said Mexican cargo and port security remained weak links in U.S. efforts to prevent the smuggling of a "dirty" bomb or entrance by would-be terrorists.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff visited Mexico on Feb. 16, the day after reports of the al-Qaida threat surfaced. He's scheduled to visit Mexico again this month.
Chertoff's spokesman, Russ Knocke, declined to detail what the two countries have discussed or what they'll discuss next month. But he confirmed that port and cargo security are on the agenda and praised Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderon, for aggressive steps on security matters.
"As a common North America, an impact to security such as a terrorist attack to any one of the North American partners is going to have ramifications to the other partners. There is a very clear recognition of that reality among our partners in Mexico," Knocke said. "We're satisfied that our partners in Mexico are taking important steps to contribute to the security of North America."
In one instance, a heavily armed security guard at the oil terminal came within inches of the journalist in Coatzacoalcos but never asked for identification or probed why an unauthorized foreigner was in a supposedly protected terminal.
Port security has been a major issue in the United States and elsewhere since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, with critics saying that not nearly enough attention is being paid to security at seaports, which receive millions of containers annually, only a few of which are inspected.
James Giermanski, an international business professor at North Carolina's Belmont Abbey College, outside Charlotte, and a specialist in Mexican transportation and cargo-security issues, said Mexican cargo and port security remained weak links in U.S. efforts to prevent the smuggling of a "dirty" bomb or entrance by would-be terrorists.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff visited Mexico on Feb. 16, the day after reports of the al-Qaida threat surfaced. He's scheduled to visit Mexico again this month.
Chertoff's spokesman, Russ Knocke, declined to detail what the two countries have discussed or what they'll discuss next month. But he confirmed that port and cargo security are on the agenda and praised Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderon, for aggressive steps on security matters.
"As a common North America, an impact to security such as a terrorist attack to any one of the North American partners is going to have ramifications to the other partners. There is a very clear recognition of that reality among our partners in Mexico," Knocke said. "We're satisfied that our partners in Mexico are taking important steps to contribute to the security of North America."
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