August 17, 2009

Wow: 1,100 Mexican Border Agents Fired

A sign that Mexico is getting serious about cleaning up corruption? Keep your fingers crossed, but don't hold your breath.

AFP:

Agents in Nuevo Laredo, on the border with the southern US state of Texas, were called in Saturday to be told they were fired, and to hand in their badges and weapons. A total of 1,100 agents were sacked, Mexican media said.

Army troops took over customs border posts temporarily on Sunday.

I'm assuming that Mexican customs agents do something similar to ours. That is, they check stuff coming in to Mexico not going out. And since the fired agents were working on the U.S. - Mexico border then this may have more to do with the traditional Mexican narrative that its internal problems are somehow connected to Yankee imperialism. In this case, that the violence along the border can be blamed on the smuggling of weapons in from the United States, which is a popular political narrative south of the border. Which is patently ridiculous.

If Mexico wants to blame the U.S. for its internal violence, if anything it should blame our -- and their -- drug laws which put the buying and selling of drugs outside the normal commercial and legal system.

Thanks to Bones.

By Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. at 09:29 AM | |