And these are the people who are supposed to keep Mexican highways safe? And provide the U.S. with reliable safety information about Mexican trucks that cross the border?
According to the report,
The massive purge highlights the often cozy relationship between local police and drug cartels in Mexico, a country plagued by drug-related violence that has left more than 70,000 dead since 2006.
The powerful Sinaloa cartel controls drug trafficking in the state of Durango, which has endured a bout of violence in recent months.
The detained officers "are part of a structure within organized crime," de la Garza told local radio, adding that some of the officers took part in kidnappings.Fortunately, the pilot program opening the border to dangerous Mexican trucks continues to be a failure, as only a handful of carriers are sending a few trucks past the border zone.
It's a good thing, too. Border officials already have their hands full preventing criminals from entering the U.S. AFP reports 12 men from Mexico and Nicaragua were arrested earlier this week for bringing women from Mexico into the U.S. and fording them to work as prostitutes:
Eleven women were rescued from the traffickers and 44 other people were detained for questioning, said a statement from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
The leader of the gang, identified as Joaquin Mendez Hernandez, was said to have brought women into the country with the promise of employment.
He would then threaten them and force them to work as prostitutes in several southeastern US states, the statement alleged.
In one case Mendez Hernandez threatened to send a Mexican woman back home unless she serviced 25 customers per day, according to the charge sheet read out in court in Savannah, Georgia.We question whether border officials have the ability to inspect every Mexican truck every time it crosses the border. (So does the U.S. Transportation Department's inspector general.)
