|
|
|
June 12, 2003, Laredo, TX--Jayson Ahern, Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Lic. Leopoldo Perea Cardenas, Administrador de Aduanas de Nuevo Laredo, and several top railroad officials dedicated a state-of-the-art rail cargo inspections facility at Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border. The new facility houses BCBP rail inspection operations, including a gamma-ray imaging system for scanning cargo in rail cars.
"This new facility offers the latest in non-intrusive inspections technology and further tightens security against the terrorist threat, while at the same time helping to facilitate movement of legitimate cargo across the U.S.-Mexico border," said Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner.
The $200,000 facility, built by Tex-Mex Railroad on land owned by Union Pacific, houses offices for CBP inspectors and Border Patrol agents, and a $1.3 million gamma-ray imaging system that scans railcars as they cross into the U.S. The new two-story structure replaces an outmoded facility at the
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
border rail crossing dating back to 1908.
Assistant Commissioner Ahern said, "Co-location of CBP inspectors and Border Patrol agents, along with cutting-edge technology, will enhance both efficiency and effectiveness in combating illegal migrant and drug smuggling on trains, as well the smuggling of terrorists and weapons of mass destruction."
Construction of the facility began in September 2002 and was completed in April 2003.
U.S. Customs Headquarters
Phone: (202) 927-8727
Fax: (202) 927-1393
Richard Pauza, Press Officer
Phone: (956) 753-1749
Fax: (956) 794-1026
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 10, 2003, San Francisco, CA --In the framework of a Partnership for Prosperity Business Workshop, Mexican and United States government officials, businessmen, and academics signed various economic and cooperation initiatives that will boost Mexico's economic and scientific development.
More than 850 businessmen, academics, and officials of both governments met in in San Francisco to discuss business opportunities and projects that will support Mexico's economic expansion.
The Partnership's achievements at the Workshop include:
· The signing of an agreement, to become effective when ratified by the Mexican Senate, that will allow the United States Overseas Private Investment Corporation to offer a broad range of financial and risk insurance services to United States enterprises doing business in Mexico.
· The United States Small Business Administration, NAFIN (Mexico's development bank) and
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
