| | |  Americas & Beyond | December 2009 
US Halts More Cash Headed to Mexico
 Dennis Wagner - Arizona Republic
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December 26, 2009
 |  | The surge in seizures is a direct result of the Obama administration's decision to send more manpower, high-tech equipment and cash-sniffing dogs to monitor traffic on southbound lanes at ports along the Arizona-Sonora line.
- Brian Levin |  | | |
Seizures of cash bound primarily for Mexico's violent drug cartels more than quadrupled this year along the Arizona border thanks to beefed up screening at U.S. checkpoints.
In fiscal 2008, inspectors intercepted $1.1 million heading into Mexico. This year, they netted nearly $4.9 million.
Brian Levin, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, said the surge in seizures is a direct result of the Obama administration's decision to send more manpower, high-tech equipment and cash-sniffing dogs to monitor traffic on southbound lanes at ports along the Arizona-Sonora line.
"We've put a lot more resources on southbound vehicles," Levin said.
Although the amount confiscated is just a fraction of the millions of dollars in drug- and human-smuggling profits funneled back to Mexican syndicates each year, Levin said the seizures reflect a new focus in the smuggling clampdown and the U.S. efforts to help Mexico fight its bloody drug war.
Since President Felipe Calderón declared a war on drugs in 2006, more than 13,000 people have been killed in Mexico. Drug-related crimes are spilling across the border into the U.S., including Arizona.
Weapon targeted
Until this year, U.S. inspections on the border primarily targeted incoming traffic from Mexico while ignoring vehicles headed south.
But shortly after President Barack Obama took office nearly a year ago, federal authorities intensified outbound screening amid reports that weapons smuggled from the United States were providing most of the firepower in Mexico's drug wars. Authorities estimated that 90 percent of the guns used in police assassinations and cartel bloodshed originated in the United States.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano assigned an additional $400 million to border security, much of it for screening outbound traffic.
That money went for more inspectors, X-ray machines and other gear.
One of those caught amid the heightened scrutiny was Francisco Vera-Moroyoqui, who arrived at an inspection station in downtown Nogales in March with his father, Efren Vera-Romero.
Inside their Dodge Durango, officers discovered a hidden ceiling compartment containing more than $1.4 million. Romero pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 37 months in prison. His son is awaiting sentencing.
Under federal law, cash transactions or shipments of more than $10,000 must be declared, whether in the form of currency or wire transfers.
The regulation was designed to thwart cartel efforts to move illicit funds through banks, and U.S. investigators have cracked down on electronic transfers.
'Mules' haul cash
Because of that, cartels frequently rely on so-called "mules" - employees who are paid to transport cash into Mexico in hidden vehicle compartments or taped to their bodies.
On Dec. 15, for example, officers in Nogales searched a truck and discovered a suitcase containing 30 stacks of bills wrapped in black tape, a haul of more than $300,000. The vehicle's occupants, Francisco Pineda-Castaneda and Francisco Vera Ibarra, admitted smuggling the money for a fee of $500 each, according to Customs and Border Protection.
As a complement to the increased inspections on the U.S. side of the border, Mexican authorities have launched their own screening system to catch contraband arriving from the United States.
Under a first-of-its-kind program known by its Spanish acronym, SIAVE, checkpoints are under construction in Sonora and all along the border. Cameras will record the license plate, model and weight of every passing vehicle while also capturing images of passengers. Suspicious cars and trucks will be subject to human inspection.
For inspectors, the relentless line of cars to be checked can seem overwhelming, Levin said.
"When you're out there doing this day after day, you're looking for that needle in the haystack, the brass ring, the one item that makes this worthwhile," he said.
Levin said there also is an element of danger. He said several southbound drivers have tried to bypass the checkpoints, crashing through to the Mexican side while nearly hitting inspectors.
Because of that, Customs and Border Protection recently installed a gauntlet of concrete barriers for outgoing vehicles at the Mariposa Port in Nogales.
"We're trying to make it more difficult for anyone to even think about doing this," Levin said.
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