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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Note to Self: Do Not Smuggle Pot Through Nogales if Mexican National |
| 2010-01-04 |
| No fear. That was the mantra of Mexican drug smugglers bringing marijuana into the United States. No fear of arrest. No fear of prosecution. The worst-kept secret on the border for years was that, until more recently, U.S. authorities would not even try to prosecute cases involving less than 500 pounds of marijuana. Furthermore, U.S. laws and rules of evidence that aim to ensure justice make some cases hard to stick. The most trouble that many small-time smugglers faced was a few days' inconvenience before being deported. But a new program being tested at the Nogales ports of entry could radically change the way these cases are handled along the entire U.S.-Mexican border. Instead of being deported and set free, some marijuana smugglers arrested in the United States are being turned over to Mexican authorities for prosecution. The change in approach has led to claims that U.S. officials are circumventing the U.S. Constitution by taking advantage of less-stringent Mexican legal standards. |
| Posted by:Cornsilk Blondie |
| #4 And so they mebbe jail the perps/mules (after raping selected chiquitas) followed by recycling of the contraband to the financial benefit of the Federales. I live in Tucson - 50 miles north of the border - and am suspect of law enforcement on both sides of the line. Once had a girlfriend in Nogales, Sonora - she went to her local copshop (I watched from the car with my own eyes) - she said they always had the best merchandise...although this was many moons ago I refuse to beleive anything has changed - corruption is too much of the culture... |
| Posted by: borgboy 2010-01-04 13:36 |
| #3 Smuggling drugs is a crime in both countries. If ICE deports the perp because for whatever reason we can't or won't prosecute, the Mexican authorities have the right to charge the joker on their side of the border. We're just making it easy for the Federales to do their job. No law against that (yet). |
| Posted by: Steve White 2010-01-04 12:45 |
| #2 I don't see where the Constitutional question comes from. US Customs is simply refusing entry to people carrying contraband. The fact the federales are waiting for them when they are tossed back seems purely coincidental. In addition, it creates a nice opportunity for Mexican law enforcement to wet their beaks. It's a win-win for everyone! |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-01-04 11:50 |
| #1 To quote the Mexican Army Colonel in charge of the Nogales crossing: "Badges? We don' need no steenking badges!" |
| Posted by: mojo 2010-01-04 10:51 |