Mexican Customs Officers Complete ICE-Hosted Training Program

Nearly two dozen Mexican customs officers completed a rigorous training program to help them prepare for fighting crime along the southwest border and in Mexico, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced in a release last week.

The 10-week-long Mexican Customs Investigator Training (MEXCIT) was modeled on ICE’s Special Agent Training Program and emphasized ICE’s continuing commitment to cooperating with the Mexican government to pursue drug cartels and other criminal organizations, ICE said.

“In the last several years, we have seen a greater level of security cooperation between our two countries than at any point in our histories,” said ICE Director John Morton. “Fighting the criminal organizations that threaten our safety and security demands a response that is transitional and that is coordinated.”

Morton commended the participants for finishing the challenging course, which included getting doused in pepper spray.

“We all know that our actions transcend borders,” said Mexican Tax Administration Service Director Alfredo Gutierrez. “The governments of Mexico and the United States are committed to using our resources to significantly improve the security and the environment in which our commercial activities take place.”

Nearly 50 Mexican customs officers have now completed the training program, ICE said.