WORKING AGAINST CORRUPTION: HOW TO BUILD A SUSTAINABLE SECURITY POSTURE AT PORTS-OF-ENTRY AND SECURE AMERICA’S SOUTHERN BORDER

The deteriorating relationship between the United States and Mexico has allowed unprecedented levels of narcotics to flow into the United States, especially synthetic opioids. The frequency of overdose deaths attributed to synthetic opioids presents a national security concern to the United States and transnational criminal organizations operating in Mexico have little to fear for reprisal. In 2019, Mexican security forces could not outmatch cartel soldiers in direct confrontation, losing a bloody street battle and forced to release their captured target back into cartel hands. The government of Mexico also recently passed legislation in 2020 to limit U.S. enforcement agencies from operating effectively in Mexico, hindering bi-national cooperation on issues such as corruption. These troubling events allow transnational criminal organizations to flourish. Law enforcement agencies, specifically along the U.S. Southwest Land Border, would benefit from resources available to the intelligence community (IC) to combat these threats. Injecting these resources directly to the operators engaged with the threat allows for more effective disruption to criminal organizations. The traditional methods of screening travelers through a port-of-entry are no longer sufficient or sustainable. Greater accessibility to IC resources presents an opportunity to combat cross-border illicit activity and safeguard the American people.

Department dc:contributor.department

National Security Affairs (CHDS)

Grantor dc:publisher

Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Sluys, Travis R.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• McGuire, Mollie R.

Statement dc:rights

• This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10945/72264

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/72264