Shipments from Mexico draw special U.S. scrutiny

Spotlight increases on port security
By Diane Lindquist
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Photo courtesy of SAIC
April 23, 2007

When Mexican President Felipe Calderón launched his sweeping campaign against narcotrafficking late last year, he sent navy ships and thousands of troops to the port of Lázaro Cárdenas to clamp down on the reputed hub for smuggling drugs to the United States.

Drugs aren't the only contraband that is troublesome at foreign ports such as Lázaro Cárdenas. The ports – growing transit points for boxcar-sized containers bound for the American heartland – are crucial in keeping the United States free from terrorist attack.

With nearly the equivalent of 17.3 million cargo containers arriving by ship at U.S. seaports each year, concerns are heightening that maritime cargo might be used to deliver nuclear, chemical or biological weapons or to carry bands of terrorists into the United States.