An ex-Border Patrol Inspector was indicted today with 13 counts, including “drug trafficking, human smuggling and bribery charges.”[1] The court went on to state that the suspect, Luis Enrique Ramirez, had:
“…allegedly conspired to transport and move illegal aliens, transported illegal aliens, and brought in illegal aliens for commercial advantage and private financial gain. Three bribery counts allege Ramirez corruptly demanded, sought, received and accepted money to allow illegal aliens to enter the United States.He also allegedly conspired to possess with intent to distribute and possessed with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine on multiple occasions from November 2007 to January 2009.”[2]
His detention hearing is set for Thursday.
Comments: Agents such as Luis Enrique Ramirez are a potential security risk; corrupted agents have been known to allow drug cartel member smuggle both humans and drugs across the border without checking who or what is being carried across the border. There is potential danger for compromise if the wrong group successfully bribes a Border Patrol Agent. It seems in spite of new measures for hiring agents, which includes an extensive background check and polygraph test, agents all along the border are still being targeted and bribed into corruption.
What can be done to target this problem is to pay a higher wage to Border Patrol agents and check the family backgrounds of each agent as well as bind them to secrecy upon being hired, thus minimizing potential on this side of the border for bribery and other crimes. Another added suggestion would be to enhance security cameras and monitoring equipment inside the gates so the guards can be monitored for suspicious activity.
No comments:
Post a Comment