NCJ Number
229135
Journal
Agora Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: 2009 Pages: 18-21
Date Published
2009
Length
4 pages
Annotation
United States efforts to stop cash smuggling from the United States to cartel leaders in Mexico are discussed.
Abstract
Today, United States agents use powers granted under the Kingpin Act and the Patriot Act to target the assets of cartel leaders. Under the Kingpin Act, foreign drug traffickers and their associates and operatives can have their assets frozen under United States jurisdiction. Since 2005, under the powers of the Patriot Act, United States agents have worked together under Operation Firewall to combat currency smuggling by targeting commercial and private vehicles, commercial airline shipments and passengers, and pedestrians crossing United States borders. Additional tools developed and used to target cartels' financial networks include: new Trade Transparency Unit (international partners exchange data used to detect and track money laundering, trade fraud, and contraband smuggling), Operation Paycheck (aimed at detecting schemes to hid payments to illegal alien workers), and the Cornerstone program (fostering communication between law enforcement and industry leaders to identify and disrupt criminal exploitation of financial trade and transportation systems).