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Note to Self: Do Not Smuggle Pot Through Nogales if Mexican National
No fear. That was the mantra of Mexican drug smugglers bringing marijuana into the United States. No fear of arrest. No fear of prosecution. The worst-kept secret on the border for years was that, until more recently, U.S. authorities would not even try to prosecute cases involving less than 500 pounds of marijuana.Furthermore, U.S. laws and rules of evidence that aim to ensure justice make some cases hard to stick. The most trouble that many small-time smugglers faced was a few days' inconvenience before being deported. But a new program being tested at the Nogales ports of entry could radically change the way these cases are handled along the entire U.S.-Mexican border. Instead of being deported and set free, some marijuana smugglers arrested in the United States are being turned over to Mexican authorities for prosecution. The change in approach has led to claims that U.S. officials are circumventing the U.S. Constitution by taking advantage of less-stringent Mexican legal standards. Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2010-01-04 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=287142 |