Mexico Trucker Online

Dozens of Nuevo Laredo city police officers have had their visas cancelled when they tried to cross into the United States at Laredo, according to several law enforcement sources.Some of the officers have accused U.S. Customs officials of mistreatment, saying they were handcuffed to a chair and interrogated before being sent back to Nuevo Laredo with their border crossing document — known as a visa láser — revoked.Guillermo Landa Gudiño, head of the city’s public safety division and the erstwhile police chief, said he believes the U.S. agents are responding to a list of about 40 officers who had been identified as associating with anti-social groups.

Port Director Gene Garza of U.S. Customs and Border Protection wouldn’t comment on such a list. He said his agents simply enforce the law.

“There’s always a supervisor present, checking interrogations,” Garza said. “If someone wants an explanation (about the visa revocation), they need to go to the U.S. Consulate.”

He directed all further questions to the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, which in turn directed questions to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.

An embassy spokesman who asked not to be identified said such information is confidential.

“We cannot comment. We are restricted by U.S. law,” he said. “We cannot discuss the reasons for canceling visas that allow entry into our country.”

The pattern seems to have started early last year, officials here said. Several police officers said their attempts to talk with U.S. Consul David Stone, stationed in Nuevo Laredo, have been unsuccessful. Calls to Stone about the matter were referred to the U.S. Embassy.

Mauricio González Sanmiguel, a commandante with the city police, said his visa was cancelled when he tried to cross the international bridge last year.

“When I crossed into Laredo, Texas, a Customs official took away my visa láser and told me that the computer system had an alert to revoke my visa,” González said. “I asked why and he told me it came from the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo.”

González said he was held for four and a half hours as agents investigated records up and down the Mexican and Canadian borders, the states of Louisiana and Texas and even Interpol to determine whether he was accused of a crime.

“They didn’t find a single negative record. There was not even a minor traffic infraction or parking ticket against me,” González said. “And even then they took away my document.”

He claimed that during that time, he was handcuffed to a metal chair and interrogated.

U.S. officials had no comment about González’s case.

Landa Gudiño said he knows of several city police officers and former officers who have had their visas revoked.

“The reasoning of the U.S. side is based on a list from 2003,” Landa said, a list that labels at least 40 officers as having ties to anti-social organizations.

In any case, Landa said, his department cannot intervene.

“If the officials from that country take away or grant the visa, it’s done according to their criteria,” Landa said, adding that his office has no authority to protest. Visas are personal documents subject to U.S. laws and are issued on a basis of trust, he noted.

Police officers aren’t the only Mexican citizens who have had their visas revoked for what they believe is no good reason, officials note. Everyday citizens also have had their documents yanked without having a criminal record.

For his part, Mexican Consul Javier Abud, stationed in Laredo, said he has had one formal complaint from a Nuevo Laredo police officer about having his visa revoked.

“It’s possible there are others, but they haven’t approached this consulate,” Abud said. “We act under diplomatic standards.”

Abud, too, said that the visas láser are granted by the United States under its own rules and it has a right to revoke those documents.

He noted that Mexico has the same right, and can cancel a visa it issues to a U.S. citizen just as easily.

Abud said that most CBP agents are conscientious and professional, but that his staff will do what is necessary to protect the rights of Mexican citizens.”

Meanwhile, CBP spokesman Rick Pauza said that citizens from other countries who have a complaint about his or her treatment while crossing the border into the United States should ask to speak with a supervisor.

“Our supervisors can hear their version,” Pauza said. “We strive to maintain a professional attitude in dealing with our visitors.”

He noted that CBP officials must balance the need for safety with the free flow of trade.

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