On April 17th, Nelson Balido, director of public affairs for the Tecma Group of Companies’ Secure Origins, Inc. took part in a panel discussion on the topic of border and maquiladora industry security.

The event took place in Ciudad Juarez, and was hosted by Asis International. Asis International is a firm that brings together a diversity of national and international organizations and groups dedicated to the provision of security services.

One of the conclusions shared by members of the panel was that, during the cartel related turbulence that began on the border beginning in 2008, maquiladora industry security had been minimally impacted. This was due, in part, to the internecine nature of the violence that characterized the activities of rival criminal organizations, as well as the fact that many companies took measures to implement structures of internal security within their operations.

During the discussion, the US consul general in Ciudad Juarez, Ian Brownlee, highlighted the economic importance of the El Paso – Ciudad Juarez region, and its status as the second most trafficked commercial port on the shared US-Mexico border. Brownlee also encouraged those in attendance to continue with their efforts to take measures necessary to protect people, property and trade, as well to enhance maquiladora industry security.

Ciudad Juarez mayor, Enrique Serrano Escobar, who also addressed the group, pointed out that as of 2010 the turmoil that surrounded drug-related violence on the border began to subside considerably. He also made the point, that despite the difficulties that affected the city, the production activities of the factories located in Juarez saw no significant interruption, and that maquiladora industry security was solid.

Another member of the panel, Nelson Balido, of the Tecma Group of Companies’ Secure Origins, Inc. addressed  the issue of border security from the broader perspective of the entirety of the shared frontier between the two nations. He asserted that, “despite that fact that authorities on both sides of the border charge more money today to use international bridges and border crossings, the service remains the same as before: slow.” The border security expert  went on to suggest that it may be necessary to review the processes that are currently in place to move people and cargo back and forth across the  U.S.- Mexico border for the purpose of accelerating this movement.

Despite these observations, Balido concluded that, in terms of investment in business in general, and manufacturing in particular, few areas have more to opportunities to offer to interested potential investors than the US – Mexico border region.

Read the primary source for this post in its original Spanish at El Diario.

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