Port of Cortes, Honduras is the 44th Port to Become Operational in CSI
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) press release, the port of Cortes, Honduras has become the 44th operational Container Security Initiative (CSI) port allowing cargo to be screened for terrorist and terrorist weapons.
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CBP states that the U.S. and Honduras signed a declaration of principles on December 15, 2005. (See ITT's Online Archives or 12/22/05 news, 05122215, for BP summary.)
According to the press release, CBP will deploy a multidisciplinary team of officers to be stationed at the Port of Cortes to target maritime containers destined for the U.S. Honduran officials, working with CBP officers, will be responsible for screening any containers identified as a potential terrorist threat.
In addition to bringing the CSI program to Honduras, the U.S. Department of Energy will install large-scale and sophisticated radiological detection equipment to identify nuclear material as part of its MegaPorts Initiative.
With the Port of Cortes, there are now 44 operational CSI ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North, South, and Central America. CBP notes that its goal is to have 50 operational CSI ports by the end of 2006, which means that approximately 82% of all cargo imported into the U.S. will be subjected to pre-screening.
CBP indicates that CSI will continue to expand to strategic locations around the world and notes that the World Customs Organization (WCO), the European Union (EU), and the Group of Eight Nations (G8) support CSI expansion and have adopted resolutions implementing CSI security measures introduced at ports throughout the world.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 03/13/06 news, 06031300, for BP summary of CBP's announcement of the 43rd operational port of Salalah, Oman.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/31/05 and 06/20/05 news, 05053115 and 05062010, for BP summaries of a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on CSI and C-TPAT, as well as an expert's testimony on these programs' weaknesses, respectively.)
CBP press release (dated 03/26/06) available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/press_releases/03252006.xml.