Ex-DEA agent: Canadian border guards right to worry visa changes could encourage Mexican drug cartels

[TomSea]

Ex-DEA agent: Canadian border guards right to worry visa changes could encourage Mexican drug cartels
By Bill Kaufmann, Calgary Sun

First posted: Sunday, December 11, 2016 06:42 PM EST | Updated: Sunday, December 11, 2016

Canada's border guardians have reason to fear the elimination of visa requirement for Mexico will lead to an influx of drug cartel operatives, says a former DEA agent.

But while the Liberal government action on visas will ease the way for drug traffickers, Mike Vigil said Canada's already ripe for the ruthless cartels.

"It will definitely be a factor but not the only factor," said Vigil, who battled Mexican drug cartels in the Latin American country for 13 years, four of them along the border with the U.S.

Compared to that border, the one shared by Canada and the U.S. is porous and easy to exploit by drug cartels who are relentless in their quest for new markets, he said.

"The Mexican cartels are very similar to a state army that probes for weaknesses and then exploits them," he said.

"They'll easily be able to spread their chemicals into Canada — you have a large border that's easily penetrated."

Continued: http://www.torontosun.com/2016/12/11/an-ex-dea-agent-says-canadian-border-guards-are-right-to-fear-visa-elimination-will-lure-mexican-drug-cartels