see also: in October 2004:   Container Security Initiative Port of Gioia Tauro, Italy Becomes 31st Operational Port   CBP Border Patrol Agents Intercept Large Cache of Drugs   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Dedicates New Border Patrol Academy in New Mexico   Annual Trade Symposium Rescheduled for January 2005   Four New Ports in UK to Implement the Container Security Initiative   Samenfink Heads Customs and Border Protection's Modernization Office ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Washington, D.C. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner today announced the formal opening of two new CBP Attaché offices in Ottawa, Canada, and Mexico City, Mexico in support of its international border security operations.

Commissioner Bonner said: “In order to secure and protect America from the terrorist threat, we must create virtual borders that extend beyond our geographic perimeter and to make these borders smarter.” He added: “The Customs and Border Protection Attaché Program is an important component of this plan. CBP attachés will coordinate smart border activities and serve as emissaries representing CBP border security efforts abroad."

These offices are in addition to the existing Attaché in Brussels, Belgium, who represents CBP at the World Customs Organization and the European Union. The two new offices will represent CBP with our neighbors in Canada and Mexico. Mr. John Considine is the first CBP Attaché in Ottawa and Ms. Renee Harris is the first CBP Attaché in Mexico City.

CBP attachés will coordinate and integrate programs that screen cargo, conveyances, and people who seek entry into our ports before they leave the foreign locale. Attachés will also serve as a liaison with the host country's government, providing technical assistance, fostering secure trade practices, and strengthening border authority principles by country, region, and where feasible, multilaterally.

CBP is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country, while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.