Businessmen at the Mexican border of the country are agitated over a temporary halt to the importation and exportation of goods over the border that are the core economic activities in the area. Goods from Belize cannot be transported into Mexico, or from Mexico into Belize because the license of the Agencia Aduanal “Servicios Aduaneros Integrados” (The Integrated Customs Service), the only broker agency for the importation and exportation of goods on the Mexican side of the border, has been suspended since Friday.

The reason for the suspension by the Mexican authorities, or when it will be lifted, is not yet known.

In an interview with Amandala today, Marcelino Miranda, the Public Relations Officer at the Mexican Embassy in Belize City, said that the Integrated Customs Service, on the Mexican side of the border, is a private company and has nothing to do with the Mexican government. There are other customs brokers who can do similar duties in the area, or a company from Belize can step up to offer the same duties on the Belize side of the border, he said, adding that the Mexican Embassy can be approached for assistance if no customs broker is found.

A Belizean businessman said that during the suspension, there is no other agency to process and clear goods, and as a result, his business cannot import nor export across the Mexican border. Another agency is trying to establish operations in the area.