Posted on 07/05/2006 5:05:51 AM PDT by conservativecorner
A Mexican customs facility planned for Kansas City's inland port may have to be considered the sovereign soil of Mexico as part of an effort to lure officials in that country into cooperating with the Missouri development project.
Despite adamant denials by Kansas City Area Development Council officials, WND has obtained emails and other documents from top executives with the KCSmartPort project that suggest such a facility would by necessity be considered Mexican territory – despite its presence in the heartland of the U.S.
The documents were obtained with the assistance of Joyce Mucci, the founder of the Mid-America Immigration Reform Coalition, under the provisions of the Missouri Sunshine Law from the City of Kansas City, Mo., and from the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
The documents reveal a two-year campaign initiated in 2004 and managed by top SmartPort officials to win Mexico's agreement to establish the Mexican customs facility within the Kansas City "inland port." Kansas City SmartPort launched a concerted effort to advance the idea, holding numerous meetings with Mexican government officials in Mexico and in Washington to push the Mexican port idea in concert. The effort involved Missouri elected officials, including members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
The documents make clear that Mexico demanded Kansas City pay all costs.
"Kansas City, Mo., is leasing the site to Kansas City SmartPort," Tasha Hammes of the development council wrote to WND last month. "It will NOT be leased to any Mexican government agency or to be sovereign territory of Mexico."
Yet, an email written June 21, 2004, by Chris Gutierrez, the president of the KC SmartPort, stated that the Mexican customs office space "would need to be designated as Mexican sovereign territory and meet certain requirements."
Even more recently, an email dated March 10 of this year was sent by Gutierrez to a long list of recipients that left no doubt that KC SmartPort has not yet received federal government approval to move forward with the Mexican customs facility. Gutierrez informed the email recipients that the processing a critical form, designated "C-175," needs approval by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection before the form is passed to the State Department for final approval. The processing and approval of the C-175 application is holding up the final approval of the Mexican customs facility.
In the same memo, Gutierrez reported on a recent meeting in Washington: "Both sides (U.S. and Mexican officials) met several weeks ago and the 'document' or as the U.S. refers to it the 'C-175' is near completion. This document is the basis for the procedural, regulatory, jurisdictional, etc. for the project. It defines what will happen and how and what laws, etc. allow this to happen. Both sides have put a lot of effort into this document."
Gutierrez appeared concerned that the intensive lobbying done by KC SmartPort could be a wasted effort if the final U.S. government approvals were not completed before Mexico elected a new president this week.
"The process for the document is for U.S. Customs to present the document to the acting Commissioner and officials with the Dept of Homeland Security," he wrote. "This will happen in March. The document will then be reviewed by the U.S. State Dept who has been consulted on the document all along so they are aware of it. State will make the recommendation on the diplomatic status of the Mexican officials and the documents fit with existing agreements, accords or treaties. Mexico will wait for this recommendation and then get the sign off of their Foreign Ministry (Secretary [Luis Ernesto] Derbez and Under Secretary [Geronimo] Gutierrez are well versed on the project and support it). The hope of both sides is that this will be completed before the Mexican presidential elections in July."
Gutierrez's March 10 email ended by expressing a hope that discussion of the Mexican customs facility issue could be kept from the public, obviously concerned that press scrutiny might end up producing an adverse public reaction that could destroy the project. Gutierrez specifically proposes a low-profile strategy designed to keep the KC SmartPort and the Mexican customs facility out of public view.
"The one negative that was conveyed to us was the problems and pressure the media attention has created for both sides," he wrote. "They want us to stop promoting the facility to the press. We let them know that we have never issued a proactive press release on this and that the media attention started when Commissioner (Robert) Bonner was in KC and met with Rick Alm. The official direction moving forward is that we can respond to the media with a standard response that I will send out on Monday and refer all other inquiries to U.S. Customs. I will get the name from them to refer media calls."
Robert C. Bonner is the commissioner of CBP within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Rick Alm is a reporter for the Kansas City Star.
Among those copied on Gutierrez's email of March 10, 2006, was George D. Blackwood, the president of NASCO (North America's Super Corridor Coalition, Inc.). Blackwood is an attorney with Blackwood, Langworthy & Tyson in Kansas City. He also served as the former chairman of the North American International Trade Corridor Partnership, which he helped found in 1998 when he was serving as mayor pro tem of Kansas City. NASCO supports the Kansas City SmartPort's initiative to establish a Mexican customs facility as part of the NASCO SuperCorridor project.
Hogswill.
You have NO facts or evidence to support the notion that this KC facility will comprimise national security or sovereignity, in any way whatsoever.
What you're selling is pure hogswill.
So Ohio is a third world crap hole now?
Funny, I hadn't noticed.
While I'm sure you and the rest of the globalist ilk would love it to turn into a third world crap hole the vast majority of Americans are unwilling to allow that to happen.
Welcome to the rants of a very small but very vocal minority on FR. Their heroes are pat buchanan and tom tancredo, two other clinical paranoids the liberal MSM gives much airtime to, so that they can smear all conservatives in general.
"My agenda is common sense, and calling out liars and distorters. Nothing more."
No, that doesn't hold water. This subject has you really worked up.
Globalist? Socialist?
We post articles and facts while you name call on every article. Real intellectual crowd you hang with. LOL!
Facts and evidence?
For god's sake I've got loads of it. The mexican governments corruption offers no end of facts and evidence.
Their cops are being murdered left and right just south of our border and they can't stop it. Yet global loving idiots claim they could actually be trusted to decide what is or is not cleared to come into OUR country.
The mexican government is one of the most corrupt on the planet, allowing it to have any control over what moves into or out of our country is complete idiocy.
Only the globalist morons could claim anything to the contrary.
Funny, I hadn't noticed.
LOL, mua, all you stated was where bananas are grown, and biker there thinks bananas grow in Ohio.
Uh biker what you smoking this morning? The banana peel of your morning breakfast?
Come on biker show us a banana farm in Ohio. You may have to smoke a couple of more banana peels, to come up with the answer to that one.
When Ohio warms up enough to grow bananas, it's time to move to Baffin Island.
Those in glass houses should not stones, CC.
I think you are trying to confound issues. No doubt you had some bad bananas today as well.
Question, do you know where your bananas come from? We got a guy here who says they come from Ohio.
We need to start cleaning up some of our own hellholes doncha' think?
Then we can worry about Mexico.
Ah Dane, I thought I caught the wiff of sewage when you popped open your manhole cover.
Did you hear that Bush is suddenly willing to compromise by allowing a border enforcement first approach and trying to phase in the rest of the amnesty lovers package later?
It must sting the amnesty lovers to hear that he's waking up to the fact that he has to back away from their desired approach.
Uh the Team America Pac, that spent $50,000 to try to unseat 100% ACU conservative Chris Cannon, was founded by tom tancredo and current matriarch of the buchanan political family, bay buchanan.
Yep it's called the Mike Pence plan.
Sorry but tommy tancredo ain't going to get any credit on this one.
Oh well tom tancredo can always go back to what he does best, stab conservatives in the back.
Let's see, you said I'm a morning bananna and that people like me come from third world crap holes but I'm from Ohio.
Logically, I draw the conclusion that you're calling Ohio a third world crap hole.
Now if you two mental giants of comprehension can point out where my logic was flawed by all means do so.
BTW I don't eat bananas.
Actually it's called the "Bush ain't going to get his amensty through" plan.
Pence get's credit for nothing. His plan isn't going to get legs either.
The house will see to that.
I'm merely pointing out that Bush has been forced to back down.
Must make those illegals you know very nervous.
Bananas are one thing, political influence disguised by trade policies is another. 
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