Mexico replaces all border agents

Mexico has replaced all 700 of its customs inspectors in a bid to stamp out corruption and drug smuggling. Sunday's shake-up also doubled the size of the country's customs inspection force, with more than 1,400 new inspectors dispatched to 49 customs points at airports and border crossings.

The new agents have undergone background checks to ensure they have no criminal records and received months of training, Pedro Canabal, a spokesman for the tax administration service, said on Sunday. The previous agents were replaced after some were found to be linked to contraband operations, however, Canabal said the previous inspectors were not fired - the government just did not rehire them when their contracts expired.

Custom inspectors were told to turn over their badges and weapons to soldiers before leaving their posts at airports and border crossings across the country on Saturday night. Enrique Torres, a spokesman for the military and federal police in the northern city of Ciudad Juarez, said soldiers were at the border crossing with El Paso, Texas, to help avoid violence during the transition.