Robot dogs will reinforce Customs controls in El Salvador

The General Directorate of Customs has incorporated robot dogs to strengthen video surveillance and risk management at border points. (Courtesy: Autonomous Port Executive Commission)More than five robot dogs have already been acquired by the General Directorate of Customs, and additional equipment will arrive to operate at border points, according to José Benjamín Mayorga, director general of Customs. Among them is Bartolito, a robot dog already operating at the new terminal of the San Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez International Airport of El Salvador. The institution plans to form a group of these devices as part of its technology strategy. The incorporation will expand the tools available for video surveillance and risk management areas. It will also require technical personnel to operate and maintain the devices."We are going to have a squad of robot dogs," said the director, referring to the equipment that will be used at border control points. Bartolito will be the flagship of that technology group. The other equipment will arrive to support Customs operations at the borders. The devices will not replace Customs personnel. However, their incorporation will require training workers in robotics, artificial intelligence, technical operation, and equipment maintenance. More than five robot dogs have already been acquired by the General Directorate of Customs (Courtesy: Autonomous Port Executive Commission)That training need is linked to a broader modernization plan. The institution does not seek to limit itself to acquiring technology, but to prepare personnel capable of using it in daily operations. Customs plans a customs logistics school to train its employees. The plan also contemplates opening spaces for members of the economic cabinet and businesspeople linked to trade and logistics. Another of the technologies implemented by Customs are the high-energy scanners, used to inspect cargo transport without opening the containers.10 seconds is the inspection time the new equipment requires to process a means of transport at border and port points in El Salvador. The scanners reduced a procedure that previously took, on average, 10 minutes. The technology allows obtaining images of both sides of a container during a single inspection. The equipment operates in El Amatillo, La Hachadura, and the port of Acajutla. The General Directorate of Customs plans to install them at other border points as well. Drivers no longer have to get out of their vehicles to complete the scan. The change allows more means of transport to be inspected during the workday and reduces waits at customs. The high-energy scanners reduced cargo transport inspection time from ten minutes to ten seconds. (Courtesy: Customs of El Salvador)The system makes it possible to verify whether the declared products match the merchandise crossing the border. It also strengthens controls over illicit activities and citizen security. El Salvador is the second country in the Americas to have these scanners, after the United States, according to the official. He added that the equipment was used at an international soccer event, although he did not identify the supplier or the competition. The technology strategy incorporates tools to record personnel procedures and automate the information of customs operations. Officials have body cameras and work in spaces covered by closed-circuit video with audio capture. These resources make it possible to supervise how procedures are carried out and prevent acts of corruption. Images from Acajutla, the airport, and other operating points can be reviewed from the director's office. In addition, Customs sends surveys to businesspeople through trade associations to learn their assessment of the staff's service. Part of the manual records was replaced by tablets known as "cebras" (zebras). From these devices, officials receive declarations and cargo information that is incorporated into institutional systems. The borders have wireless connectivity to support these procedures. The system prevents workers from copying data from paper documents and allows the automated capture of information. The application of these controls is part of the operation of the port of Acajutla, where Customs works with Yilport, the company in charge of managing the facility. It receives cargo from ships, processes documents, and allows the unloading of containers. A project of trucks for moving containers within the port is also being carried out. The port of Acajutla inspects one hundred percent of the merchandise entering and leaving Salvadoran territory. (Photo courtesy CEPA)In that operation, women have been hired, according to what was stated during the interview on Panorama. The Exporters Corporation of El Salvador has accompanied that process, according to Mayorga. Once unloaded, each container passes through the high-energy scanners. In Acajutla, 100% of the merchandise leaving the country and 100% of that entering is inspected. After that control, the cargo can receive green selectivity or red selectivity, according to risk management criteria. If it receives green, the clearance is done online and Yilport makes the merchandise available to the businessperson. When a shipment receives red selectivity, the container moves from Yilport's facilities to Customs' physical area for additional inspection. This procedure is applied when the system identifies elements that require verification. Customs' in-person intervention in Acajutla is limited because the scanners and electronic documents resolve part of the procedures without opening containers or moving the cargo to other areas. At the San Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez International Airport of El Salvador, Customs uses low-energy equipment and a selection system to serve passengers and control air cargo. Travelers present their passport to a reader that processes the data and generates an internal risk signal. The system displays the colors green, yellow, or red on the screen used by officials. If yellow appears, personnel ask the passenger about the goods they are carrying. When red is activated, the luggage goes through a scanner before determining whether a physical inspection is warranted. The controls seek to identify commercial profiles among passengers carrying products intended for sale. Medications, cosmetics, food, or other merchandise must have the required permits. The San Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport uses a traffic light system to assess risk in travelers' luggage. (Infobae Centroamérica/Emerson Del Cid)Goods of a commercial nature must also pay the applicable taxes. The inspections seek to prevent the entry of products that could affect the population's health. In the cargo area, Customs works with Adimex, a company that receives merchandise from the planes and moves it to its warehouses. The cargo goes through the scanners before clearance and taxes are determined. An incorrect declaration can trigger red selectivity. The director gave as an example a shipment declared as cookies when the scanner identifies cell phones. The controls also include the protection of intellectual property. The institution verifies that whoever imports products under a brand has authorization to market them in El Salvador. The system relies on information from airlines, cargo documents issued in the countries of origin, other customs administrations, and intelligence sources. There is also data exchange with the United States Customs and Border Protection Office. The technological modernization is complemented by infrastructure projects in La Hachadura, San Cristóbal, and El Poy, in addition to preparations for the future Pacific International Airport. La Hachadura is the land point with the highest cargo traffic between El Salvador and Guatemala. Products from Mexico, merchandise from Guatemalan ports, and shipments in transit to South America enter through that border. The La Hachadura customs office will build new infrastructure with more than ten lanes to handle the daily cargo traffic. (Courtesy: Customs of El Salvador)More than 1,500 means of transport circulate through that point daily. The current facilities have space limitations because the surrounding residential environment prevents expanding the operation. Customs acquired properties to build a new facility in La Hachadura. The project contemplates a border with the capacity to handle the flow of the next 50 years. The infrastructure would have more than 10 lanes for imports and exports. It would also include scanners, scales, and registration tools using QR codes. The institution is also seeking to acquire properties to transform the San Cristóbal customs office. El Poy completed a phase of works and will be improved in its entirety. The interventions seek to improve working conditions for the personnel of Customs, the National Civil Police, and the Ministry of Agriculture who operate at the borders. The modernization of the borders includes coordination with authorities of neighboring countries to carry out controls in shared facilities. The joint operation between El Salvador and Honduras in El Amatillo reduced border crossing times to a maximum of two hours. (Courtesy: Customs of El Salvador)In La Hachadura, Customs has spoken with Guatemala's Tax Administration Superintendence so that its officials work within the Salvadoran facility. The same model is projected in El Poy with Honduran authorities. The coordination already works in El Amatillo, where Customs and Migration officials from El Salvador and Honduras share facilities. Before that integration, a transport could complete the procedure in El Salvador, but then wait more than 72 hours at the Honduran customs office, according to the explanation offered. With the joint operation, clearance can take about 20 minutes between Monday and Wednesday, when the cargo flow is lower. Between Wednesday and Friday, when demand increases, the procedure can take up to two hours."We are reducing from 72 hours to two hours on the days when there are more heat maps," said Mayorga. The integrated operation also reduced complaints about illegal charges and administrative fines in transit to Honduras.