by Mary Jordan, The Washington Post
MEXICO CITY - Nearly 8 tons of sodium cyanide hijacked from a truck in central Mexico this month is still missing despite an extensive law-enforcement search and concerns it poses a potential security threat in Mexico and the United States.
The truck was hijacked May 10 in Hidalgo state, about 100 miles north of Mexico City. The truck was recovered last week, but most of the cyanide — 7.6 tons packed in 76 drums — was missing.
Sodium cyanide is used routinely in silver mining, and Mexico is the world’s largest producer of silver. The chemical is used in gas-chamber executions, and even trace amounts can be deadly when inhaled or ingested.
“People aren’t scared, but officials are because they know what it can be used for,” said Miguel Angel Osorio, a senior Hidalgo state official.
U.S. officials are concerned the cyanide could be heading north. Border officials are watching for it, according to the FBI and other U.S. law-enforcement agencies that are offering help in the search.
U.S. intelligence officials have reported uncovering plans to use cyanide or other chemicals to attack U.S. targets.
Earlier this year, nine men suspected of having ties to al-Qaida were arrested in Italy and found to have a cyanide-based substance and maps of Rome with the U.S. Embassy and the city’s water-supply system highlighted.
“Everybody at the ports of entry knows about it, and they are on alert,” said Josie Shumake, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.
U.S. and Mexican officials stress the truck hijacking could have been a robbery unrelated to terrorism.
Truck robberies are daily events in Mexico, and some officials said the thieves may have thought they were stealing a truckload of electronics or clothes.
“My gut says it’s some thug looking for a VCR who is now scared out of his mind because he has tons of poison,” one U.S. official said. “The problem is, what if it is not?”
Hidalgo police investigator Pedro Luis Noble said authorities were testing water supplies of all communities in the state every day, looking for traces of cyanide.
“We are monitoring all bodies of water, springs, dams,” he said.
Last Wednesday, a pair of fishermen in a small fishing community near the Pacific coast resort of Mazatlan discovered a container of cyanide. No one knows where it came from, although it is not believed to be part of the missing truck cargo.
Officials say it may simply have been discarded as trash, raising further questions about controls of toxic substances.
Osorio said both incidents highlight the need for greater regulation. He said if the truck had been carrying televisions, it probably would have been accompanied by an armed guard.
Companies transporting expensive goods routinely use armed security guards and even computer tracking chips. In many rural Mexican communities, even the local beer or soda delivery trucks carry a man with a shotgun.
But Osorio said the cyanide truck had no guard, probably because the entire load was worth only $15,000.
“Changes are needed,” he said.
The hijacking has raised questions about whether the United States and Mexico have any coordinated strategy for dealing with potential security threats. Since Sept. 11, the two countries have sharply increased border security and pledged to cooperate on terrorism-related matters.
But news commentators in Mexico City have become increasingly critical of the government’s handling of the case, saying that the U.S. government has gone on higher alert than the Mexican government and that there is no apparent coordination.