[DBrow]

Neal gets one thing wrong- the selection and inspection of containers is done by the US Coast Guard and the US Customs Service, not the operators of the cranes and warehouses at a port.

Likewise the interception of suspicious vessels and so forth- Coast Guard, with inputs from intel and "national technical means".

I wonder, though, who does the selection and screening in a foreign port? Does Customs work out of foreign ports? I know that US Customs was at the airport when I left Paraguay, they spoke to me before I boarded, but are they all over with the capability to screen cargo containers?

[Alberta's Child]

Does Customs work out of foreign ports?

If my information is correct, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has offices at port facilities in 42 different countries around the world.