Repatriating cultural artifacts to Mexico
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and Homeland Security Investigations special agents repatriated 281 cultural artifacts, some dating back to 900 BC, to the Government of Mexico this week. The artifacts were dispatched from CBP’s Area Port of Memphis, Tennessee.
The shipments arrived from Mexico between 2016-2021. CBP officers suspected the products to be cultural artifacts and detained them. Using help from HSI agents and the Mexican government, they identified the products to be cultural artifacts of Mexico. These included Olmec sculptures and figures, tubular beads, and many more traditional objects.
Most countries have laws protecting cultural property which include export controls and national ownership of said property. Bilateral agreements restrict US imports of certain categories of archeological and ethnological material, thus reducing incentives for looting heritage sites. (mk)