Institute for the study of violent groups


Mexican Authorities Bust Communication Tower Used by Cartel (TAMPS)



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Mexican Authorities Bust Communication Tower Used by Cartel (TAMPS)

8 November 2011

KRGV TV
Technology used to transmit your voice over a cell phone or the programming to your TV is in the hands of the cartel. The Mexican government busted a narco-communications system just across the border in Reynosa.
Pictures taken by Mexican soldiers detail the level of sophistication. They're narco-towers, communication equipment set up by the cartel and busted by the Mexican government in Reynosa.
"It's obviously been done by professionals," says a communications expert.
He and his staff at Tri-County Communications work with these kinds of towers all the time. He recognizes much of the technology in the photos.
"There's some microwaves that are obviously sending data to some distant points, and then there's some two-way antennas that would be used similar to what police would use for car to car voice traffic," he says.
The same types of microwave transmitters are fitted on TV stations.
"Obviously there's a lot of money to be made in the drug business, and I think a site built this well is an indication of the type of money that they have backing up this kind of organization," he says.
It's proof that the cartels’ pockets run deep. A total of nine antennas were busted by Mexican officials during last week's operation. Experts believe the cartel has to create its own network because the government controls much of Mexico’s infrastructure.
Source: [www.krgv.com/news/local/story/Mexican-Authorities-Bust-Communication-Tower-Used/zIFfUUYWO06Xf5YPd1eyrw.cspx]

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    1. Mothers Search for Missing Migrants in Mexico (MX)

8 November 2011

San Francisco Chronicle
Mothers of Central American migrants who went missing in Mexico are traveling the country in search of their sons and daughters.
A group of 33 mothers from Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua reached Mexico City on Tuesday, nine days after entering Mexico through its border with Guatemala. They have visited some of the most dangerous spots for U.S.-bound migrants in northern Mexico.
Carrying photos of their missing children around their necks, the women visited the northern town of San Fernando where the Zetas cartel massacred 72 mostly Central American migrants last year.
Groups of Central American mothers have made annual trips to Mexico since 2000 in search of their missing children. They say they have found 57 of their relatives.
Source: [www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/11/08/international/i204423S05.DTL]

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    1. Matamoros Journalist Says He Was Kidnapped by Cartel Members (SLP)

8 November 2011

KRGV TV
A Matamoros journalist is speaking out after he says he was kidnapped by cartel members last week.
The man works for El Bravo newspaper and covers the Brownsville area. While walking home last Wednesday night, he was taken from the streets.
Cecilio Cortez is walking his beat without some important items. He has no camera, no laptop and no cell phone. These are things he needs to file reports for a Mexican newspaper in Matamoros. He says they were taken from him after he was kidnapped on a street in Matamoros by cartel members.
"They hit me in the head and held me for about 50 minutes. They asked me if I knew some people from San Luis Potosi. They threatened me and said not to look at them when they released me," says Cortez.
Cortez is not sure why they kidnapped him. He could not say who was involved or what cartel group they are from.
"Yes, I am lucky to be alive. They were serious about killing me. I feel very fortunate. Those kinds of things happen more and more than we know it," says Cortez.
He is worried about the things they kept.
"They have my information, my name and the name of my work. I think in Matamoros everybody knows everybody, especially the reporters. I am afraid because they have my family information and they are at risk now," says Cortez.
Cortez says he is now considering changing careers and leaving the newspaper business.
"The pay isn't very good, and I have to work two to three jobs to survive. I am hoping to change my jobs because I want something new. I want to do something, and it's due to my kidnapping," says Cortez.
Cortez does not believe the cartels will kill him for speaking out. He says they had their chance and did not do it during his kidnapping. Cortez filed a report with the Mexican state police. He's considering filing for political asylum to escape the drug war in Mexico.
Source: [www.krgv.com/news/local/story/Matamoros-Journalist-Says-He-Was-Kidnapped-by/IAKT70XnXkumOu5TUdsAyg.cspx]

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    1. Mexico City Security: ‘Big Brother’ Is Watching (DF/MEX)

9 November 2011



SmartPlanet.com
Thirteen thousand video cameras capture this city’s every move, making Mexico City one of the most surveilled cities in the world.
Three years into a public security initiative called “Safe City,” Mexico City now boasts a network of 8,000 surveillance cameras on streets and 5,000 more in the subway. In September, police unveiled a new command and control center—the sixth and most specialized to date—to crunch the data the cameras provide and make it useful to cops in action.
All the surveillance has generated successes in safety, police say: reducing once-dismal response times, improving public security, bolstering investigations and curbing police corruption.
There is a lot to keep an eye on here.
The Mexico City metropolitan area is home to more than 20 million people, nearly a fifth of the country’s population. The city also employs the largest police force in Latin America with about 82,000 cops divided into those who patrol neighborhoods, direct traffic, protect banks and serve in special rescue and tactical teams.
The new brain center, known as “C4″ for “command, control, communications and computation,” and five other “C2″ centers, rely on specially trained dispatchers who analyze and act on a video system that handles 13,000 images per second.
Information is processed based on “analysis, statistics and intelligence,” said Fausto Lugo García, who heads up C4. Dispatchers are directed to watch certain cameras in high-risk areas at specified times; they then communicate directly with police on the street when they see suspicious activity, witness a crime taking place or field an emergency call.
High-impact crimes such as car theft, assault and armed robbery have dropped 12.5 percent in the past year, said Lugo García. Police response times have fallen to fewer than five minutes on average this year from more than 10 minutes a year ago. He attributed both improvements to the video surveillance and other programs that have transformed police operations.
One of those transformations involved scaling back the area for which each officer is responsible: Instead of 10-square-mile quadrants—a massive area when the city’s notorious traffic is taken into account—cops have been assigned areas no larger than a square mile. They carry cell phones now and share the numbers with residents and business owners.
But police corruption remains an issue.
Mexico City police often have poor levels of education, receive just six months of training and are paid an average of 8,000 pesos per month, or about $600. The capital has dismissed some 6,500 cops for not complying with anti-corruption measures over the past three years. And paying bribes for infractions remains a common practice.
So like it or not, police say, the cameras are there to watch them, too, serving to deter officers from openly colluding with criminals or exacting bribes.
Lugo García noted that the 1,200 people who work at the command and control centers have received additional training, and all have passed the now-required “control and confidence” exams, including polygraph tests.
Alberto Islas of the Mexico City-based security consultancy Risk Evaluation questions the effectiveness of so much technology in a city where standards are lower and worries about any “Big Brother” effects, including misuse of the system.
“You can invest a lot in technology, but at the end of the day, you have to look at the human factor,” Islas said. “Mexico City has one of the best systems in the country but it’s still far from international standards.”
All told, the “Safe City” initiative—including video cameras, command and control centers and operational restructuring—has cost the city $460 million.
Source: [www.smartplanet.com/blog/global-observer/mexico-city-security-8216big-brother-is-watching/492]

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