The seized devices, described as basic porch-style cameras wrapped in duct tape, were promptly removed by army personnel
Mexican authorities have seized 24 surveillance cameras installed by drug cartels in the border city of San Luis Rio Colorado, located across from Yuma, Arizona. The city has been a hotspot for cartel violence as rival gangs fight for control of key smuggling routes across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Prosecutors in Sonora state, where the city is located, revealed that the cameras had been placed by “falcons,” a term used in Mexico to describe cartel lookouts who monitor the movements of police and military forces. These cameras were fixed to telephone poles, light posts, and even palm trees in three different neighborhoods.
The seized devices, described as basic porch-style cameras wrapped in duct tape, were promptly removed by army personnel. Authorities have long battled cartel surveillance tactics, which are used to gain strategic advantages in violent territorial disputes.
San Luis Rio Colorado, a town popular with Americans seeking affordable medical treatments and prescriptions, has increasingly become a site of cartel violence. The city’s location makes it an important corridor for smuggling drugs into the United States, contributing to the ongoing conflict between rival criminal groups.
This is not the first instance of drug cartels setting up their own surveillance networks. In 2015, authorities in the northern state of Tamaulipas discovered 39 cameras installed by a cartel in Reynosa, a city located across from McAllen, Texas. The Reynosa cameras were powered by the city’s electric grid and connected to the internet via telephone cables. Some were placed near an army base, while others monitored key locations such as government offices, shopping centers, and major roads.
In addition to cameras, Tamaulipas authorities also uncovered 55 radio communication antennas between the border cities of Matamoros and Miguel Aleman that same year, further demonstrating the cartels’ sophisticated surveillance capabilities.
The discovery of these cameras in San Luis Rio Colorado is another indication of the lengths drug cartels will go to monitor law enforcement activity, as they seek to maintain control over smuggling operations. Authorities are expected to continue cracking down on these illicit surveillance systems as part of their efforts to curb violence and restore security in Mexico’s border regions.
