Gulf Cartel Members Dismantle Government Security Cameras Across Reynosa, Tamaulipas

 "MX" for Borderland Beat

Security forces did not confirm if they would set up these surveillance cameras again (Photo: FuriaNegra7)

Suspected members of the Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, dismantled at least five security cameras installed by state authorities across the city. These cartel members used SUVs and cargo trucks to knock down utility poles and traffic lights that had security cameras.

These attacks were reportedly coordinated by Jose Alfredo Hernandez Campos ('El Calamardo', Squidward), the alleged plaza boss of Diaz Ordaz, a municipality that borders Reynosa on the west. Citizen journalists stated that El Calamardo lives in Reynosa and published some of his private information, include his supposed home address, his citizen registry code, and personal tax identification number.

This was not the first time cartel members in Reynosa knock down surveillance cameras in various parts of the city. Last August, the Gulf Cartel destroyed several light poles that were holding police cameras. Authorities say that the attacks were a response from the Gulf Cartel for a series of arrests and seizures security forces had done against them.

As reported by Borderland Beat, Gulf Cartel has installed its own clandestine network of surveillance cameras too. This has allowed the cartel to know about the movements of the police and military forces in the region. When authorities discover such cameras, they remove them.

'Narco-antennas' 

Traffickers often erect their own radio antennas in rural areas. They also install so-called parasite antennas on existing cell towers, layering their criminal communications network on top of the official one. By piggybacking on telecom companies' infrastructure, cartels save money and evade detection since their own towers are more easily spotted and torn down, law enforcement experts said.

The practice has been widely acknowledged by telecom companies and Mexican officials for years. The problem persists because the government has made inconsistent efforts to take it on, and because companies have little recourse to stop it, experts on law enforcement and Mexican society said.

As the Diaz Ordaz Municipality plaza boss, El Calamardo reports to Cesar Morfin Morfin ('El Primito'), who heads the entire Metros faction in La Frontera Chica border region.

"There is a sense of powerlessness" in Mexico, said Duncan Wood, director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute in Washington. He said companies feel they "cannot respond to issues like this because (they) are afraid of the consequences from groups that essentially enjoy impunity."

Mexico's Defense Ministry said it provides security for federal agencies that request its help in dismantling "parasitic equipment" installed by cartels on cell towers. 

Sources: Infobae; Epocaviolenta; Borderland Beat archives