"260 Pirate Broadcasting Stations, Some Belong To Narco Traffickers”

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

There are subversive groups with political interests to people linked to organized crime, said José Antonio García, president of the chamber.

In Mexico there are more than 260 radio stations that operate irregularly, violate the rules and broadcasting rights in the country and in the worst case, are run by organized crime, denounced José Antonio García, president of the National Chamber of the Radio and Television Industry (CIRT).

In an interview with MILENIO, the industrial representative explained that the number of pirate radio stations could be even higher, because they operate in marginal areas; that is, in localities where there is no traditional coverage.

“Illegal stations increased with the pandemic, there are subversive groups that politically manage these stations, others that have to do with organized crime that are being installed and others that are commercially trying to exploit them without having participated in a frequency bidding before the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (Ifetel) ”, he said.

Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guerrero, according to García, are the entities with the highest number of pirate stations; however, a large presence was found in the State of Mexico, Hidalgo, Querétaro, Tamaulipas and Veracruz.

In recent statements by Adolfo Cuevas Teja, Ifetel's president commissioner, he recognized the need facing the radio industry in Mexico after the proliferation of illegal stations, even though the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law provides the possibility of accessing the spectrum.

The same regulation indicates that currently they can impose fines from 100 to 20 thousand days of minimum wage, in addition to a penalty for each day that Ifetel verifiers are not allowed to access their facilities up to a maximum of 10 calendar days, in addition to seizing the station team.

At the time, Carlos Ponce, general director of Verification in the Compliance Unit of the Institute, commented that in the last seven years, about 657 stations were verified, of which 350 had their equipment confiscated and operations suspended. So far this year 60 have been seized, but they estimate that there are at least 500 illegal stations.

In an exercise carried out by this medium, it was found that through platforms such as Amazon or Mercado Libre, a wide variety of equipment can be purchased to install a short, medium or long wave radio station; ranging from 2,000 to 120,000 pesos.

"The most important thing is the dismantling and that the Institute seizes the assets (the transmitter, the antenna, the tower) or any equipment that is installed illegally," García added.

From Ifetel there is a section within its electronic platform to file complaints against radio broadcasters that operate without a concession.

They seek to elevate punishments

In order to strengthen the sanctions against pirate radios, the CIRT is working on a bill to consider and punish these activities as a federal crime.

"We seek that it has a penalty in addition to the fines that came into existence (...) We have already finished putting together this initiative," explained Antonio García after maintaining that at present the law is soft against these activities that are not considered illegal.

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