
Drug cartel ‘narco-antennas’ make life dangerous for Mexico’s repairmen - URfejk
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-telecoms-cartels-specialreport/special-report-drug-cartel-narco-antennas-make-life-dangerous-for-mexicos-cell-tower-repairmen-idUSKCN24G1DN
======
parsimo2010
It blows my mind that there are multiple organizations that are so large and
well armed that even the Mexican government won't touch them. Keep in mind
that the Mexican military has the 17th most active duty personnel _in the
world_
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_military_and_paramilitary_personnel))
and spent $7 billion last year
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Armed_Forces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Armed_Forces)),
and still isn't willing to take on drug cartels stomping on their own
sovereign territory.

These guys just throw up repeaters and not only do they not try to hide them,
they actually mark them to show who is going to be destroying your life if you
take them down. Oh, and you have to pay if you want to work on your own
legitimate equipment that is rightfully on that tower.

The illegal drug trade exists on a scale unimaginable to most people. Imagine
if we could figure out how to legitimize it- we'd save countless lives over
stupid stuff like having your life threatened just because you work for a
telecom company and need to do your job. If we could tax drug money at just a
couple percent we could invest in all sorts of social programs and
infrastructure, rather than funding thugs. The crazy part is that a lot of the
drug lords don't even spend a good chunk of their fortune, they just store
massive amounts of money in houses they'll never even live in.

Edit: To clarify my point a little, the reason the Mexican government isn't
willing to do anything is that they couldn't do anything about it even if they
tried. The Mexican military has fewer people than the cartels and have a
smaller budget. According to this article from 2012
([https://muse.jhu.edu/article/485071](https://muse.jhu.edu/article/485071))
the Mexican cartels employ 450,000 people and make $25 billion annually (these
numbers have probably increased in the last eight years). The Mexican military
would have to be incredibly skilled to take them on with 177,000 people and a
$7 billion budget. And even then, that's just the Mexican cartels, there are
more in South America and the rest of the world. Stopping the illegal drug
trade would take a unified policy effort from every government in the world,
we're past the point of being able to be able to fight the cartels with
military power.

~~~
coliveira
The other side is also true, the US has the largest army in the world, along
with the most sophisticated intelligence apparatus, but it cannot (or doesn't
want) to stop the traffic coming from outside its borders.

~~~
Reelin
> it cannot (or doesn't want) to stop the traffic coming from outside its
> borders

Openly turning that sophisticated intelligence apparatus against the citizenry
is simply not politically tenable in the US at present. (Note that I said
openly. What Snowden revealed wasn't open.)

~~~
vkou
Are you aware that there's a bit of an ongoing jackboots-gas-and-rubber-
bullets crackdown happening across the United States against unarmed
civilians?

The government has no problem turning its tools against the citizenry - well,
particular parts of the citizenry.

These aren't hypothetical techie concerns about the NSA seeing your dick pics.
This is actual police departments behaving like we live in a police state.

~~~
Reelin
Indeed. In context, something that would presumably continue indefinitely
(border traffic and drug consumption) was being discussed. That would require
permanent legislation and normalization of extensive government surveillance.

In contrast, the current shenanigans are occurring within a declared state of
emergency (pandemic) on top of which widespread protests over an unrelated
topic broke out. Even then, what's happening appears to be status quo police
brutality that's piecemeal. (As opposed to open, centrally coordinated mass
surveillance of everyone's actions - both physical and digital - with the
approval of the legislature).

------
refurb
I don’t listen to Joe Rogen much, his two interviews with Ed Calderon (former
Mexican federal police in cartel areas) is incredible and highly recommended.

He talks about the corruption, the hearts-and-minds efforts of the cartels,
the cartel cell networks, how they build roads, etc. absolutely fascinating.

[https://youtu.be/llhb2ymtsw8](https://youtu.be/llhb2ymtsw8)
[https://youtu.be/xPBejhoKlb8](https://youtu.be/xPBejhoKlb8)

~~~
TheJoeMan
Does he cover having to pay to work on your own tower? It seems to me the
cartels would need to be the ones bribing the workers to not snitch

------
1024core
What if the US had a system wherein drug addicts would register, and get their
drugs for free (or at very low prices, administered by professionals)? Just
take away the middlemen, and provide the drugs in safe, controlled, monitored
sites. No questions asked: as long as you are over 21 and can prove a need,
you can get a card. Just walk in, get your fix, and either walk out (or lay
down right there).

Once you have people in this system, then you can work on them to get them off
the drugs.

~~~
alecco
In European countries doing this the biggest opponents are families of
addicts. This is basically a death sentence. It's society finally turning its
back on them. I believe it's the right approach in the long run, but in the
short run you get emotional appeals and weak politicians.

~~~
apexalpha
Could you point me to some reading material on this?

Because we have these schemes in the Netherlands. Opiod addicts can get their
fix from municipality health centres, alcoholic homeless people can clean up
parks in exchange for beer, it seems to work very well.

If you take away 'the game' of acquiring your next fix and give people
structure it seems to set them up better to drop the dependancy all together.

------
ed25519FUUU
> _The contractor had disrupted a small link in a vast criminal network that
> spans much of Mexico. In addition to high-end encrypted cell phones and
> popular messaging apps, traffickers still rely heavily on two-way radios
> like the ones police and firefighters use to coordinate their teams on the
> ground, six law enforcement experts on both sides of the border told
> Reuters._

How will Mexico ever have peace while it lives next to the largest drug
consuming country in the world? While it’s illegal here, the money will go to
these cartels.

~~~
etrabroline
Why do you think Canadians don't have cartel problems like this?

~~~
robotresearcher
It may not be 'like this' in scale compared to Mexico, but drug-related
organized violent crime is a thing in Canada.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Vancouver_gang_war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Vancouver_gang_war)

[https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/real-scoop-
alleged...](https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/real-scoop-alleged-b-c-
hitmen-murdered-within-weeks-of-dubai-slaying)

[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/increase-drugs-
drivi...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/increase-drugs-driving-gun-
crime-1.5140196)

~~~
ghostpepper
One of the gang leaders arrested in 2009 was finally sentenced less that two
weeks ago.

Pretty crazy how long it took our legal system to prove guilt - eleven years.

[https://vancouversun.com/news/jamie-bacon-to-plead-guilty-
in...](https://vancouversun.com/news/jamie-bacon-to-plead-guilty-in-surrey-
six-and-counselling-to-commit-murder)

------
grandinj
Mexico’s only real chance is to raise a middle finger to the USA and legalize
drugs in their own country. How can you enforce law and order when a foreign
country is funding criminals in your country with more money than exists in
your own budget?

~~~
apexalpha
The USA has a drug problem, Mexico has a kartel problem.

~~~
grandinj
That would be true on another continent.

But when your neighbour has an economy 100x the size of yours, and hands your
cartels several billion dollars a year, you really have not realistic chance
at all.

------
aaron695
I don't mind lead or gold.

But in 2011 it was claimed they kidnapped and killed 12 technicians

[https://www.npr.org/2011/12/09/143442365/mexico-busts-
drug-c...](https://www.npr.org/2011/12/09/143442365/mexico-busts-drug-cartels-
private-phone-networks)

------
totetsu
Do the cartelsmen mount their equipment on the mast while the cell antenas are
still hot 0_0

~~~
reaperducer
Possibly. When I worked in radio there was no shortage of engineers willing to
violate all of the safety rules and do tower maintenance without shutting down
the transmitter for a little extra money. They often had the RF scars to prove
it.

~~~
ed25519FUUU
Why would there be a market for such work?

~~~
vb6sp6
Gangs don't need to follow safety standards and pay more than legitimate work

~~~
Someone
They also may ‘pay’ more if you refuse to do the work.

------
elboru
Here in Mexico we have to copy the American narco model.

Drugs crossing the border don’t just appear automatically in the consumer’s
hands, right?

So how do American narcos transport their drugs inside the US?

How do they transport the money?

Does the American law enforcement chooses to close their eyes to the mountains
of drugs crossing the border every day and being transported everywhere in the
US? Are they part of the mafia?

Let’s not forget there’s A LOT of money involved and a lot of consumers are
millionaires and powerful people.

Why are cartels so quiet up there?

~~~
Stierlitz
@elboru ..

Exactly, it's a pretend war on drugs, while the people at the top make
millions. Moving the war on drugs overseas only serves to distract from the US
home grown drug industry. And there's no problem in injecting these narco-
dollars back into the economy.

------
URfejk
A shocking video surfaced onto social media Friday, showing a convoy of
armored vehicles with dozens of combat-uniformed gunmen who expressed their
support for Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ("El Menccho"), the leader of the
Jalisco New Generation Cartel:
[https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/mexican-cartel-
displa...](https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/mexican-cartel-displays-
show-force-shocking-video)

------
m3kw9
Multiple times they noted that they kept calm or not scared, Why would they
more likely to kill them if they got scared?

~~~
tenebrisalietum
Scared means you think you got caught doing something wrong a lot of times.
It's an admission of guilt.

~~~
bigwavedave
I guess I could see that- this context is about the cartels interacting with
maintenance men and soliciting protection payments, not law enforcement
thinking maintenance men are doing shady things.

------
pstuart
We could significantly diminish the cartels' powers if we legalized all drugs.
It could be done with the stroke of a pen but there's no political willingness
to do so.

The citizenry has been brainwashed into thinking that the war on drugs is
designed to protect people; in fact it's the exact opposite.

------
alexfromapex
Well I think the Mexican government just got a huge clue for how to stop them

------
scythe
While we commonly think of drugs as a sort of abstracted aggregate, in reality
most of the drug trafficking in Latin America comes down to just _two_ drugs:
marijuana and cocaine.

[https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_briefs/R...](https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_briefs/RB9700/RB9770/RAND_RB9770.pdf)

Marijuana is a problem that we are already addressing. A majority of Americans
and Westerners in general have supported marijuana legalization for years now,
raising hopes that the problem will be solved in some way. Our knowledge about
the drug and experience with legal marijuana problems suggests that the
downsides of legalization are not very large.

Cocaine is a little bit different. It puts severe stress on the heart because
it inhibits action potentials in peripheral neurons directly via action on
voltage-gated sodium channels _and_ increases metabolic rate via CNS activity.
The downsides of cocaine prohibition are massive, but in this case the
downsides of legalization have a large uncertainty.

However, the severe death toll associated with a $30bn market puts the onus of
responsibility on any conscientious American to want to put a stop to it.

Unlike powder cocaine, coca leaf has a long history of relatively safe use in
the northern Andes. Widespread coca tea use is not considered a public health
crisis of any particular concern in Peru and southern Colombia:

[https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/uwoja/article/download/8770...](https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/uwoja/article/download/8770/6964)

[http://eva.fhuce.edu.uy/pluginfile.php/128760/mod_resource/c...](http://eva.fhuce.edu.uy/pluginfile.php/128760/mod_resource/content/1/Labate-%20Prohibition%20religious%20freedom%20%20human%20rights.pdf#page=51)

The decriminalization of coca tea in Western countries may lead to less gang
activity as illegal cocaine manufacture economics shift from large-scale to
small-scale extraction. The same situation occurs presently with DMT, albeit
on a much smaller scale. Optimistically, addicts may substitute with oral
formulations which are generally less addictive due to the relationship
between reward delay and the intensity of operant conditioning. Cocaine also
substitutes for methamphetamine, which may lower the street price of the
latter.

However, there is also the possibility of increased crime associated with
cocaine extraction, which poses another quandary. It is highly unconventional
to enact a policy that will clearly empower certain types of criminals.

Nonetheless, I think we need to be open to ideas like these if we are to be
ready to take responsibility for the role of US drug policy in destabilizing
equatorial Latin America. The situation as it stands is not acceptable. It
must be strenuously opposed.

~~~
haram_masala
The cartels aren’t drug evangelists, they’re businesses. Take away drugs and
they’ll violently monopolize other profitable export industries. In fact,
they’ve already done this with avocados.

If you want to stop the violence and corruption of the cartels, you’ll have to
either change the culture that makes their existence possible, or
defeat/imprison/kill them all. I’m not sure which of those would be more
difficult.

~~~
stickfigure
There _are no other criminal enterprises_ that offer a comparable revenue
source. Not one. It's utter nonsense to think that organized crime is just
going to switch to avocado extortion and keep bribing their way out of jail.

~~~
haram_masala
The Sicilian Mafia has gone mostly “legit,” in the sense that they operate in
legal industries, e.g. olive oil. They just use criminal means to extract
hugely excessive rents from those industries.

~~~
sudosysgen
They aren't competitive internationally, though. And can't be unless they're
also going to go down to Morocco, fight the Army, invade Tunisia and Algeria,
and then force the extraction of high rents.

------
unnouinceput
Watch "Wolf of Wall Street" with Leonardo Di Caprio. That will answer all your
questions why Mexico is such a paradise for cartels.

------
hedora
Am I the only one that wishes we had something like this in the US (but
without the murder)?

------
simonsarris
> Their No. 1 rule when discovering cartel equipment on a tower is simple:
> Don’t touch it.

They never follow up on why they shouldn't touch it! [edit: OOPS yes they do,
sorry!]

~~~
jentist_retol
Later in the article.

>Cartels have kidnapped technicians doing maintenance on cellular towers to
make them fix their networks, people working in the sector said. The
technicians usually are released after a few days, if not sooner. Still, those
who spoke with Reuters said they live in fear of being forced by traffickers
to do such work, lest they be killed for knowing too much, or become targets
of authorities or rival criminal groups for being complicit. Whenever
possible, they said, they downplay their expertise.

------
mindentropy
Isn't what President Duterte is correct, now? There are lot of failings I
agree but Philippines would have turned out to be another Mexico if it was
left unchecked.

If the borders of the US close then the smuggling will start to go to other
countries too I guess.

