Cartels set up cyber-surveillance on the border with the US; they guide migrants with drones and by phone

San Diego.— In the skies over the border between Tijuana and San Diego, drones have become the new eyes of organized crime. They are the new cybernetic hawks along the boundary between Mexico and the United States, where American authorities are waging a battle against unmanned aerial systems belonging to the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels. Every day, the Border Patrol patrols the skies of the world's busiest border crossing to detect and neutralize the narco-drones used to surveil and coordinate the trafficking of migrants and drugs. With a fleet of high-tech unmanned aircraft, Border Patrol officers conduct ground reconnaissance along the border strip to deter the so-called counter-surveillance narco-drones. More than 300 unmanned aerial systems have been neutralized this year by the Joint Task Force of the Southern Border, of U.S. Northern Command, reflecting an increasingly intense offensive by criminal groups. With a fleet of high-tech unmanned aircraft, Border Patrol officers conduct ground reconnaissance along the border strip. Photo: Valente Rosas. EL UNIVERSALThe hum of the Border Patrol San Diego Sector's equipment begins early in the day, and the teams carry out surveillance and tracking operations day and night across the urban, mountainous, and maritime zones of the nearly 100 kilometers covered by the border between Tijuana and San Diego, according to a tour conducted by EL UNIVERSAL. This is done to identify the points where criminal incursions are most frequent, such as the Nido de las Águilas and Las Torres neighborhoods in Tijuana, from which smugglers, or coyotes, launch drones to guide the trafficking of undocumented migrants and monitor immigration agents. With nearly 20 years in the agency, Gerardo Gutiérrez, spokesman for the Border Patrol San Diego Sector, revealed that the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels and cells of the Arellano Félix organization use drones to watch them and monitor their movements, arrival times, when they leave, what they do, and even when they eat or go to the bathroom, in order to identify opportunities to facilitate the illegal crossing of migrants. "We see that the criminal organizations and the cartels are now one and the same. They already work together, so now they use drones not so much to bring drugs in; they use them more for surveillance of Border Patrol agents. It's a threat," he stated in an interview with this newspaper. The teams carry out surveillance and tracking operations in the urban, mountainous, and maritime zones of the border between Tijuana and San Diego. Photo: Valente Rosas. EL UNIVERSALThe agent explained that the cartels guide migrants with the drones and tell them by phone how to advance, which way to go, and the point where they will be picked up, in addition to alerting them to the presence of border agents. "It's a threat because they're not only watching us; they're seeing what we do, and when they see there's an opening where they can make an illegal incursion, that's where they take advantage," he said. Gutiérrez recalled that a few years ago criminal groups used narco-drones to traffic small quantities of drugs (such as bags or balls of cocaine weighing one or 2 kilograms) from Tijuana toward the San Ysidro commercial crossing. The drone would drop the merchandise over a previously identified vehicle, although the officer notes that the method was not always effective: sometimes the packages fell to the ground and the merchandise was left abandoned. "In the San Diego Sector, one of the activities that has been carried out for a long time is human trafficking. Traditionally, the way it was done was that they would hire a smuggler or coyote to bring them to the United States, and they would normally assign them a guide. The Border Patrol seeks to stay one step ahead of the criminals who stalk the border with new methods for bringing in drugs and migrants. Photo: Valente Rosas. EL UNIVERSAL"As technology advanced, migrants were guided by phones; later smartphones came out, on which they were given a route to follow, and now they are guided by means of drones, with instructions on how to reach the point where they will be picked up," he explained. "The entire border area on the Mexican side is controlled by the cartels and the coyotes," so, he affirmed, the Border Patrol, part of the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), seeks to stay one "step ahead" of the criminal groups that stalk the border daily with new methods for bringing in drugs and undocumented migrants. To confront the cartels' threat along the border strip, agent Gerardo Gutiérrez explained, the Border Patrol and the U.S. military have reinforced the technological infrastructure and border barriers, with towers equipped with high-resolution cameras, radars, artificial intelligence systems, and drones. "The goal is for zero people to cross illegally. We are increasing our technology and improving. We have better surveillance and knowledge of our area; we do that work in collaboration with other agencies," Gutiérrez said. As a result of the hardening of the wall on land, maritime migrant trafficking has increased, said Gerardo Gutiérrez. Photo: Valente Rosas. EL UNIVERSALIn front of the area of the Tijuana beaches, the officer noted that, as a result of the hardening of the wall on land, maritime migrant trafficking has increased. He indicated that in that area smugglers carry out crossings on jet skis and speedboats and drop the migrants on the coasts of San Diego, California. According to the agent, migrants pay between 18,000 and 20,000 dollars to the coyotes for these crossings, in which many have lost their lives in pursuit of the American dream. "One of the challenges we have in the San Diego Sector is the maritime realm, and here the work of protecting lives and combating illegal migration is a very big challenge; the Border Patrol cannot do it alone; we can only achieve this with the collaboration of other federal, state, and local agencies, including international ones, such as the government of Mexico," the officer explained. In the San Diego Sector, the Border Patrol maintains a deployment of around 2,400 agents, and its goal is to reach 2,700 in the coming years, given the threats that narco-drones now represent along the border between Mexico and the United States. "Today we see an average of 60 people crossing daily across the 60 miles; that's a very low number. However, our work is not finished. "They usually cross when it's already getting dark so they can move at night, but it's more dangerous," he commented. You may also be interested in: Man who walked a lioness in his truck in Aguascalientes is linked to prosecution; he is accused of illegal possession of wildlife "Anti-Meme Law" takes effect; it establishes jail time and fines for anyone who uses official logos to deceive "Gabito Ballesteros gets stopped for singing, while Taddei and Rocha are protected so they don't sing"; Máynez lashes out at the 4T