How the US fuels Latin America's surveillance technology
How the US fuels Latin America's surveillance technology
The US war on drugs often bolsters anti-democratic forces abroad, say authors.
Last Modified: 21 May 2012 09:17
San Francisco, California - In executing its wars on terror and drugs, the United States has been aiding the adoption of surveillance technologies in Latin America for decades.
In Colombia, these surveillance technologies have been repurposed to silence judges and opposition voices, demonstrating the ease with which they can be abused to subvert the rule of law in any democratic nation lacking robust checks and balances. Nevertheless, the US government recently unveiled a plan to help the Mexican government triple the size of a national surveillance system to assist with counternarcotics efforts. It's the latest example of the United States' quiet practice of helping foreign security agencies expand their reach, a trend that warrants close scrutiny. Amid Mexican government corruption, secrecy in the judiciary, and killings allegedly involving government security forces, activists are worried that a Mexican surveillance upgrade will only compromise the privacy of law-abiding citizens, affecting both Mexicans and their foreign contacts.
In a call for bids published on April 27, the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs said it would award a contract to upgrade a surveillance system from 30 to 107 monitoring stations. Installed by a New York-based company called Verint in 2006, the system can interceptcommunications from "national telephonic and other communications service providers in Mexico".
The stated objective is to deter narcotics trafficking, terrorism and other "serious crimes" by aiding Mexico's Public Security Secretariat. The notice comes on the heels of a newly approved set of unconstitutional revisions to Mexican federal laws - revisions that recently prompted an outcry from privacy advocates. The amendments give law enforcement unprecedented ability to pinpoint the whereabouts of cell phone users, without judicial oversight. The Mexican Ombudsman has recently filed an unconstitutionality action against the law.
More:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/05/2012514135631527464.html
