this says it’s bogus
GROK says it’s bogus
AI says this - but who knows, - garbage in garbage out??
I googed “cartel using cell towers”
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Drug cartels in Mexico have constructed their own private telecommunications networks and also frequently install illicit “parasite antennas” on existing commercial cell towers to coordinate their operations and evade surveillance.
Cartel Usage of Telecom Infrastructure
Private Networks: Facing enhanced surveillance of commercial networks by the government, cartels like Los Zetas and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) have built extensive, independent radio and cellular networks. These networks use antennas, repeaters, radios, and even solar panels to power remote stations.
“Narco-Antennas”: Cartels often install their own hardware on pre-existing cell towers belonging to legitimate telecom companies. This practice saves them money and makes their equipment harder to spot and dismantle. Technicians working on these towers often find this unauthorized equipment and have a “No. 1 rule”: Don’t touch it, to avoid dangerous confrontations with cartel members.
Evasion of Surveillance: The primary motivation for building these separate systems is to avoid government interception of communications and location tracking that is possible on commercial networks.
Force and Coercion: Cartels have kidnapped and forced telecommunications engineers and technicians to build and maintain these networks. Some missing workers are believed to still be working under duress for these criminal organizations.
Extortion: In some areas, cartels have expanded beyond drug trafficking and now extort local communities by providing makeshift Wi-Fi or cell service and charging a fee under threat of violence, acting as de facto monopolists of these services in their controlled territories.
Cartels and Hacking
Beyond physical infrastructure, cartels have used technical expertise to compromise existing systems. A hacker working for the Sinaloa Cartel tracked an FBI official’s phone location data and accessed Mexico City’s surveillance cameras to find and kill informants, as detailed in a Department of Justice report.
A recent viral claim suggesting the Sinaloa Cartel secretly owned and operated hundreds of U.S. cell towers to spy on federal agents has been debunked as a fabrication unsupported by any credible documentation or government reports.