U.S. Government Starts Spy Program in Mexico

An American corporation is in charge of monitoring all types of communications in the country.

On
March 5, “El Centro” (1) newspaper exposed information about a contract
given by the U.S. State Department to Verint Technology Incorporated, a
New York-based company, to spy on communications in Mexico.

Verint
Technology, according to its Web site (2), “is a leading provider of
analytic software solutions for communications interception, digital
video security and surveillance.” Its CEO, Dan Bodner, a former senior
Israeli army officer, was under investigation by U.S. authorities for
an alleged phone monitoring technology monopoly.(3)

On Feb. 23,
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) awarded a US$2,963,438 contract bid
(S-INLEC-07-M-0002) to Vernit thru the Federal Business Opportunities
Web site (4).

The notice (5) states:

“The U.S. Department
of State, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs intends to ... purchase of Communications Intercept Systems to
include installation, technical support and training on-site in Mexico.”

Solicitation
No. 01 (Dec. 19, 2005) explains how the U.S. government aimed to obtain
a system to “timely receipt, processing, analysis, and storage of
intercepted communications from the national telephonic and other
communications service providers in Mexico.”

It requested some
delicate features, like real-time and off-line playback, call storing
of all phone calls for at least 25,000 hours, installation of 30
monitoring stations and cell phone location and tracking devices.

The
document describes the procurement was undertaken to “establish a
lawful interception solution” and aid U.S. and Mexican security
agencies with “the capability to intercept, analyze, and use
intercepted information from all types of communications systems
operating in Mexico (to) help deter, prevent, and mitigate acts of
major federal crimes in Mexico that include narcotics trafficking and
terrorism.”

Amendment 01 (Feb. 1, 2006) furthers about the
project’s management. Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency (AFI) will
directly operate the system, aided by a Narcotics Affair Section (NAS)
representative from the US Embassy in Mexico and the contractor.(6)

Authoritarian Proposals

On
March 10, Mexican President Felipe Calderon proposed to Congress a
constitutional reform (7) to increase detentions, search warrants,
unlawful entries and wire tapping without judge authorization.

Calderon
argued federal police have the need to search private property in
“cases of flagrancy”; while the Federal Public Ministry requires
“immediately” intrusion of private communications because “when there’s
a request to judiciary authorities the investigation turns more
difficult or impossible to do.”

The president assured the initiative concedes judges faculties to review wire tapings or search warrants after being executed.

Another
troubling aspect of this new law is that evidence gathered without
court’s supervision could became full proof. In current Mexican and
U.S. legal systems, an exclusionary rule applies to dissuade
prosecutors from using illegally collected or analyzed evidence in
trial when in violation of constitutional principles.

To date, neither U.S. nor Mexican officials have confirmed or denied the existence of the spy program contract.

Links in English:



(1) “FBI Office Spies on Mexicans”

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B3B7C1738-40AB-4123-98EC-2BB56DA04867%7D)&language=EN



(2) Verint Technologies

http://www.verint.com/



(3) “Software maker Witness Systems to be acquired by Verint in $950 million deal”

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/02/14/2337773.htm



(4) Federal Business Opportunities. “58—Communications Intercept System Mexico”

http://www.fbo.gov/servlet/Documents/R/641306



(5) Federal Business Opportunities. “58—Communications Intercept System”

http://www.fbo.gov/spg/State/INL/INL-RM-MS/S%2DINLEC%2D06%2DR%2D4042/SynopsisP.html



(6) Federal Business Opportunities. “58—Communications Intercept System Solicitation 01”

http://www.fbo.gov/spg/State/INL/INL-RM-MS/S%2DINLEC%2D06%2DR%2D4042/Attachments.html



(7) “Mexico’s Calderon pushes criminal law overhaul”

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN0923222520070309



Links in Spanish



(1) Empresa de EEUU espia las comunicaciones de los mexicanos, segun el diario “El Centro”

http://mx.news.yahoo.com/s/05032007/38/nacional-empresa-eeuu-esp-comunicaciones-mexicanos-seg-n-diario-centro.html



(7) “PGR sin ataduras para espiar, catear y detener, pide Calderon”

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/03/10/index.php?section=politica&article=003n1pol