U.S. Funds Mexican Wiretapping
Posted on Thu May 24, 2007 at 08:46:31 PM EST
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In an increasing sign of Mexico's reliance on and willingness to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement, Mexico has been expanding its wiretapping -- without court orders. Funding for the program comes from the United States.
The expansion comes as President Felipe Calderon is pushing to amend Mexico's constitution to allow officials to tap phones without a judge's approval in some cases.
The $3 million program is the Communications Intercept System.
The system would allow authorities to track cell-phone users as they travel, according to the contract specifications. It would include extensive storage capacity and allow authorities to identify callers by voice. The system, scheduled to begin operation within the next month, was paid for by the U.S. State Department and sold by Verint Systems Inc., a politically connected company based in Melville, N.Y., that specializes in electronic surveillance.
Documents describing the upgrade suggest that the U.S. government could have access to information derived from the surveillance. Officials of both governments declined to comment on that possibility.
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The state department acknowledges the U.S. funding:
"It is a government of Mexico operation, funded by the U.S.," said Susan Pittman, of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Questions over its use should be directed to Mexico, she said.
But the information is being shared with the U.S.
Within the United States, legal experts say that if prosecutors have access to Mexican wiretaps, they could use the information in U.S. courts. Supreme Court decisions have held that Fourth Amendment protections against illegal wiretaps do not apply outside the United States, particularly if the surveillance is conducted by another country, said Georgetown University law professor David Cole.
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