Highlights
– Since 2002, US and Mexican security forces have discovered multiple training camps used by drug cartels
– Facilities focus on weapons use and “boot camp” style physical activity training
– “Militarization” by drug cartels will continue in the near- to mid-term
Documents from the Mexican Attorney General’s Office recently obtained by media sources revealed a new operational tactic by drug cartels: the establishment of military-style training camps. Located within the border region of Mexico and the United States, cartel members are being taught advanced firearm operations and other physical skills. While an official tally has been not recorded as to the number of attendees moved through such camps, intelligence officials on both sides of the borders say they total in the hundreds. Honing violent skills with advanced weaponry in controlled settings has allowed cartels the greater advantage in both intra-cartel conflicts, as well as recent battles with security personnel.
Description of the Camps
As many as six camps have been discovered along the US-Mexican borders since 2002, utilized by the paramilitary sectors of multiple known drug cartels in the region. Camps have been catalogued with varying levels of permanence; some are temporarily established on land bought through front-men for the cartels and used intermittently, while others are permanent, heavily fortified structures. The more permanent facilities are typically located on hidden, private land behind locked gates, but “mobile” camps have also been conducted on private land without the owner’s consent.
The activities taught vary from camp to camp, but typically emphasize weapons training and physical “boot camps”. Live firing instruction in the use of AK-47 assault rifles, AR-15s, grenade launchers and .50-caliber machine guns is not uncommon, illustrating an increase in the sophistication level of cartel weaponry. Senior US and Mexican intelligence officials have stated that the use of instructors for other cartel members in structured settings is a new technique. These discoveries compliment the growing trend of smuggling advanced guns, such as assault rifles, purchased in the US by exploiting loopholes in gun-control law (Previous Report). The illicit trade of more sophisticated weaponry necessitates greater training on their operation for cartel members’ use.
Camps have also been used for other illegal activities. Two ranches east of Matamoros, Mexico were discovered to have uncharted landing strips primarily used for receiving cocaine shipments from Colombia and destined for the US. Some evidence also suggests that camps may have been used as execution sites. In early 2007, the bodies of four Nuevo Leon police officers were set on fire inside of barrels of diesel fuel, and the remains were buried at a nearby training camp.
The “Rancho Las Amarillas” Camp
The Zetas, the paramilitary arm of the notorious Gulf Cartel, also based in Matamoros, have been especially resourceful in the use of training camps. With a suspected membership of 300 “hardcore members” comprised primarily of ex-special forces and Mexican police officers, the Zetas utilized one such camp called “Rancho Las Amarillas” near the Nuevo Leon-Tamaulipas border. Law enforcement officials cited this camp as one of the most sophisticated discovered to date. Reportedly under the control of one Gulf cartel leader, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, the site was used to raise cattle as well as to instruct a private militia. By offering lucrative salaries of US$300 per week with a promise to double in six months, cartels are able to lure soldiers and police who would be paid much less in legitimate security positions. Cardenas himself was a former federal police officer, and would commonly entice new recruits from the Mexican special forces to the ranch for a two-month “intensive training” course for cartel membership. Guillen has been extradited to the US where he is waiting trial on 17 charges, including threatening a US federal agent, money laundering and drug importation.
Escalating Violence
The advanced planning and high-cost of camps such as “Rancho Las Amarillas” illustrates a high degree of sophistication in the leadership and organization capabilities of the cartels. With access to high-powered weaponry and more importantly, correct instruction in their use, cartels are routinely out-arming even Mexican security forces. While Mexican officials are quick to state that the camps are not military in nature or similar to those used by terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, the camps nonetheless represent a heightened awareness by the cartels to be better prepared in facing security forces. Since the camps are easily hidden and can be used sporadically in rural border regions, detection is likely to remain a challenge for police officials. Increasing militarization of cartel members will likely continue in the near- to mid-term, both in response to government attempts to dismantle the groups, as well as increasing inter-cartel competition over limited smuggling routes and drug distribution regions.
