Are Mexican Drug Cartels Kidnapping IT Workers to Build a Communications Network? Silicon Republic
go to original March 10, 2015

Mexican Navy officials show off confiscated Zetas radio kit to the press, Veracruz, 2011. (Reforma)

Nearly 40 IT specialists have disappeared in Mexico since 2008 and many of their families believe they’ve been kidnapped by two of the country’s most dominant drug cartels, Los Zetas and the Cartel del Golfo.

A new report for Motherboard details what is known about the missing workers – dubbed Los Desaparecidos (The Missing) – and outlines the theory that organised crime syndicates are enslaving specialists to build and service their hidden communications network.

“I’m sure the missing specialists were forced to build this infrastructure,” said Felipe González González, president of the Senate security commission from 2006 to 2012. “It was people with the same profile (that have been kidnapped).”

No group or individual has taken responsibility for the missing IT workers. No ransoms have ever been set, and it’s unknown what sort of conditions they’ve been kept in.

Read the rest at Silicon Republic

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!