“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
A technician revealed that he installed C5 cameras in Apatzingán on the orders of a leader linked to the Knights Templar Cartel, giving organized crime full access to the surveillance network.
A video is circulating on social media in which Fabián Figueroa Andrade, known as “El Camaritas,” claims he installed several video surveillance cameras at the Command, Control, Computing, Communications, and Citizen Contact Center (C5) in Apatzingán with the complicity of a police commander identified as Jesús Rangel Barajas, who allegedly works for a Knights Templar Cartel boss.
According to the testimony of “El Camaritas,” the technician in charge of installing video surveillance cameras in different parts of the municipality, he claimed to have placed dozens of devices connected to the C5 system on the direct instructions of “Chucho” Rangel and a criminal leader identified as “El Yupo”; the latter allegedly being Nery Salgado Harrison.
During the interrogation, the installer explained that his job was to install cameras on official security posts, with the full knowledge of the police command.
“Only 57 units; I placed a camera on every security post in the municipality of Apatzingán for the Templarios, and Chucho Rangel didn’t say anything,” stated the technician, who also asserted that “they have access to all the municipality’s information.”
Hours after the recording, Fabián Figueroa Andrade was found dead on the streets of Apatzingán, showing signs of torture.
A sign was found at the scene that directly blamed the police commander for allowing organized crime to access the C5 video surveillance network.
The interrogation revealed that the cameras installed by the technician were being used by criminal groups to monitor the movements of authorities, security forces, and rivals, exploiting the government’s own technological network.
In the days leading up to the incident, sabotage attempts and fires were reported on poles where the video surveillance equipment was installed, which supposedly reinforced suspicions about a network of criminals controlling the system.
Jesús Rangel Barajas has been linked to cases of forced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and acts of repression against residents of Apatzingán, according to testimonies from residents of the municipality.
The alleged C5 leaks to organized crime reveal a serious institutional failure, whereby public security technology, designed to protect the population, has been transformed into a tool for espionage and control at the service of drug trafficking.
Sources: Contramuro, ECO 1 LVM