Mexican cartel bases used to spy on enemies, dispatch hitmen

Mexican cartels have set up so called "intelligence centers" in parts of the country. The centers also work as communications hubs so the criminal organizations can keep a watch on authorities and others.

In July, the local authorities of the Mexican border city of Tecate, Baja California, found over a dozen "illegal security cameras" around the city allegedly owned by the Sinaloa cartel.  Luis Chaparro is a freelance journalist based at the US-Mexico border covering criminal organizations in Latin America.He can be followed on Twitter @luiskuryaki

"After an investigation we found these cameras didn’t belong to any of the city or state security forces and decided to remove them in an attempt to combat the criminal organizations operating here," Tecate’s chief of police, Leopoldo Tizoc Durán, said in a press release.