Mexican Forces Spending Dozens of Millions in New Tech to Fight Cartels

Mexican authorities are nearing completion of Torre Centinela (Sentinel Tower) a high-tech command center aimed at improving law enforcement operations in Ciudad Juárez and across the state of Chihuahua, where multiple drug cartels are active. A helipad is already in place atop the 21st floor of the tower, with all lower levels nearly operational.

According to Chihuahua authorities, the tower is part of a $84 million investment which includes advanced surveillance infrastructure: facial recognition systems, bluetooth scanners, license plate readers, and over 4,000 mobile cameras

The tower will be the tallest in the El Paso-Juárez area, with completion level at 73%, as Border Report explains. "This tower will be our command center," said Chihuahua's Public Safety Director Gilberto Loya during a recent press tour. "As we build this platform, we also are installing arches (with security technology) over every major highway coming in and out of the state and its 13 largest cities."

Authorities say the technology has already yielded concrete results. "This is the result of using technology so the police can respond with more efficiency and with more information," said Luis Aguirre, Chief of Staff for the Chihuahua police. Surveillance data is being used to rescue kidnapping victims and build legal cases against perpetrators.

The tower is the core of the Plataforma Centinela, a broader surveillance network that spans 13 major municipalities and includes over 2,700 smart monitoring points. According to authorities, the system is 88% complete and already includes over 4,400 PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras.

The initiative earned international recognition earlier this month when Chihuahua's security agency received the "Best Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Policing" award at the World Police Summit in Dubai, as El Diario MX points out. "This award positions us as the first police institution in Mexico to be recognized by Emirati police," read an official statement from the agency.

Strategically located, the tower offers visibility over much of Ciudad Juárez and parts of El Paso, Texas. Officials said the facility will eventually link to El Paso's 911 system, allowing cross-border emergency coordination when U.S. citizens report crimes while in Juárez.