Nosy neighbors: U.S.-Mexican wiretap cooperation.

• Author: Sullum, Jacob
• Position: Citings - Brief article

THANKS TO a $3 million grant from the U.S. government, Mexican officials are expanding their ability to monitor email messages and telephone calls. Among other things, the new Communications Intercept System will allow the government to keep track of cell phone users as they move around.

Mexicans also can thank the U.S. for another surveillance innovation: warrantless wiretaps. Under a proposal by Mexican President Felipe Calderon, prosecutors would be permitted to intercept the communications of suspected criminals without judicial approval. Such surveillance is supposed to be limited to urgent situations involving organized crime, but it would be up to the attorney general to make the call. The surveillance could include cross-border communications between Mexicans and American citizens or...