Mexico is a country that is technically part of the United States Northern Command. However, it is very often invited to participate in meetings, conferences and combined exercises organized by the US Southern Command. This was the case for PANAMAX 2022. Dialogue spoke with the Mexican Navy Captain Carlos Renán Ancona, deployed in the information collection area of the General Staff of the Mexican Armed Forces, regarding his participation in the PANAMAX exercise this year, where he worked as director of the section of Intelligence of the Multinational Force of the South.
Dialogue: How is intelligence gathering done in an exercise like PANAMAX?
Mexican Navy Captain Carlos Renán Ancona: What happens is that we have the support of the personnel and the sensors of the United States Army. We have the support of all those sensors, equipment and human intelligence support and other components of the intelligence community, to develop everything that is required to obtain information.
Dialogue: Can you explain to us how human intelligence occurs in exercise?
Chap. of Nav. Ancona: As far as human intelligence is concerned, it is basically personnel assigned to operations to obtain information. That part of intelligence is done when there are people who provide us with information, who help us to develop products.
Dialogue: And in relation to intelligence by satellites, radars, etc.?
Chap. of Nav. Ancona: In the [ejercicio] PANAMAX 2022 all this was simulated, but we know that we have all those information capabilities, from satellite images, from different sensors, for example, from aerial vehicles that do aerial intelligence through night vision sensors, infrared images, etc. In exercises where ships participate, of course, they have the elements in the surface area to have a general panorama of what is happening in the maritime environment.
Dialogue: Mexico is technically part of the Northern Command. What is the importance of working with the Southern Command?
Chap. of Nav. Ancona: Mexico and Spain are the largest countries that work in PANAMAX outside the area of responsibility of the Southern Command. In practice, Mexico works very frequently with the Southern Command on the drug trafficking movement, since the drugs leave South America, Central America and pass through Mexico and go to the United States or other places in the world. We share a lot of information and work closely with the Southern Command in many activities in real life, in the day to day of our work.
Dialogue: What is the most important thing that Mexico takes away from this exercise?
Chap. of Nav. Ancona: The processes. There are many processes that can help us, the integration of all the work teams and all the sensors and procedures. Many of them can be very useful for what we do in Mexico. Equally important, of course, are the interpersonal and professional relationships that we establish with our colleagues during the exercise.