Drug cartel are using everything from fake tamale stands to child decoys to gather intelligence about enhanced U.S. border security, according to a new report obtained by The Washington Times.
The findings, by the U.S. Army's Asymmetric Warfare Group, underline a growing threat to U.S. security from the border.
Mexican drug cartels continue to probe for gaps in border defenses while fighting one another and Mexican authorities in a violent conflict, the Times reported.
According to a report by the warfare group the cartels near the San Diego-Tijuana border area are finding novel ways to move contraband and people into the U.S., including wedging children into gaps in the cement pylons at border barriers.
"The smuggling facilitator or families of the illegal migrants will use children to lodge them in the gaps of the cement pylons, at which point a U.S. fire department is called in to free the child," the report said, according to the Times. "This tactic relies on the U.S. first responders' initiative to rescue or save a human life and subsequently creates a physical gap - which generally takes two weeks to repair - to use for border breaching."
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