Mexican Criminal Courts Telepresence

Judiciaries in Mexico’s border states (i.e. Baja California Norte, Sonora,Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas) face persistent security and operational challenges when hearing cases involving detainees imprisoned for TCO-related activities. Reliance on in-person hearings requires frequent inmate transport from detention facilities, creating elevated risks of escape, violence, intimidation of judicial personnel, and disruptions to proceedings. These risks contribute to hearing delays, case backlogs, and reduced judicial effectiveness at a time when TCO and FTO-related activity along the U.S.-Mexico border remains acute. The problem stems from limited access to secure, court-approved telepresence technology, uneven digital infrastructure, and procedural frameworks that have not adapted to evolving security threats. Addressing this issue is critical to ensure timely prosecution of high-impact cases.

This project will equip up to four state or federal judiciaries and their courtrooms in Mexico’s northern border states and the corresponding penitentiaries in those states or judicial districts with telepresence systems and secure digital communication platforms.