Monster Trucks in Mexico: The Zetas Armor Up
[Teaser:] The appearance of armored vehicles on the battlefield represents a significant shift in cartel tactics.
Summary
Over the last year, six “up-armored” dump trucks and heavy-duty conventional trucks have been found in northern and southwestern Mexico, mainly in areas controlled by Los Zetas. The discoveries have suggested a trend in the drug war toward a more armored form of warfare, but this tactical evolution -- if that’s what it is -- is still in its most rudimentary phase. Their ingenuity notwithstanding, Los Zetas appear to be the only Mexican cartel experimenting with the platform, which has yet to prove its tactical worth. It does, however,suggest an ever-deepening cartel conflict.
Analysis
The escalation of the drug war in Mexico has long been measured by body count, which has grown consistently each year since the conflict began to intensify. Most observers consider this turning point to have been in December 2006, when newly inaugurated President Felipe Calderon deployed federal troops to the state of Michoacan. But there have been other milestones in the drug war, mainly in the introduction of weaponry and tactics that have made the conflict look more and more like a full-blown insurgency. Rocket-propelled grenades, improvised explosive devices, .50-caliber sniper rifles -- all have represented transitions in the conflict, when innovative cartel tacticians have expended money, time and thought on new ways to move drugs or defend or seize territory.
Now we have “up-armored” vehicles, which are starting to show up in northern and southwestern Mexico, mainly in areas controlled by Los Zetas. Over the last year, six fully steel-clad dump trucks and heavy-duty conventional trucks have been found in Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Jalisco states, largely in the aftermath of cartel shootouts. The first was an armored Mack dump truck, dubbed “El Monstruo,” or The Monster, which was discovered in Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas, on June 30, 2010. For 10 months, El Monstruo was the only known example of this tactical evolution until Mexican authorities found five more armored trucks in rapid succession in May and June 2011. Two monstruos discovered in Ciudad Mier, Tamaulipas, and Santa Maria de Los Angeles, Jalisco, built on Ford F-550 “Super Duty” truck chasses (or the equivalent class of truck from Dodge or Chevrolet), were smaller than the original El Monstruo. Then two more modified dump trucks were seized by the Mexican military during a raid on a large fabrication shop in Camargo, Tamaulipas. The most recent discovery was a monstruo in Progreso, Coahuila, built on another F-550-type chassis.
In analyzing the introduction of armored vehicles in the Mexican drug war, STRATFOR thought it worthwhile to identify the strengths, weaknesses and potential value of these vehicles in cartel operations. Not surprisingly, the cartel monstruos that have appeared so far are neither stealthy, swift nor agile, but they can withstand more punishment than unarmored vehicles and they do reflect a certain level of ingenuity. And while there are no cartels other than Los Zetas and their associates, as far as we can tell, that are going to such lengths in deploying armored vehicles, other cartels will likely follow suit.
Traditional “armored cars” such as limousines, Jeeps and Suburbans typically associated with executive or dignitary protection are nothing new in Mexico. Many are also used by cartels to transport high-ranking leaders with a certain degree of anonymity. The armored trucks we’re discussing here, however, are much unusual in appearance, size and purpose. The discovery of these vehicles over the past year, virtually all in the last couple of months, indicates that the cartels are increasingly using such vehicles in their tactical operations.
The fact remains that no amount of armor, however sophisticated, will protect the occupants of a vehicle if something stops it in the kill zone (“on the X”). In the case of these Zeta vehicles, they would protect their occupants from lightly armed municipal and state law enforcement personnel or rival cartel gunmen, and this is not insignificant; the better-armed military units are few and far between compared tothe local police. Still, there are many variables that could stop these vehicles in their tracks, including rough terrain, mechanical malfunction and heavier armor-piercing munitions.
Before we dive into the details, it’s important to note that we began our comparative analysis almost a year ago by gathering and reviewing photographs and specifications from government sourcesand using the first El Monstruo found in Miguel Aleman as our benchmark prototype. STRATFOR has not obtained any actual measurements of the Zeta trucks in question nor have we had direct access to them. Our analysis is based solely on media reports, input from STRATFOR sources, government information, educated estimates and informed extrapolations.
Strengths
The first known example of the Mexican monstruo, the modified Mack dump truck found in Miguel Aleman last summer, is a tandem-axle dump truck with a 10-cubic-yard dump box. The primary prerequisite of any armored vehicle is that it must be capable of handling the extra weight of the armor, and a dump-truck chassis is very well suited to for this. Elements added to the manufactured design include closable firing ports with hinged or sliding steel platesand plates welded in place inside the engine compartment and surrounding the external fuel tanks.On the two Camargo dump trucks, fabricators took the extra step of placing the tanks in the interior compartment. All three of the dump-truck variants have steel slats or louvers shielding the radiators, providing a level of protection from most small-caliber bullets while allowing air to flow through the radiators. Drivers are protected by windows made of ballistic glass rather than simple openings in the steel plate.
Efforts to protect the wheels and tires are also well thought-out. The entire undercarriage of the Miguel Aleman prototype is shielded with one-half-inch steel plate extending almost to the ground, with sliding plates hung at the bottom of the fixed plates on the outside of the tires, allowing the tires to be covered to the ground. This protects the lowest portions of the tires from smaller-caliber bullets while effectively “floating” over rough terrain. This solution was a good answer to a common tactical problem, though it was not repeated in any of the other monstruos found to date.
The two Camargo dump trucks seized in June 2011 have a new and very useful addition to the front bumper that was not found on the Miguel Aleman prototype. Rather than a stout but flat bumper for pushing or ramming, each of the two Camargo trucks has a heavy reinforced wedge added to the bumper, which provides more efficient breaching capabilities. We would expect this tool to be employed in breaking through barricades, checkpoints or building or perimeter walls and would come in handy during a prison break or the storming of a rival cartel compound.
The need for reliable communications was also a consideration in the monstruo modifications. As anyone with a cell phone knows, a weak cellular signal makes calls intermittent. The Miguel Aleman monstruo, in particular, displayed significant foresight in addressing the tactical need for effective communications among Los Zetas operatives. Four boxes are attached to the truck’s mirror brackets, two on each side, with an antenna on the passenger side. A STRATFOR source determined that the boxes are cell-signal booster/repeaters and probably the type and model pictured above. Why four? Our research indicated that there are four main cellular-service providers in Mexico, which likely would correspond with the number of booster/repeaters on that truck. (It is not likely that all of the cartel foot soldiers and leaders would subscribe to the same service, if for no other reason than operational security.) The booster/repeaters amplify the cellular signal, giving occupants of the truck and anyone within line-of-sight more reliable communications for coordinating activities in remote areas where the cellular signal is spotty.
Weaknesses
Now we turn to los monstruos’ weaknesses, which so far seem to outweigh their strengths. With the exception of the original El Monstruo prototype, there was no other effort to protect the vehicles’ tires, nor is there evidence that any of the monstruos were fielded with tactical-grade “run-flat” tires. As manufactured, such tires have an internal structure that prevents them from beingcompletely deformed if they are punctured, allowing the vehicle to retain mobility (in effect, the release of the tire’s air pressure does not result in a flat tire). There are several cost-effective ways to make standard tires more resistant to punctures by bullets or spikes, but these do-it-yourself retrofits will not retain their shape if the rubber is burned and melted. As indicated by the two F-550-type vehicles discovered in May in Ciudad Mierand Santa Maria de Los Angeles, flat conventional tires stopped both vehiclessquarely in the kill zone, making them sitting ducks.
Even a steel plate well-positioned outside of the wheel wells only mitigates this vulnerability, for a .50-caliber round will efficiently perforate the steel plate andprobably the tire as well. Furthermore, a true run-flat tire, even one shielded by a 2-inch-thick steel plate, will not remain in place, intact and functional, if it is hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), a 40mm grenade or an improvised explosive device (IED) -- all of which exist in cartel arsenals. And, of course, it doesn’t take military-grade munitions to deflate conventional tires. U.S. law enforcement agencies report that drug smugglers known to work for the Gulf cartel often throw out dozens of small four-pointed spikes (called “caltrops”) on the U.S. side of the border when they are being pursued by the authorities, and these spikes are very effective at stopping vehicles.Caltrops are simple to make, light in weight and easy to deploy. Perhaps anticipating the caltrop potential, makers of the Progreso monstruo came up with an odd-looking solution: dual wheels on the front axle.
Even some of the monstruos’ strengths have weaknesses. The use of ballistic glass definitely offers more protection than ordinary glass. Because details on these specific vehicles remain spotty, we have technical information on the grade of ballistic glass for only the monstruo seized in Progreso. According to Mexican media reports, that vehicle has level-5 ballistic glassin a grade range from 1 to 7 (the higher the number the greater the protection). While guarding against gunshots, however, ballistic glass is rendered opaque when it is hit by bullets, and an RPG will penetrate without any difficulty at all. Regardless of the type of glass found in the Zeta armored trucks, it is apparent that there are significant blind spots in all of the vehicles found so far. Due to the small viewing/shooting ports on the sides and backs of the vehicles,occupants have severely degraded fields of view and therefore limited situational awareness, which can be a fatal flaw.
Regarding vehicle mobility,this is dictated by original vehicle type, transmission (how easily and quickly the gears can be shifted) and the weight of the armor. The three smaller F-550-type monstruos will have a higher acceleration rate, tighter turning radius and lower profile than the larger dump trucks. None of them, though, can be viewed as fast or particularly capable of navigating rough off-road terrain. The lower center of gravity and lighter weights of the smaller monstruos give them more maneuverability on steep or loose terrain (all three of the smaller monstruos are four-wheel-drive), but this advantage is offset to some degree by their lower ground clearance.And while the wheel diameters and chassis configurations of the three dump-trucks give them much higher ground clearance, they lack four-wheel-drive and have a very high center of gravity, which makes them vulnerable to roll-overs. With the weight of truck, armor and cargo, the dump-truck monstruos would likely sink into sand or mud if forced off of pavement or compacted ground.
Another vulnerability of these vehicles is found in their undercarriages. Because the original vehicles were not designed or manufactured to be armor-shielded, the various components of the undercarriages -- drive shaft, axles, tie rods, suspension -- are not arranged closely enough together or tucked snuggly enough within the trucks’ frames for the undercarriages to be armored and still provide sufficient ground clearance. For that reason, effective shielding beneath the vehicles is not possible -- at least not without significantly more modifications than the Zeta fabrication shops apparently have been able to provide so far.
It is also important to note that the steel plate used to shield the monstruos is not military-grade armor but commercial-grade steel plate.The vehicular armor being installed in Zeta fabrication shops is not like that found on military armored vehicles -- tanks and personnel carriers -- all of which are protected by sophisticated alloys with high-density ballistic resistance. The commercial-grade steel on the modified Zeta dump trucks appears to range from the 2-inch-thick steel plate reportedly used on some areas of the Miguel Aleman vehicle to thereported 1-inch plate on both Camargo vehicles. A rough estimate of the square footage of steel plate used to armor the more boxy Camargo dump truck comes to about 626 square feet, which includes the floor(not visible in any of the photos),the steel plate surrounding the engine compartment and the bumper and wedge. One-inch steel plate weighs 40.8 pounds per square foot, which means the armor cladding that particular dump truck would weigh about 25,500 pounds.
As for the other Camargo vehicle, the dump boxappears armored on the inside, and there is similar armor shielding within the engine compartment and interior of the cab, where it appears that somewhat less steel plate was used. A rough estimate on the weight of the armor for that truck, based upon approximately 553 square feet of steel used, came to 22,560 pounds. That much weight is supported easily by the trucks’ originally engineered infrastructure, but the costs are high -- painfully slow acceleration, minimal speed or maneuverability (relative to unarmored vehicles) and extremely limited utility off-road.
Industrial “heavy lift” chasses, such as those of the tandem-axle dump trucks retrofitted in Miguel Aleman and Camargo, are engineered to have a “working payload capacity” (meaning the quantity of cargo a dump truck can carry above the vehicle’s own weight and that of its fuel supply) of 30,000 to 42,000 pounds. The wide range is accounted for by the manufacturers’ size and model variations. That means that the manufactured axles, suspensions and chasses of these trucks are perfectly capable of handling the estimated 25,500 pounds of armor plus the added weight of up to 20 gunmen with weapons, ammunition and gear (another 4,000 to 5,000 pounds).
Unlike the modified dump trucks, the three smaller monstruos are not capable of carrying the weight of 1-inch or thicker armor. Putting that much weight on an F-550-type chassis would negate its maneuverability and likely result in broken axles or suspension after negotiating the first stretch of rough road.So the three armored F-550s, as the photographs suggest, are likely clad in half-inch plate, which weighs 20.4 pounds per square foot. Half-inch steel is fairly effective in stopping 7.62x39mm and 5.56x45mm rounds, which is the common assault-rifle ammunition used by the Mexican cartels and military, and though that thicknesswill not stop those same calibers if they are armor-piercing rounds,the design of the smaller monstruoscould deflect such rounds because the steel is angled rather than perpendicular. It is not known to what extent armor-piercing ammunition is issued to the Mexican military or available to the cartels, but cartel accessibility to that type of ammunition cannot be ruled out.
But the half-inch plate on the three smaller monstruos(with perhaps some 1-inch armor in certain critical places) is still good enough. These retrofitted armored trucks are not intended to be impervious or invincible. They are meant to move fairly quickly over roads andrelatively smooth terrainand to protect their occupants against the small-arms fire commonly encountered in a typical firefight. A conservative estimate of the amount of steel used for each of these vehicles might be 350 to 375 square feet. If these vehicles were armored only with half-inch plate, that would put the weight of the armor alone in the range of 7,140 to 7,650 pounds per vehicle. A full compliment of shooters in one vehicle -- 10 to 12 gunmen, say, plus a driver and maybe a navigator riding shotgun -- as well as weapons and ammunition would add another 2,500 to 3,000 pounds, which means that one of the smaller monstruos likely would be carrying a total payload of at least 9,600 to 10,600 pounds. Certainly, the heavy-duty F-550 chasses can handle that much weight, since the manufacturer’s specifications indicate a maximum working payload of 12,000 pounds.