Drone Warfare in Mexico

Cartels drone wars are ramping up.

The Wrong People Just Got Their Hands on an Elite Drone Unit (msn.com)

One of Mexico’s most violent cartels has just created its own elite unit of drone operators, a highly trained group of sicarios dedicated to tweaking commercial drones and turning them into flying bombs to use against rival cartels and Mexican authorities, according to U.S.-based security analysts, Mexican officials, and cartel members who spoke with The Daily Beast.

The ruthless Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG for its Spanish acronym) began weaponizing commercial drones more than four years ago, according to researchers and Mexican authorities. The creation of specialized drone units, however, indicates that the cartel is shifting its drone operations into high gear.

“We began training as a group in 2021, but only this year we started operating,” a Jalisco Cartel New Generation member of the Operadores Droneros (Drone Operators), told The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity.

The group is mostly dedicated to finding and attacking rival cartels like Los Viagras, Knights Templar in Michoacán, and the Sinaloa Cartel in Jalisco, the cartel operator said.