Mexican Cartels Are Using Drones for Drug Running Across The Border

Several of the unmanned aircrafts were taken down by Chihuahua state police this week.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images
A Texas National Guard soldier stands on patrol near the banks of the Rio Grande river at El Paso, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Mexican Cartels have gotten creative with smuggling operations, deploying drones to fly over the border and drop illegal drugs into neighboring El Paso.

Law enforcement officials in Mexico announced Thursday that officers had downed several of the unmanned aircraft in the mountainous region of Chihuahua state, which lies along the border of Texas and New Mexico, according to Border Report

Chihuahua Public Safety Director Gilberto Loya told reporters on Thursday that the takedown was part of efforts being made to prevent drug trafficking to America from Mexico’s “Golden Triangle” of drug production. Mr. Loya said the drones were launched from La Equis — The X — a monument erected at Juarez to symbolize the deaths from ongoing drug wars in the region.

“In the area of the (Big Red X) monument, they have been using drones to cross packages of drugs and drop them off on the other side,” he told reporters.

The monument is in the city’s Plaza de la Mexicanidad and lies only 100 yards south of the Rio Grande. The plaza has long been used as a landmark for migrants seeking to turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol Agents for asylum. The 200-foot-tall art installation can be seen across the river from El Paso.

U.S. officials confirmed to Border Report that they have also prevented drones from carrying drugs into Texas and New Mexico but stopped short of saying how many or what kind of drugs were being transported. 

Mr. Loya also said during Thursday’s press conference that the cartels have been using the drones to monitor police activity on both sides of the border while smuggling people across.

“We have seen that they are using drones to monitor Border Patrol officials, and they are using the drones as a guide to caravan the migrants into the United States,” he said.

Chihuahua state police will start working with the Mexican military to expand the hunt for cartel drones before the cross into America.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use