Drug cartels fly explosive-laden drones near US border: report

Mexican drug cartels are using explosive-laden drones in an area just south of the U.S. southern border, raising concerns among the U.S. military and lawmakers.

Los Salazar, a cell of the notorious Sinaloa cartel, drops explosives on its rival cartel Los Pelones, just two miles from the U.S. border, the New York Post reports.

In March, Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the North American Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, told the Senate Defense Committee that more than 1,000 drones were crossing the U.S. border each month. Border agents told The Post that cartels were using drones to monitor U.S. law enforcement.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who in December 2023 along with House Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) urged the Department of Defense (DoD) to prevent Chinese drones from being equipped with American technology, has introduced an amendment to the NDAA that would require the DoD to take countermeasures against drones by creating a Counter Unmanned Aviation Systems (CUAS) task force, the Post reported.

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“Under the watch of Border Czar Kamala Harris, murderous drug cartels control the southern border and use drones to launch raids on territory within miles of the United States,” Ernst told The Post. “These thugs must be held accountable. That’s why I’m equipping the Pentagon to respond to these incursions with every possible means.”

The legislation would create a task force to combat unmanned aircraft systems (CUAS) and implement various reporting requirements for unmanned airstrikes in U.S. airspace.

Last December Ernst wrote: “The U.S. Department of Defense should not approve export control licenses for U.S. technology that enhances DJI’s capabilities, which are actively used by our adversaries in attacks on our allies and partners, from Eastern Europe to Israel.“

In April, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) stated in an op-ed:

The first problem is that our country does not have sufficient drone detection capabilities. We still rely on the early warning radars that served us so well during the Cold War. Today, however, they are unable to detect, identify, and track small aircraft at high and low altitudes. Within the United States, we can track little but commercial aircraft. Almost none of our domestic military bases have the sensors to identify small drones. … The United States must launch a broad overhaul of its detection capabilities and streamline its ability to respond once a threat is identified. …

As Iran’s attack on Israel demonstrated, our adversaries see drones as a cheap, lethal solution to penetrating the most sophisticated multi-layered air defenses. There’s no reason to think the challenge is limited to the skies over Iraq and Israel; it could threaten the United States, and fast. That means U.S. policymakers have no time to waste in generating a better blueprint for drone defense.