Cartels Employ Drones for Border Surveillance, Smuggling Operations

Mexican cartels are increasingly utilizing commercial and modified drones to surveil U.S. security personnel, map patrol routines, and support smuggling corridors along the southern border. This trend has prompted expanded efforts by authorities to disable the aircraft.

The U.S. military detected 378 drone incursions along the border within a recent 30-day period, according to Brig. Gen. Brian Filler of Joint Task Force-Southern Border. He noted that this number is rising and that the drones are typically commercial models equipped with cameras for surveillance linked to smuggling and human trafficking.

"On the border, the most common application is surveillance and reconnaissance as cartels look to establish a pattern of life for U.S. security personnel and support smuggling outcomes across the border," said Austin Doctor, who directs strategic initiatives at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center and teaches criminology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson confirmed the escalating threat, stating that "Rapidly advancing Unmanned Aircraft System technology presents persistent threats, including counter-surveillance, illicit cargo movement, and potential kinetic attacks. Cartels increasingly exploit UAS for surveillance, illicit activities, monitoring law enforcement, scouting crossing points and coordinating smuggling operations. CBP detected over 42,000 near-border UAS flights in FY25 and over 37,000 in FY26, underscoring the scale of this challenge." The spokesperson added that the Department of Homeland Security has approved Counter-UAS authorities for CBP under congressional authority, allowing U.S. Border Patrol C-UAS operations to cover the entire Southwest border and extend 100 miles inland for detection, identification, monitoring, and tracking of UASs.

Doctor explained that while most cartels rely on readily available commercial drones, more sophisticated aircraft are emerging, including larger agricultural drone models. "Cartels continue to innovate their drone designs, often focused on increasing payload sizes, improving resistance to countermeasures and boosting operational capabilities," he said.

While surveillance and logistics are the primary uses at the border, weaponized drone use is more frequently documented inside Mexico. Doctor identified the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) as a significant driver of drone innovation and adoption within the cartel ecosystem, though drone use has become widespread among various cartels and across Mexican states.

A 2025 seizure in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, revealed the extent of these operations, where soldiers and police detained a man and seized 18 drones, 151 explosive objects, two improvised explosive devices, a drone detector, and three counter-drone devices. This safehouse was reportedly linked to the Los Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel.

Weaponized drones have also been deployed in a Mexican border city. In October 2025, a drone dropped homemade explosive devices at an anti-kidnapping prosecutor’s office in Tijuana, causing damage but no injuries. Authorities described the incident as criminal retaliation.

Mexico is responding with interdictions, counter-drone equipment, military operations, and new criminal penalties. In October 2025, Mexico's National Guard officers guarded the area around a prosecutor's office after a drone attack in Playas de Tijuana. A drone attack hit the prosecutor's office in the Mexican city of Tijuana on the US border, a key hub for drug trafficking, authorities said without identifying the suspected assailants.

Mexico made certain drone-related conduct a federal crime in 2024, including dropping explosives, adapting aircraft to carry weapons or drugs, and surveilling public officials. Earlier this month, Mexico deployed 500 soldiers and National Guard members, two helicopters, drones, and counter-drone systems in five Tamaulipas municipalities.

A Department of War spokesperson stated that Joint Task Force-Southern Border, CBP, and the Department of Homeland Security employ layered monitoring and detection systems to "observe, evaluate and, if needed, engage threats."

It remains unclear how many cartel-operated drones are active or which groups control them, and the effectiveness of Mexico's countermeasures is still being assessed. Doctor cautioned that while increased counter-drone resources are important, "it is almost certain that cartels will continue to innovate and adapt."