Texas Border: Cartel Drones vs US Cops along the Rio Grande
Mexican cartels keep watch over US officers activities through drones.
Images and video of a Mexican cartel flying drones to watch over US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) and US Border Patrol (USBP) activities around Laredo, Texas have recently surfaced on the internet.
Authorities along the Texas-Mexico border have been sounding the alarm about this for some time now.
In the past 31 days of 2023, there have been 1,937 Mexican Cartel drone incursions in three South Texas border counties,” -Sheriff "Benny" Martinez, Brooks Country, Texas
Gloria Chavez, the Chief Border Patrol Agent of the Rio Grande Valley sector told shocked congress members last year the numbers of cartel drones along her stretch of the border outnumber the drones available to her agents by 17-to-one.
The Air Force General in charge of U.S. Northern Command told a Senate Armed Services Committee in March that there are likely more than 1,000 incursions by unmanned aircraft systems along the U.S.-Mexico border each month.
"The number of incursions was something that was alarming to me as I took command last month." - Air Force General Gregory M. Guillot
The image above shows a Cartel del Noreste (CDN) drone operator's camera view of migrants being moved by one of its smuggling guides on the US side of the Rio Grande near Laredo. If the Border Patrol is spotted near the group the cartel can phone the guide to warn him to take evasive action.
That the CDN openly boasts of its drone operations by posting images on x.com isn't surprising. In July the cartel posted photos of its members kitted out in camouflage carrying heavy weapons and wearing bulletproof vests identifying them as members of "Operativa Texas" (Texas Operation).
In March Cartel Drone Operators in South Texas were watching a CBP helicopter when it crashed:
Bill Melugin of Fox News reported that the drone operators could be heard laughing about the fatal crash in footage they posted to social media:
The cartels use drones for more than surveillance. The unmanned aircraft are also used to move drugs from Mexico into Texas:
Last year a cartel drone being used in a drug smuggling attempt crashed in South Texas and was recovered by Border Patrol Agents.
The Border Patrol also has small hand-launched drones available for use by its agents to help them watch larger areas than they can cover by foot.
They can employ a variety of these small drones to keep tabs on their surroundings from fixed-wing "airplane-like" drones to the more familiar "quadcopter" design.
The problem is, for every drone U.S. Federal Agents have, their Mexican Cartel counterparts have far more.
What should be done to combat the Cartel Drones along the Texas-Mexico border?
Share your opinion in the comments to this article!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
