Drones are Weapons of War for Latin America’s Cartels

The battlefields of Ukraine and the Middle East are no longer the only places where drones are reshaping conflict. A disturbing new report from War on the Rocks warns that criminal organizations across Latin America, from Mexican cartels to Colombian insurgents, are rapidly adopting and innovating with drone technology, turning it into a powerful tool for smuggling, surveillance, and lethal attacks.

This isn’t just about using a simple quadcopter to spy. These groups are learning from global conflicts, developing their own unique tactics like fiber-optic guided drones and even integrating them with narco-submarines. It’s a terrifying evolution that is outpacing the ability of governments to respond.

From Battlefield to Cartel Turf

The transfer of knowledge is happening at an alarming rate. The report highlights how Mexican cartels are reportedly sending members to train in Ukraine’s International Legion, specifically to master the art of weaponized FPV drones. At the same time, there are allegations that Russia is providing similar training to Colombian militant groups.

The result is a rapid evolution in tactics. What started as simple surveillance has now morphed into sophisticated one-way attack drone missions, similar to what we’ve seen with Shahed drones. These groups are not just copying; they are innovating. The use of fiber-optic tethers, for example, allows them to guide a drone to a target over 10km away, making the signal impossible to jam.

As author Henry Ziemer warns, these criminal groups can refine and deploy new tactics in a matter of weeks, a speed that legacy government and military institutions simply cannot match.

The Narco-Sub and Other Innovations

The creativity of these criminal engineers is both impressive and chilling. In a stunning example of homegrown innovation, the Colombian navy recently busted a narco-submarine that was being piloted remotely using a drone and a Starlink satellite connection. This semi-submersible was capable of hauling tons of narcotics, almost completely undetected.

This is the new face of transnational crime. It’s a fusion of different technologies—drones, submersibles, and satellite internet—to create a powerful and resilient smuggling system.

In the jungles, Colombian insurgents are deploying FPV drones for precision strikes, learning from the swarm tactics perfected in Ukraine. They are weaponizing commercially available, DJI-like drones with explosive payloads, using them to attack military outposts and terrorize local populations.

The Double-Edged Sword of Innovation

This is the dark side of the drone revolution in its starkest form. The very things that make drones amazing for us—their accessibility, adaptability, and low cost—make them the perfect tool for non-state actors who operate outside the law.

The report urges the United States to work more closely with partners like Mexico and Colombia to track drone operators and develop effective counter-drone strategies. But the challenge is immense. The expertise to weaponize a drone is now widespread, and the hardware is available to anyone with a credit card.

DroneXL’s Take

As a Venezuelan living in Ecuador, this story hits incredibly close to home. I’m not just reading about a distant conflict; I’m reading about my own continent, my own region. The idea of cartels and insurgents adopting the brutal drone tactics from the war in Ukraine is a nightmare scenario, and it’s already happening.

“Real talk,” the ingenuity is hard not to notice from a technical standpoint. A Starlink-piloted narco-sub is something out of a James Bond movie. Fiber-optic guided drones that are immune to jamming are a brilliant, terrifying innovation. But this isn’t a movie. This is a wave of violence and instability that threatens to engulf communities and destabilize entire regions. The risk to innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of these new drone turf wars is immense.

The problem of drone weaponization is no longer confined to traditional warzones. It’s a global phenomenon, and it’s being adapted and refined by some of the most ruthless criminal organizations on the planet.

For us in the drone community, it’s a somber reminder of our responsibility. The technology we love is a powerful tool. In our hands, it creates beauty and solves problems. In the wrong hands, it becomes a weapon of terror. It reinforces the absolute necessity of advocating for responsible use, smart regulations, and effective security measures to keep this technology from falling into the darkest of hands.