Mexico’s Cartel Drones are Eliminating their Competition

Mexico’s Cartels utilizing drones pose a huge risk not just for rival cartel members, but for civilians and security forces as well. Drone warfare is no longer something that only happens “over there-” typically referring to the ongoing conflicts in Europe.

Since Ukraine and Russia adopted quadcopters, Mexico’s cartel-related drone use has moved well beyond scouting and the occasional payload drop into a full-blown drone/electronic warfare environment.

Recent reporting and official testimony paint a picture of an innovation race where Cartel drone attacks, heavier agricultural platforms, and counter-drone gear are showing up more often and spreading faster than governments can adapt.

That matters for two reasons:

• First, it raises the risk level for people on the ground in Mexico; civilians, politicians, and security forces.
• Second, it is bleeding into the U.S. border conversation in a way that is getting lawmakers’ attention, especially as federal counter-drone authorities face a looming expiration.

FPV Drones Change the Problem from a “Drop” to “Directed” Munitions

A standard consumer quadcopter can observe, loiter, and drop a payload. FPV systems shift the tactic toward a more “directed” profile, flown through a live camera feed and used in a way that resembles what the world has watched in Ukraine.

Imagine telling a soldier that had been deployed to Afghanistan – fifteen years later we’ll have IED’s that fly and hunt you down until they reach their target.

They’re too agile to reliably shoot down with a rifle, and shotguns don’t have enough range to take them out in most cases. No amount of running or hiding will prevent them from reaching you, and they’ll also have other UAV’s on standby for surveillance.

That’s the reality of modern warfare – in under two decades, war has changed so drastically that we’ve come full circle, and the amount of drone-dropped munitions have turned many Ukranian cities and towns into hot-zones for trench warfare.

El País covers the fact that many Cartels are adopting FPV-style “kamikaze” drones and accelerating their learning cycle by borrowing tactics from conflict zones, and applying them to their Cartel. This is not just about having a drone. It is about using it in a way that is designed to overwhelm defenses and hit a target area with intent.

That trend is showing up alongside another escalation: electronic warfare. The same reporting describes the use of jammers and detection tools popping up with increasing frequency.

Heavy-Lift Drones Keep Popping Up For One Simple Reason

Heavy-lift drones, like the DJI FlyCart 100/30 or the DJI Agras series in some cases, are built to lift heavy payloads and operate in poor weather conditions. That’s why they continue to pop up in cartel reports – when the Cartels are moving heavy equipment, drugs, or firearms, there isn’t a better alternative out right now.

Researchers at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point have flagged agricultural spray platforms as a higher-risk type of commercial drone if repurposed by non-state operators. The point is not that ag drones are inherently “bad.” The point is that they are designed to carry heavy payloads, and that design can be misused in a way that poses a significant risk to the safety of the general public. The Mexican cartel CJNG has repurposed agricultural drones to carry explosives in the past.

The Data Point That Anchors The Escalation: Mexico’s Recorded Explosive Drone Attacks

This is not a one-off instance of drone warfare. According to SEDENA data cited in Mexican government legislative records, 605 attacks with drones carrying explosives were recorded from 2020 to mid-2023, rising sharply over that period. The trend line is moving in the wrong direction, and fast.

CSIS has also published a region-wide analysis arguing Latin America is not prepared to counter criminal drone use, and it frames criminal drone innovation as something that can scale quickly while governments struggle with authority, equipment, and coordination.

The U.S. Border: 60,000 Detected Flights in Six Months

Steven Willoughby, deputy director of DHS’s counter-UAS program, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that federal authorities detected 60,000 drone flights just south of the U.S. border from early July through the end of December 2024, involving 27,000 unique drones.

According to the DHS director, drones are used “nearly every day” by different criminal organizations to conduct surveillance of US law enforcement officers.

DroneXL’s Take

For legitimate drone operators, this story matters even if it feels far away. Every mainstream headline about weaponized drones increases political pressure, and that pressure rarely lands solely on the criminals. It can land on hobbyists, agriculture operators, public safety teams, and professional drone operators who abide by the law too.

The best outcome is a targeted counter-drone policy that focuses on credible threats, keeps authorities clear, and avoids turning compliance-minded operators into collateral damage. Until the framework for that outcome is in place, governments will continue to stay far behind the current industry trends, use-cases, and criminal applications.

If you can think of a roadmap that the US government could begin to implement, let me know in the comments down below – our country greatly needs to get ahead of this threat if we ever hope to be prepared for an attack on home-soil.