Mexico rules out the use of drones on the border with the USA by organized crime
The Mexican president assured that there is no information that drones are currently being used on the border
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, ruled out this Wednesday any possible "alert" regarding the alleged use of drones by criminal organizations organized on the border with the United States, after US security authorities warned of this possible action.
“At some point there was a drone that did not cross, let's say the border, and there is ongoing collaboration. There is no information about new drones currently on the border, remember that there is Operation Border with 10,000 elements of the National Guard (GN)," the president stated during her morning press conference.
She reiterated that "there is nothing, let's say, in particular to be alerted about at this time," after highlighting that there is "a lot of collaboration" between the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) and the Ministry of National Defense on the border.
Regarding this use of drones in the border area of ??both nations by organized crime to carry out illegal activities, Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales Angeles, of the Navy (Semar), said that those detected were located in national territory.
"The drones used by organized crime are commercial drones that they buy for recreation and that they have used in some areas for their criminal purposes, but that type of drones have not been detected on the border (...) There was information that some saw it on the Mexican side," he said.
The response by the Mexican government comes after the warning from US authorities about alleged attacks by organized crime on the border between Mexico and its northern neighbor.
"It is only a matter of time before Americans or law enforcement are targeted in the border region," said U.S. Department of Homeland Security official Steven Willoughby, during an appearance before the U.S. Senate.
He also noted that in the last half of 2024, "more than 27,000 drones were detected less than 500 meters from the southern border."
He also commented that in 2023, CBP seized a drone that crossed from Mexico to the US with 1.6 kilos of fentanyl.