In recent years, criminal organizations in Mexico have significantly modernized their strategies for recruitment, drug trafficking, and fighting rival organizations. From using video games to lure new members to entering the world of cryptocurrency, cartels continue to evolve and expand their criminal enterprises.
Groups such as the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels have also invested heavily in drones, using them to launch attacks against rival organizations and monitor the movements of Mexican and U.S. agents near the border.
In a recent interview, a former member of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) described the recruitment and training process, as well as the operations within one of the cartel's elite units that serves Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as "El Mencho."
Identified by the alias "Lima," the man detailed the structure and methods behind the use of modified drones to advance cartel goals.
During the two-hour podcast episode, Lima said that after completing his training, he was selected to join the cartel's drone unit, a 15-member team based in remote, difficult-to-access camps hidden in the mountains.
According to his account, reported by Infobae México, the group known as Fuerzas Especiales Mencho operated drones originally designed for agricultural use. The CJNG then modified them to transport and drop explosive devices.
Lima added that the cartel used adapted commercial models capable of carrying large bombs over distances greater than 100 kilometers with up to five hours of battery life. He also claimed that, on some occasions, the materials used in the bombs had labels identifying them as property of the Mexican military.
Drone operators were ordered to strike rival groups, targeting vehicles and camps. In some cases, Lima said, the drones were also used against Mexican authorities.
The use of drones by criminal groups has grown rapidly and, according to U.S. officials, poses a growing threat to national security. Earlier this month, a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security warned that it is only a matter of time before cartels begin using drones to attack American personnel.
"It's just a matter of time until Americans or law enforcement agents are targeted," said Steven Willoughby, deputy director of the department's Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Echoing Lima's testimony, Willoughby said Mexican cartels already use drones on a daily basis to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the United States. He also warned that cartels are conducting what he described as "hostile surveillance" on law enforcement operations.
"During the last six months of 2024, over 27,000 drones were detected less than 500 meters from the southern border. Most were flying at an altitude above 120 meters," Willoughby said. That altitude exceeds the legal limit for civilian drones in both the United States and Mexico.
Lima also shared a phrase commonly used among members of the Fuerzas Especiales Mencho: "I let you be God," referring to the role of executioners who decide whether their enemies—or even fellow cartel members—live or die.
The Jalisco cartel is not the only group using this kind of technology.
In June, The Latin Times reported that La Mayiza, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by Ismael Zambada Sicairos, the son of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, had recently acquired government-grade drone-jamming equipment. According to the report, the group obtained the devices by exploiting legal loopholes and is using them to counter federal operations.
In northern Mexico, other criminal groups such as Los Salazar—one of the most violent factions of the Sinaloa Cartel—have used explosive-armed drones to terrorize residents and forcibly displace communities while searching for gold deposits.
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