Donald Trump is ramping up secret CIA drone flights over Mexico as he takes aim at violent foreign drug cartels.
The existence of the drone program has never been disclosed before, although it began under the Biden administration, U.S. officials told the New York Times.
One official disclosed that the expansion of drone flights under Trump is seeing them going ‘well into sovereign Mexico.’
Boosting the usage of drones to surveil Mexican drug cartels’ operations is a quick way for Trump to make good on his campaign promise to ‘wage war on the cartels’ for smuggling deadly fentanyl into the U.S.
In the first days of his second term Trump signed an executive order to crack down on the cartels by labeling them foreign terrorist threats, a move that will make it easier for his administration to target the criminal gangs.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has already said he and Trump are open to using military force within Mexico.
Hegseth revealed ‘all options will be on the table if we’re dealing with what are designated to be foreign terrorist organizations who are specifically targeting Americans on our border.’
CIA Director John Ratcliffe has reportedly told agents that more resources will be shifted towards counternarcotics missions to disrupt the cartels’ operations.
However, the CIA has not been authorized to use the drones for lethal actions, an official confirmed, adding they do not believe the technology will be used to carry out airstrikes.
As it stands, the drones are used by CIA agents within Mexico to gather intelligence on cartel operations. This information is then passed to Mexican officials.
A drone operator of a UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) platoon of the U.S. Army 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, stands near a Ghost-X helicopter surveillance drone during the Combined Resolve 25-1 military exercises at the Hohenfels Training Area in Bavaria on February 3, 2025 near Hohenfels, Germany
The U.S. is increasing its drone surveillance operations over Mexico, U.S. officials have said. The push comes after Donald Trump moved to label cartels as terrorist groups and a campaign full of promises to address the criminal rings south of the U.S. border
Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) pose for a photo at an undisclosed location, in Michoacan state, Mexico, October 15, 2022
Already the drones have been used as crucial tools to identify fentanyl labs, according to those familiar with the program.
Fentanyl labs, which can be set up in remote or urban areas, emit chemicals which are detected by the drones’ array of advanced sensors.
Modern artificial intelligence-enabled drones are capable of loitering in designated areas to monitor who comes and goes from such drug labs, when ingredient shipments come in, and when drug shipments go out.
They are also capable of relaying the intelligence gathered to command posts in real time to enable officials to make law enforcement decisions, like whether to raid a lab should a specific target be identified.
During the Biden administration Mexican authorities were slow in taking action based on intelligence gathered by U.S. drones, an official disclosed to the Times.
However, they did use the intelligence gathered on the cartels to make arrests later.
The U.S. military has also been using drones and aircraft to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border for cartel activity.
According to a senior military official that spoke to the Times, the military has carried out over two dozen surveillance flights near the border.
In addition to the surveillance flights, U.S. Northern Command announced in a statement earlier this month that a team of 140 intelligence analysts have been deployed to ‘bolster security at the United States southern border.’
‘These intelligence personnel will provide full motion video analysis, counter network analysis, and Spanish language translation to the U.S. Border Patrol Office of Intelligence,’ the statement said.
Modern drones come equipped with an array of sensors to detect humans and chemical emissions
The U.S. military has said they are using drones in addition to aircraft to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border
‘The Department of Defense continues to, along with Customs and Border Protection, fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, information analysis, transportation, and supply chain support,’ it continued.
Speaking before the Senate last week Northern Command leader Gen. Gregory M. Guillot noted his analysts are providing intel that ‘gets after the cartel networks that drive the production and distribution of fentanyl and pushes it across the border.’
Guillot testified that the intelligence gathered by his team has been passed to Mexican officials to enable them to ‘address the cartel violence in terms of sending more troops.’
His intelligence gathering operations have made ‘rapid progress against this threat,’ he told lawmakers.
