"Austin Doctor, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the director of strategic initiatives at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center,
that the cartels primarily use drones near the border for surveillance purposes "to support their other illegal criminal activities, including smuggling of narcotics, smuggling of persons, firearms, and other illicit goods."Doctor noted the cartels have not used weaponized drones inside the U.S., but they do use them inside Mexico to target rival cartels."
Framing: assertive ·
First seen: 2026-08-28 ·
Last seen: 2026-08-28 ·
Spread: 1 articles