Cartels Are Using Drones To Track Border Patrol, Officials Say: 'We See Them Every Day'

The use of covert drones along the U.S.-Mexico border has increased significantly over the past months, but not only among law enforcement. While stationing U.S. drones in Mexico has allowed for extended flight times to gather intel on drug cartels, new reports alos detail that the same technology (albeit a less sophisticated one) is now being used by criminal organizations in order to track the movement of U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Cartels and criminal organizations have started using drones to identify where authorities are and how they can manage illegal entries into the U.S., according to Border Report. "We are trying to identify exactly where they are to stop that tactic," Walter N. Slosar, interim Chief Agent of the Border Patrol's El Paso Sector told the outlet.

Slosar added that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in El Paso continue to work alongside Mexican agencies to tighten security on the ground, in the air and even under ground, as officials believe criminal groups have built cross-border tunnels following a Jan. 9 discovery of a quarter-mile long structure leading from Ciudad Juárez to Gate 28 of the U.S. border wall.

"We don't know if there is another tunnel or there is no other tunnels, but we are working every day to find out if there are. And if they exist, we will stop those illegal operations," Slosar said at a news conference.

As Border Report highlights, the Chihuahua-Texas border sector is not the only place where drones from criminal groups have been spotted. According to Border Patrol agent Diana Ibarra, CBP has discovered human smugglers are using drones to track down agents on patrol along the border between San Diego and Tijuana, arguing that the problem has become a trend.

"We've detected where they're just flying along on the south side of the border. We've also detected them when they fly north," Ibarra told Border Report.

Apart from tracking down their movements, criminal groups have also used drones to attack Border Patrol agents. Just last month, an alleged group of human smugglers linked to an undisclosed cartel exchanged gunfire with CBP agents as they tried to cross the border.

An internal memo from CBP suggested that cartels have reportedly been given "green light" to attack agents with explosive devices attached to drones and reminded agents to wear ballistic armors and use long firearms when performing their duties.