The CIA sent drones to spy on drug cartels on a secret Mexican mission. They could be used for armed strikes, according to former and current officials.
The hidden missions made on the MQ-9 Reaper drone are sized up drug gangs and their labs across the US southern border as a precursor that could attempt to eliminate them by air, sources I told CNN.
Drone flights started under the Biden administration, a US official He told the New York Times.
According to CNN, CIA officials said, “Countering against Mexican and local drug cartels is a priority for the CIA as part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to end a serious threat from drug trafficking. . “director [John] Ratcliffe is determined to tackle the unique expertise of the CIA to counter this multifaceted challenge. ”
Drones flying to Mexico are currently unarmed, but are now running target precision strikes to match payloads, as the US regularly uses in conflicts in Iraq, Somalia and Syria. It can be easily adapted.
The Mexican government said it is monitoring the reported increase in US spy plane missions around the border.
“We can't rule out spies because we don't know exactly what was done. But they didn't violate national space,” Mexican Defense Minister Ricardo Trevira insisted last week on reporters. .
“The important thing here is the declaration we've always proposed,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to a press question about the rise in US flights through international airspaces near the country on Friday. And I think it's about them sharing information with the Mexican government.”
Mexico has stepped up its response to Trump administration's concerns over illegal fentanyl trade, attempting to deploy thousands of troops to the border this month to smuggle.
Since 2019, Trump has publicly sought the use of military force against violent drug cartels during his first term in which the US said it was ready for a “wage war” against the group.
“The cartels are so big and powerful that they sometimes need the troops to take down the troops,” he told reporters at the time.
Trump signed an executive order when he took office for his second term on January 20th, moving to designate such drug gangs as a foreign terrorist organization.
When asked by a reporter at the time whether to send special operations forces to the border, the president replied, “A strange thing has happened.”
Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz called for aggressive action against Mexican cartels and, while co-introducing the law in 2023, approved military force against such groups. Legislator.
Trump's Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses also said he is open to using power within Mexico.
“If you're dealing with something designated as a foreign terrorist organization that specifically targets Americans at our borders, all your options are on the table,” he recently told Fox News.
