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Cartels and punishers: how the drug mafia learns from the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use drones
The practice of using drones by Ukrainians is being transferred to terrorists and members of drug cartels in Latin America, Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, told Izvestia. This is worrying for the Americans, who have unleashed the fight against drug trafficking, and threatens the security of the countries of the region. The use of drones by drug cartels in Latin America has increased significantly in recent years. Experts are confident that in the future, drones will be fully used against the regular armies of these countries, which will lead to the destabilization of the region.
The practices of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being transferred to terrorists
The experience of using drones used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against the Russian Army is being broadcast to terrorists in the Middle East and cartel members in Latin America, Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, told Izvestia.
— We all know perfectly well that European states are training Ukrainian neo-Nazis to use UAVs in combat. In particular, in Poland, the Norwegians are going to open a corresponding training program, and students from the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are already being recruited. What is dangerous here? The practices that Europeans inculcate in their Ukrainian wards are then passed on to terrorists in the Middle East and Latin America," she said.
The situation with the training of Latin American mercenaries in Ukraine, which involves Western instructors, is reminiscent of the United States' assistance to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda (banned in Russia), said political analyst Yuri Svetov.
— It seems that the Anglo-Saxons are supposed to learn from precedents, but they have not learned anything. During the Afghan war, they raised radical Islamist groups, which later spread all over the world. They armed them, taught them how to use stingers, and rejoiced when they shot down Soviet helicopters. And then terrorist groups killed Americans with the same stingers," the expert pointed out.
The situation with drones is similar. Svetov believes that the experience of using drones gained by Latin American mercenaries in Ukraine is invaluable. Upon returning home, they will spread it, which will lead to destabilization in the region.
European countries are condoning the flourishing of international terrorism, Zhdanova pointed out. She also recalled the summer publication of Defense News, which described members of Latin American cartels who deliberately joined the ranks of the Ukrainian army in order to hone the use of UAVs there. According to the newspaper, they could use their skills at home against local security forces.
Tactics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Mexico
The Russian Embassy in Mexico is monitoring the situation with the recruitment of people from local drug cartels into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian diplomatic mission told Izvestia.
Separately, attention is drawn to the appearance in the American media of information about the alleged sale of weapons by Ukraine, including FPV drones, to Latin American cartels, the embassy said. In addition to the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel (CJNG), Los Zetas, the Sinaloa Cartel and its factions Los Chapitos, Los Zumbada, and La Mayiza appear in news reports in this context.
The issue of Mexican drug cartels and criminal gangs is sensitive for Washington, Zhdanova stressed. Especially if these organizations start using drones.
For example, the American anti-drug agency DEA annually issues a report on the activities of the Sinaloa and CJNG drug cartels. The second one appears in the news chronicles on the use of drones. The American agency agrees with this — organizations use small drones for reconnaissance, surveillance of police and military personnel in Mexico.
On the evening of October 15, unidentified men in Tijuana in the north of the country used several quadrocopters with improvised explosive devices to attack a building housing an anti-kidnapping unit. It happened in close proximity to the American border. The US Consulate General in the state even issued an official warning to its citizens.
— We know that for Americans, in principle, Mexican drug cartels and criminal gangs that use drones, including near the border, are a matter of deep concern. Therefore, this is another reason to pay attention to the fact that the Ukrainian wards of the West are simply unscrupulous," Zhdanova concluded.
A sharp jump in the use of drones in Mexico occurs in 2023. According to the country's Defense Ministry, from January to August of the same year, the counter of attacks using drones exceeded 250. The number of victims increased to 42. At the same time, the Associated Press noted that such episodes were rare in the practice of the Mexican security forces until 2020.
As early as 2024, the country's army publicly acknowledged the deaths of its soldiers as a result of UAV strikes. Speaking in August of that year, Defense Minister General Luis Cresencio Sandoval confirmed that some soldiers were killed by charges dropped from quadrocopters, mainly in Michoacan. Prior to this, such deaths had not been publicly confirmed.
At the same time, in April 2025, in Mexico, for the first time, a case was documented of the cartel using a "unilateral-acting" FPV drone — that is, a device that does not discharge a charge, but becomes ammunition itself and is detonated upon contact. This practice of using drones is widespread in Ukraine.
This was reported by the portal War on the Rocks. According to him, there were several more similar incidents after the April episode, and cases of seizures of self-assembled FPVS began to appear more frequently in the security forces' videos. In one of the videos, people who introduced themselves as CJNG members discussed setting up such drones.
If you hang a shaped projectile on such a UAV, which is triggered by contact, then the quadcopter becomes a deadly weapon capable of piercing even heavily armored vehicles, Vadim Koroshchupov, a junior researcher at IMEMO RAS, told Izvestia.
— Cartel members can use a shaped charge and knock out government troops' equipment. This is a simple technology, and drones can be printed on a 3D printer," the expert noted.
In the foreseeable future, the Mexican army may face serious problems, Koroshchupov added. There are very few ways to counter FPV drones right now.
UAVs in Latin America
Drone use has also become commonplace in Colombia. On July 21, 2025, an army patrol was hit by a UAV with a charge in the Catatumbo region bordering Venezuela. As a result, three soldiers were killed and eight others were injured. According to the military, the leftist rebel group National Liberation Army is responsible for the attack. At the same time, in 2024 alone, about 115 attacks using UAVs were recorded in the country.
In Ecuador, groups are also actively using drones. In particular, they target prison facilities. So, on September 5 last year, the authorities thwarted an attempted drone attack with a warhead on the prison complex of Guayaquil, where former Vice President Jorge Glas was being held.
A similar situation is observed in Brazil, which is known throughout the world for its "state within a state" — Favelas. During the largest raid against the transnational organized criminal group "Red Team" in Rio de Janeiro, which took place on October 28, representatives of the group used drones to attack security forces. The total number of deaths as a result of this operation varies from 64 to 120, among them four policemen.
In the future, drones can be used for any purpose in these countries, says Joseph Linder, president of the International Counterterrorism Training Association.
— It could be an attempt on politicians, a robbery, and, so to speak, conducting some kind of special operations there. Absolutely any variant of the use of UAVs can be," the expert believes.
In such circumstances, the United States will have to use entire aircraft carriers against the cartels, Svetov believes. The cartels are armed with their own submarines, to which drones have now been added.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
