At the Counter UAS Homeland Security Europe 2024 conference, Assistant Chief Patrol Agent J. Michael Douglas, Director of Training for SUAS C-UAS at the U.S. Border Patrol, shed light on the growing challenge of cartel-operated drones along the US-Mexico border. Joined by Intelligence Research Specialist Sara Tijerina Quezada, the duo painted a picture of evolving threats, including how cartels are increasingly using drones for surveillance and smuggling operations.
Douglas outlined how the once-innocuous drone technology has become a strategic tool for cartels, stating that “the adversary is ahead of us, they’re a couple of steps ahead,” when it comes to using drones to monitor U.S. law enforcement and coordinate their illicit activities. He explained that cartels use drones to survey border patrol movements, guiding human smugglers and narcotics traffickers based on where U.S. agents are located.
The key challenges
One of the key challenges Douglas highlighted is the cat-and-mouse game that is taking place between law enforcement and cartels.
“We have persistent surveillance capabilities and we do have some mobile mitigation kit,” Douglas explained. “But we have to strategically place it in certain areas because we don’t have a whole lot of it, we don’t have endless funding.”
The limitations in funding and equipment often force the Border Patrol to take a more mobile, tactical approach rather than deploying fixed mitigation solutions across the entire border. There is currently a need for more agile and adaptive solutions to deal with the rapidly changing threat environment.
Quezada offered further insight into the threats posed by cartel drones, particularly the increase in drones carrying explosives. She warned that the cartel group La Familia Michoacana had openly boasted on social media about receiving training from Chinese drone manufacturer DJI, indicating an escalation in both their drone capabilities and their potential use against U.S. agents.
“Although their intention is to use it against their adversaries, the likelihood of them utilising this against us is quite high in the future,” Quezada explained.
The worrying rise in drone-related incidents in Mexico – from 16 in 2022 to over 260 in 2023 – has prompted heightened concern among U.S. border officials, especially since some incidents occurred as close as four kilometres from the Arizona border.
One of the most pressing challenges for the Border Patrol, as highlighted by Douglas, is the limited authority granted to law enforcement for counter-UAS operations. Under current regulations, only four agencies within the Department of Homeland Security are authorised to conduct counter-drone missions, including the US Border Patrol.
This limitation not only slows research and development but also hinders operational readiness, as fewer personnel are able to gain hands-on experience. Douglas also mentioned the difficulties of mitigating threats in urban environments where radio frequency RF interference hampers drone detection and mitigation systems.
“We learned the hard lessons, we’re not getting the range that we were getting because of the RF interference,” he said, emphasising the need for refined strategies in complex environments.
Crédito da imagem da publicação: Alfândega e Proteção das Fronteiras dos EUA
