According to a report by the Daily Star, members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) had dropped chemical agents using drones on the municipality of Coahuayana, located in the western Mexican state of Michoacan. The tabloid added that based on this incident, CJNG has updated the arsenal used in its attacks in Michoacan.
During the early hours of April 3, more than 100 heavily armed gunmen belonging to the cartel entered the municipality and took the three towns of Zapotan, Palos Marias and El Organo. The Michoacan-based Apatzingan Human Security Observatory said the CJNG then deployed the drones that threw "explosive bombs of C4 and asphyxiant chemicals." Residents of the the three towns suffered bodily harm and were displaced from their homes as a result.
While the chemical compounds used by CJNG against the population of the three towns weren't disclosed, reports from the Mexican magazine Proceso indicate that the substances can cause suffocation, itching and "stinging in the respiratory tract." Several injuries from firearms and poisoning from chemical explosives were reported following the April 3 attacks. Local, state and federal authorities in Mexico were asked to intervene in the aftermath of the attacks. (Related: Mexican drug cartels are behind surge in organized retail crime across the US.)
This was not the first time drones were used for an offensive purpose in Mexico's cartel wars. Back in 2021, a drone dropped a gunpowder bomb on Mexican police in the town of El Aguaje, also in Michoacan state. Both incidents underscore an alarming trend in the ongoing battle against drug cartels – the weaponization of drones.
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Drones used by drug cartels have become more LETHAL
CJNG and its rival Carteles Unidos (CU) are already arming themselves with drone technology to bring in more drugs to the U.S. and liquidate rivals. One drone operator with CU revealed that his organization has about 100 drones. He added that cartel members receive training on their use from a man nicknamed "Lord of the Skies."
"He's been training us since last year," the cartel member said. "We have many drone models. They're not too sophisticated but can carry a considerable amount of explosives."
Dr. Robert J. Bunker, director of research analysis at the California-based C/O Futures, described CJNG's use of chemical agents in this manner as a "new" technique. He told the Daily Star that such a use of drones "raises the terror level for the locals bombed." According to Bunker, the cartel's continued innovation in terms of weapons capabilities raises the possibility of more terrifying developments.
"In the past, we have only seen IEDs [improvised explosive devices] strapped on drones and IED bomblets utilized. If the CJNG keeps experimenting, we may even see stand-off rockets, multiple bomblets on a drone being dropped – as we have seen in Syria and Ukraine – or possibly even firearms placed on drones," he said.
Bunker, a security expert, also identified the CJNG as the most likely cartel to dabble in such developments given its "track record of new weapons innovations." But he clarified that there are no indicators the CJNG will go down this path at the moment.
"The CJNG's recent use of asphyxiant chemicals itself has taken everyone by surprise, so we can't rule this out given their ongoing wildcard behaviors."
Head over to DroneWatchNews.com for more stories about the cartels' use of drones for offensive purposes.
Watch this Newsmax report about 10,000 cartel drones violating American airspace.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.
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EXCLUSIVE: Mexican drug cartels to launch terror attacks inside U.S., warns federal intel.
Mexican Defense Department seeks probe on how cartels acquired high-grade U.S. weapons.
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