Report warns Latin America's criminals are turning drones into tools of war

Miami Herald

5 hours ago

As unmanned aerial vehicles increasingly dominate global battlefields, Latin America is quietly emerging as a testing ground for drone warfare by non-state actors — from drug cartels to guerrilla insurgencies, according to a report released Wednesday.
In just over a year, drone attacks in the region have surged in frequency, lethality and sophistication, posing a growing threat to public safety, national sovereignty and regional stability, the report 'Latin America's Drone Problem' warns.
'Even before Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, unmanned aerial systems (UASes) and other advanced technologies were being employed by criminals, terrorists, and other non-state actors in Latin America in increasingly innovative and problematic ways,' wrote Evan Ellis, the report's author and a professor at the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute.
That includes the use of commercially available drones to spy on authorities at border crossings, smuggle cellphones into prisons and deliver crude explosives to high-value targets.
Drones have long served as tools for drug trafficking, transporting narcotics across the U.S.-Mexico border. What's new, the report notes, is the increasing weaponization of the technology.
In March 2025, a Colombian soldier was killed in Catatumbo by a drone launched by the ELN guerrilla group during a military operation that left more than 80 people dead and displaced at least 50,000 others. Just weeks earlier, in Mexico, a drone narrowly missed assassinating General Jorge Alejandro Gutiérrez during an ambush in Chihuahua.
In Ecuador, a drone loaded with 40 pounds of explosives slammed into the roof of La Roca, the country's maximum-security prison, in September 2024, in an apparent attempt to trigger a mass escape.
Even diplomatic gatherings are no longer off-limits. During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima that same year, Peruvian authorities intercepted 35 drone threats, highlighting the vulnerability of global leaders to aerial sabotage.
What began as the use of drones for smuggling has evolved into the deployment of GPS-guided weapons capable of precision strikes. Between 2012 and 2014, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration identified more than 150 drones involved in cross-border criminal activity. Today, that number is far higher—and the payloads far deadlier.
Nowhere is this trend more visible than in Mexico. In Michoacán and Guerrero, cartels such as Jalisco Nueva Generación and La Nueva Familia Michoacana — recently designated as terrorist organizations by the United States — have become early adopters of low-cost drone warfare.
These groups have deployed drones equipped with explosives, infrared sensors and thermal imaging to track human targets, enabling nighttime ambushes and coordinated assaults. Colombian military sources say criminal factions are now operating drone teams in synchronized missions—first mapping areas with heat-sensitive drones, then launching strikes on soldiers or civilians.
The barrier to entry is shockingly low, Ellis warned. Anyone with internet access and a few hundred dollars can become an aerial threat.
In response, some Latin American governments have begun investing in drone detection and counter-drone technologies. Brazil leads the region with the largest state-operated drone fleet and a growing domestic drone manufacturing sector. At least 14 other countries now use unmanned aerial vehicles for law enforcement and surveillance.
Still, efforts to counter the threat remain fragmented and underfunded. Procurement delays, weak coordination between agencies, and limited access to cutting-edge tools have left many nations scrambling to keep up with increasingly tech-savvy adversaries.
And the threat isn't limited to the skies, the report says.
Criminal organizations are reportedly exploring maritime and land-based unmanned systems. In Ukraine, waterborne drones have successfully struck Russian naval targets. Experts warn that similar technology could soon be used in Latin America to hit commercial ports, liquified natural gas tankers, or cruise ships—either for smuggling or extortion.
Terrestrial and even subterranean unmanned vehicles are also on the radar. With countries like China and Russia rapidly advancing in robotic warfare, it may be only a matter of time before Latin America's cartels and insurgents gain access to next-generation battlefield technologies.