US Deploys Drones to Hunt Down Mexican Fentanyl Labs

According to a recent report, the Trump administration is increasing its use of drones to track down Mexican fentanyl laboratories. The New York Times reported that U.S. officials said the drones were part of a CIA secret program started during the Biden Administration. The program was not disclosed until Tuesday.

Drones are currently used for surveillance and to find out where people are. Officials told The Times that the CIA had not been permitted to use aerial objects for strikes.

The publication added that the agency officers inform Mexican officials of what drones have discovered. The flights go “well into sovereign Mexico,” one U.S. official told the outlet.

The Times reported that drones are “adept at identifying laboratories” when fentanyl-producing labs emit chemicals. It is hoped that intelligence will allow Mexican authorities to disable the labs and not kill the cartel members. This would likely lead to an increase in violence.

Officials from the United States said that, under President Joe Biden’s leadership, Mexican authorities took a long time to act against laboratories identified by them, even though they used the information to make arrests.

The Times reported that the U.S. Northern Command has also expanded its border surveillance, but does not enter Mexican airspace.

Donald Trump ran on the promise that national security and his southern border would be his top priorities. The migrant crisis that began under Biden saw Mexican cartels bringing fentanyl to the U.S. increase.

CNN reported last week that the American military has increased its surveillance of Mexican cartels by flying at least 18 flights over the southwest U.S., and the Baja Peninsula.

Former and current military officials have told CNN that these missions, which lasted for 10 days from late January into early February, represent a significant increase in activity. This comes after Trump sent the military to the U.S.-Mexico border to stop the flow of drugs, and foreign nationals, into the United States.

This month, the Mexican government sent 10,000 troops along the border to combat smuggling.

Trump signed an executive order on his first day as president, calling for a crackdown against major cartels. The Times reported that the Trump administration will designate half a dozen cartels in Mexico and criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations this week.