The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has intensified its covert operations against Mexican drug cartels by deploying drones to locate and monitor cartel-run fentanyl labs, The New York Times reported.
U.S. officials told the outlet that the drones are part of a CIA covert program initiated under the Biden administration.
The source cited by the Times said that the flights go “well into sovereign Mexico.” With fentanyl labs emitting chemicals, the source said the drones have “proved adept at identifying labs.”
According to CNN, the CIA has been using the MQ-9 Reaper to spy on drug cartels in Mexico.
The MQ-9 drones used for these missions are currently unarmed, but can be outfitted with payloads for precision strikes. The U.S. has been using these drones to target suspected terrorists in Syria, Iraq, and Somalia.
Under President Trump, the CIA secretly deployed MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to surveil drug cartels. – CNN
Not so secret anymore CNN pic.twitter.com/Y7X9GqgFVc
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) February 18, 2025
Last week, U.S. military’s Northern Command head General Gregory Guillot confirmed that the U.S. military is enhancing its airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operation of Mexican drug cartels.
These measures reportedly include deploying sophisticated spy planes and drones along the U.S.-Mexico border and adjacent international airspace.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier said that Mexico was not alarmed by the flights, as they were over U.S. territory, but sought more information about them. “This is not the first time that there have been flights of this type, it’s not out of nowhere… Will we ask for an explanation? Yes, but as part of our coordination with them,” she said.
It was earlier reported that the U.S. military had increased its surveillance of Mexican drug cartels, conducting at least 18 missions over the southwestern U.S. and the Baja Peninsula.
Wow, for the first time I have ever seen, a U.S. Air Force RC-135V “Rivet Joint” Signals Intelligence Platform from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, is operating within Mexican Airspace, over the Gulf of California between Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa. pic.twitter.com/ucEDSc4Zxj
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 3, 2025
This increased surveillance coincides with Trump’s deployment of the military to the U.S.-Mexico border to curb the flow of drugs and foreign nationals into the country. The Mexican government also sent 10,000 troops to the border this month to combat smuggling.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order targeting major cartels. According to The New York Times, Trump is planning to designate six cartels and criminal groups in Mexico as foreign terrorist organizations, a move that could allow for expanded military action against them.
