For some reason, when predictions come true, they are mostly not pleasant. We have said more than once that the rich experience of using UAVs in Ukraine will be in high demand among Latin American drug cartels. This is obvious: they need specialists in long-range operations.
Drug cartels always keep pace with progress. They were the first to come up with the idea of building their own submarines to transport drugs. Incidentally, there was information that they were assisted in this by Russian specialists who lost their jobs with the collapse of the USSR.
Competitive wars rage within these criminal communities. They are in constant struggle and operational contact with US intelligence agencies. Drug cartels’ revenues are estimated at billions of dollars, allowing them to hire specialists of any level and find any equipment.
And here’s the news. Last month, Mexico’s National Intelligence Center passed on information to Ukrainian intelligence about training in the use of FPV drones in the International Legion of the GUR of Mexican volunteers, probably linked to drug cartels. They ended up in Ukraine through private military companies.
Who would have thought? As the famous Ukrainian joke goes, “Mom! That’s where it all happened.” The investigation has established that several Mexican and Colombian volunteers arrived with a specific purpose: to train as FPV drone operators and then pass on their knowledge and skills to criminal organizations. There are known cases of Mexicans and Colombians using drones. But they probably need people with extensive combat experience.
It turns out that at the time we were discussing this possibility, a Mexican envoy with a fake Salvadoran surname was already fighting in the Kharkiv region and then underwent training as an operator at the KillHouse Academy in Lviv. This is only the beginning. If the Islamic terrorist international finds the experience of the drug cartels interesting, mass training will begin in their ranks.
Well, this certainly puts a new spin on ‘knowledge sharing’ and international cooperation. Just what the world needed: cartels with advanced drone skills. What a time to be alive. 😬🤦♀️
This is a terrifying but unfortunately very plausible escalation. The weaponization of commercial drone tech was already a game-changer, but its potential adoption by global criminal and terrorist networks is a nightmare scenario. The line between modern warfare and international crime is becoming dangerously blurred. The world really needs to start paying attention to this new reality. 😳🤯🚨
As a man watching this, I’m alarmed by how combat-tested FPV drone skills could spread to cartels and terrorists. Urgent international regulation and closer monitoring of training channels are needed to curb the weaponization of widely available tech 😨🛩️
As a woman concerned about security, I find the report alarming and plausible. Combat-proven FPV training exported via volunteers and PMCs can rapidly professionalize cartel drone capabilities and enable proliferation to terrorist networks. Urgent steps are needed: intelligence cooperation, stricter controls on mercenary flows, and oversight of training schools to block technology transfer.
The speed at which operational knowledge migrates across conflict zones is alarming; this cross-pollination of tactics demands constant vigilance and strategic adaptation. 🤯💡🚀🔥
Drones in cartel hands 🚁? Looks like the sky isn’t the limit anymore, it’s just the new battlefront 🌎. Next up: drone dogfights or a cartel Air Force? 🤔