Mexican Cartel drones were detected crossing the border into Texas 1,216 times between April 2024 and April 2025 by sensors installed by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Even more alarming, DPS Texas Rangers Captain Troy Wilson told a US Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the drone-detection network Texas has in place covers just 14% of its 1,254-mile border with Mexico. So the actual number of cartel drone incursions is likely much higher than they know.
The US Military is stepping in to help fill that large gap. The Department of Defense this week released photos of an AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel Advanced Radar System being deployed in South Texas as a response to the cartel drone threats.
Nearly half of these cartel drone incursions occurred at altitudes between 600 and 1,800 feet, which is the airspace often used by law enforcement and military helicopters along the border.
"The increasing presence of (cartel drones in our airspace) introduces the alarming possibility of (mid-air) collisions, endangering citizens of the State of Texas and law enforcement personnel." - DPS Texas Rangers Captain Troy Wilson (May 20, 2025)
Wilson's concerns about the cartel drones echo testimony last month from the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense before a Congressional Subcommittee:
"The President (has) directed the Department of Defense to take all appropriate and lawful measures to ensure complete operational control of the border. Transnational criminal organizations are adapting to our operations by using drones to track the movements of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents and Department of Defense forces near the border." - Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Mark Roosevelt Ditlevson (April 29, 2025)
This threat along the US Border has been increasing for some time. In 2023, Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez warned another Congressional Committee that the Cartel's drone resources were overwhelming those of law enforcement:
"(The Cartels) have 17 times the number of drones, twice the amount of flight hours, and unlimited funding to grow their operations." - Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez (February 7, 2023)
As Chief Chavez predicted, the Cartels' drone capabilities have grown since then. Captain Wilson's testimony revealed that on April 22, 2025, the Texas DPS lost control of one of its drones, which had been watching cartel activities on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande across from Laredo. The drone crashed a short time later, and the Cartel is suspected of using a jamming device to destroy it.
The day before, the Border Patrol had lost control of one of its drones in the same area. That drone was also destroyed after plunging into the Rio Grande.
The Cartels like to show off their weaponry and technology, and drone jammers are no exception. The photo above was posted to x.com this month and is said to show a Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) soldier wielding a portable Chinese-made drone jammer near Mazatlan, Mexico.
Captain Wilson's Senate testimony was accompanied by photos of Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) members using other Chinese-made drone detection and jamming equipment:
What should the response be to these repeated incursions by Mexican Cartel drones into US airspace?
Share your opinion in the comments on this article!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
I feel like this is the perfect opportunity for Anduril to offer low-cost, rapid-deployment drone interdiction systems that they already have waiting for a contract.
No doubt aided by the CCP