
Narco Drones: How Latin American Drug Cartels Use UAVs as Strategic Deterrence Weapons
Norwegian researcher Håvard Haugstvedt analyzed 44 documented incidents between 2017 and 2024, finding that Mexican cartels—particularly CJNG and La Familia Michoacana—have developed a systematic aerial deterrence playbook. Unlike Middle Eastern armed groups, cartel drone strikes more frequently target civilians and private property to signal territorial control. Haugstvedt recommends treating the phenomenon as a governance challenge and urges cross-border intelligence sharing before tactics spread to smaller criminal groups in the US and Europe.
Source: Small Wars Journal










