According to a stunning new report that cited cartel members, and security expert and some of Mexico’s most violent cartels has recently established its own elite unit of drone operators, a highly skilled group of sicarios dedicated to modifying commercial drones and turning them into flying bombs to use against rival cartels and Mexican authorities.
According to experts and Mexican officials, the vicious Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG for short) started turning commercial drones into weapons more than four years ago.
But the establishment of specialist drone squads shows that the cartel is ramping up its drone operations.
According to the cartel boss, the group’s primary focus is on tracking down and taking out rival gangs like the Sinaloa Cartel in Jalisco, the Knights Templar in Michoacán, and Los Viagras.
Researchers at C/O Futures claim that the organization even created its own patch to set itself apart from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel’s henchmen.
It features a quadcopter drone image and a skull face in the middle.
The initials CJNG are at the bottom of the patch, while “Operadores Droneros” is at the top.
The cartel boss claims that the squad, which consists of twelve individuals, only presently operates in the states of Michoacán and Jalisco.
The majority of the drones used by the cartel are made in China and purchased online from retailers like Amazon or Ebay.
The cartel operator claims that while in the hands of the cartel henchmen, they persuade them to transport a quantity of improvised bombs that includes aluminum and potassium perchlorate, among other chemicals.
As they neared the little village of Tepalcatepec in Michoacán in November 2022, a convoy from the Mexican military was ambushed with explosive drones by henchmen from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
According to news accounts, the incident resulted in the deaths of four people and the injuries of six more.
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