WP: Latin American drug cartels are rapidly adopting drone tactics from the war in Ukraine

Latin American drug cartels are rapidly building their combat drone capabilities, adopting technologies and tactics that are actively being developed during Russia's war against Ukraine. The United States fears that law enforcement agencies are not yet prepared for such a technological leap by organized crime.

The Washington Post reported this, citing an internal assessment by the U.S. government, as well as five U.S. officials and a Mexican intelligence representative.

According to the outlet, Mexican criminal groups are trying to recruit people with combat experience gained on the Russian-Ukrainian front. U.S. officials are particularly focused on individuals from Colombia who, after participating in the war, return to Latin America with practical skills in using drones.

American officials claim that cartels offer such specialists money to train their own operators, and in some cases try to send people linked to them to the combat zone to gain experience. This involves participants who fought on different sides of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Cartels are also studying ways to bypass electronic warfare systems and purchasing more powerful drones with longer flight times and payload capacities. American and Mexican officials expect that the new capabilities will primarily be used for attacks on security forces and rival criminal groups, as well as for reconnaissance and securing smuggling routes.

Ukrainian representatives who spoke with The Washington Post emphasized that foreigners undergo checks before being recruited. Ukraine also believes that cases where people come to the front specifically to acquire military skills for later criminal activity are not widespread. The U.S. State Department told the outlet that it is discussing with the Ukrainian side measures to reduce the risk of combat experience being passed on to criminal structures.

The spread of combat drones in Latin America is already noticeable in statistics. According to ACLED, since 2018, about 670 episodes of armed drone use have been recorded in the region, with over 70% of them occurring from the beginning of 2025 to August 2026. The number of groups using such systems is also growing rapidly.

The technology is spreading particularly actively in Colombia. There, some armed formations already use drones with night cameras and devices with fiber-optic control, resistant to electronic suppression. Similar solutions have become widely used on the front in Ukraine.

In Mexico, drones were initially used mainly for surveillance and smuggling across the border, but later criminal groups began to equip them with explosives. ACLED has recorded the use of armed drones in 17 of the country's 32 states.

The United States is also increasing countermeasures in response. U.S. Northern Command reported that from August 24 to September 4, the military, using the high-energy laser system AMP-HEL, destroyed 11 drones linked to cartels near the country's southern border.

Based on materials from: The Washington Post, ACLED, U.S. Northern Command