Heriberto Perez Lara
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Chihuahua (KVIA) — Mexican cartels, some of which are considered foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government, have operated drones for some time, including daily, according to local drug cartel experts.
ABC-7 spoke with former U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas and retired El Paso Police Deputy Police Chief Robert Almonte, who said Mexican cartels have increased their capabilities and knowledge of using drones along the border.
“They’ve gained a lot of expertise in the use of these drones, and the Mexican cartels in general use drones and have been using them for some time now along the southwest border to monitor the movement of U.S. law enforcement and also monitor their activity,” Almonte said.
“When I was a U.S. Marshal, our communication with Mexican authorities was really good; as a matter of fact, it was because of that relationship that we were able to track down ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán and place him under arrest,” Almonte added. “The technological advances that we have on our end allowed us to pinpoint the location of ‘El Chapo’ and direct Mexican law enforcement agencies to his location so they could arrest him; that arrest of ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán would not have been possible had we not had the cooperation of Mexican authorities, there’s no doubt about it.”
According to Almonte, both the U.S. and Mexican governments currently have a good relationship and the intelligence to track down transnational criminals on both sides of the border.
The temporary flight restriction was lifted just hours after the FAA issued it overnight, leaving travelers wondering whether the Juárez International Airport might be an alternative for their travel plans.
According to local reports, Abraham González International Airport in Ciudad Juárez continued operating normally with its scheduled departures and arrivals on Wednesday.
As of now, no travel changes, cancellations, or modifications have been reported.
Mexican National Guard soldiers and airport security personnel have said that all airlines are operating normally.
“My first thought was disbelief. I really couldn’t believe it. For the airport to be shut down, air traffic to be shut down in El Paso, it had to have been a very serious deal.” “When I learned that it was the incursion of a Mexican cartel drone, then my thought was that quite possibly the drone that came into our area might have been armed with some type of weapons or explosives,” Almonte said.
“We have the military here in El Paso. We have Fort Bliss, and our military was testing laser weaponry and unmanned drones to address the incursion of that drone, and they were able to successfully complete the task safely, therefore they were able to open the airport again, not just the airport, but all air traffic into El Paso,” Almonte added. “I’d never seen anything like it. I was very surprised, but this is not a good sign. I think when you’re talking about the Mexican cartels, this was a result of our airport being closed, and the Mexican cartels are out of control.”
“I know President Sheinbaum has said that the Mexican cartels are not in control of the country. I beg to differ when you’re seeing things like this. The Mexican cartels are in control of what’s going on in Mexico.” “So I think the Mexican cartels made a really bad move by doing that, and I think they’ve poked the hornet’s nest and they’re going to suffer the consequences,” Almonte also said.
This morning, the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, was asked about the airspace closure in El Paso and about the drone activity on the border reported by the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, and the Department of War (DoW).
The Mexican President said that there is no confirmed information about these drones, which were initially identified as allegedly linked to Mexican organized crime and reportedly flew over the border between Mexico and the United States, violating U.S. airspace.
“There is no information about drone use on the border; if the U.S. government, the FAA, or any other area of the U.S. government has any information, they can ask the Mexican government.” “We shouldn’t speculate; we will gather the information and maintain what we have always maintained, which is constant communication between both countries,” said Mexican President Sheinbaum.
Juárez Mayor Cruz Pérez Cuéllar also told local media today that he didn’t have any information on drones being used by Mexican cartels south of El Paso.
“There is no certainty that what was reported is correct, that there were drones on the Mexican side, and we haven’t received any information from U.S. authorities.” “We did see the position of the Mayor of El Paso, Renard Johnson, who seemed a bit annoyed by the situation. So, well, we’ll be waiting for any official information.”
Mayor Pérez Cuéllar also said that he had spoken with the Juárez Secretary of Public Safety, César Omar Muñoz Morales, and that he had no information on the matter. They will now await further information from the U.S. government.
“I insist, we have no data, there is no data whatsoever on this, and there are already many contradictory versions coming from the U.S. side. Even the U.S. media no longer confirm this possibility; some have already expressed doubts,” Mayor Pérez Cuéllar added. “Therefore, our obligation is to abide by the official information provided to us, and the U.S. authorities know they have our full cooperation. But I reiterate, there is nothing, and we cannot speculate. We have no data that confirms or leads us to believe that this could be true (the use of drones by Mexican cartels in Juárez).”
ABC-7 reached out to the Juárez Municipal Police (SSPM), the Chihuahua State Police (SSPE), and Juárez Civil Protection Departments for more information on the operation of their special units after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reported that the flight restrictions were due to a Mexican cartel drone incursion on the border.
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Ivan Padilla, Courtesy EPCSO
