Mexico and the United States are currently carrying out an anti-drone operation at the border between Baja California and California, according to the Mexican Ministry of National Defense (Defensa).
Criminal groups use drones near the Mexico-U.S. border to assist their illicit activities, including the smuggling of people and drugs into the United States.
In a statement issued on Monday, Defensa said that the Águila Alta (High Eagle) “binational anti-drone operation” is taking place in the border region between Tijuana, Baja California, and San Diego, California.
The ministry said that the Aug. 31-Sept. 21 operation is occurring “within the framework of the Mexico-United States Bilateral Implementation Group” — a security group established a year ago — and that it is related to “concurrent (mirror) operations that the Armed Forces of both countries and U.S. law enforcement agencies are carrying out through simultaneous reconnaissance along the common border.”
Defensa said that the aim of the operation is to have a “safer border through the detection and disablement of commercial drones that are used by criminals at the common border to watch authorities during the trafficking of people and drugs.”
It didn’t say how many drones had been detected and disabled during the ongoing operation.
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The Defense Ministry, led by General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, said that the operation — described as “similar” to one that took place at the border between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso in March — consists of two stages, the first of which has already been completed.
It said that stage 1 took place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 in Tijuana and San Diego. During the stage, “a coordination exercise addressing drone issues was conducted, culminating in simultaneous ground reconnaissance missions, with each force operating within its own territory,” Defensa said.
The ministry said that the second stage of the operation is taking place “as of this date” — i.e., Monday, Sept. 7 — and until Sept. 21. The stage involves “the deployment of forces in the border region of each country, supported by fixed and mobile anti-drone equipment,” Defensa said.
“Security cooperation between Mexico and the United States is carried out with full respect for national sovereignty and is governed by the principles of reciprocity, shared and differentiated responsibility, mutual trust and respect for sovereign decisions and territory, favoring at all times the interests of the Mexican state,” the ministry said.
The announcement of the bilateral anti-drone operation came three days after the United States Northern Command said in a statement that the Joint Task Force–Southern Border (JTF-SB) had taken down more than 300 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, along the U.S.-Mexico border this year.
“JTF-SB defeated more than 300 UAS this calendar year employing kinetic and non-kinetic systems, with more than 100 defeats occurring in the month of August,” said USNORTHCOM, one of 11 unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense.
“… The UAS were assessed to be associated with illicit activity along the border. Transnational criminal organizations use UAS to support illegal cross-border activity, including smuggling operations and surveillance of law-enforcement and military personnel,” USNORTHCOM said.
It noted that JTF-SB personnel have conducted patrols along the border “in coordination with Mexican military personnel.”
Trevilla said Friday that U.S. authorities had informed the Mexican government that drones are mainly used in the border region by people who smuggle migrants into the United States
“They are commercial drones. They only capture images … and what they’re seeking to find are routes that are free, where there is no presence of [U.S.] authorities,” the defense minister said.
Last month, Mexico and the United States signed a defense agreement on new technologies that allows Defensa to acquire drones and counter-unmanned aerial systems in the U.S. Army’s online marketplace. However, the Defense Ministry said at the time that it hadn’t made any purchase commitment.
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