Sedena: New Criminal Weapon Used; Criminal Groups Use Drones To Spy On Authorities

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

Armed Forces seize seven drones in Reynosa and Matamoros; despite this, they declare that they do not have a strategy to combat this type of technology.

New criminal weapon used; criminal groups use drones to spy on authorities

The Armed Forces do not have a plan to combat the use of these technological tools.

Despite the seizure of seven drones in Tamaulipas to armed groups, the Armed Forces do not have a plan to combat the use of these technological tools used for espionage.

Documents to which EL MAÑANA had access indicate that, from 2015 to 2023, criminal groups have used drones in Reynosa and Matamoros, due to their accessibility and ease of modification.

And although these devices are increasingly used by criminal groups, they are secondary weapons, but with a current boom; however, federal and state authorities do not have a plan to combat and eradicate their use.

So far this year, the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) and the Tamaulipas Attorney General's Office (FGJT) have seized seven units in Reynosa and Matamoros.

Within the operations where the technological units were secured, it was demonstrated that in at least one case narco drones were used to spy on the authorities and two people have been arrested for operating these units, according to the Sedena.

Likewise, the drones were placed at the disposal of the federal and state Public Prosecutor's Office so that the corresponding investigations could be carried out, and two investigation files were opened.

However, there is no record of criminal groups using them as a tool to attack civilians or police forces, as has occurred in Michoacán, where these aerial units have been used to launch explosives.

Federal authorities are aware of at least five cases nationwide of drone attacks by criminal groups, between Guerrero and Michoacán.

SENTENCES OF UP TO 60 YEARS

Last August, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador sent to the Congress of the Union an initiative to reform the Federal Penal Code and the Federal Firearms and Explosives Law to punish the use of drones for illicit purposes or to transport explosives.

The document establishes penalties of up to 60 years in prison for those responsible.

"The purpose is to implement a legal framework that incorporates aggravating circumstances to conduct constituting crimes, carried out with remotely piloted aircraft, to strengthen prevention and combat impunity in the commission of crimes through the use of these devices and thus guarantee the peace and security of Mexicans in harmony with international best practices in this area and absolute respect for human rights", states the text.

El Mañana