William Acosta, CEO of Equalizer Investigations for FinGurú
Introduction
The war against drug trafficking in Mexico has evolved beyond traditional parameters of internal security and has transformed into an international hybrid conflict, fueled by the fusion between criminal organizations, military technology, and globally recruited military personnel (El País, 2025; DW, 2025). Since 2018, the main cartels —the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Sinaloa Cartel, and La Familia Michoacana— have implemented combat doctrines inspired by modern military structures with airstrike capabilities, electronic intelligence strategies, psychological warfare, and mass use of armed drones.
There is verified evidence that Mexican cartels employ foreign operators trained in war scenarios such as Colombia, Ukraine, and the Middle East (Infobae, 2025; Yahoo News, 2025).
Many of these ex-military personnel participate in designing technical workshops, adapting weapons, and training drone cells with a high degree of professionalism.
At the same time, the United States, Spain, and Ukraine are dealing with the political and judicial responsibility resulting from their citizens or companies contributing technically or logistically to the strengthening of these criminal structures.
The hybrid war that Mexico faces not only includes armament but also information manipulation and economic resources converging with transnational covert operations. As warned by the Military Essays Magazine (2025) and the Inter-American Institute for Democracy, this form of conflict dissolves the lines between military war, transnational crime, and regional political destabilization.
Drone Models Used by the Cartels
Mexican intelligence investigations, the DEA, and European defense agencies have documented a diversified fleet of drones designed or modified for combat, surveillance, or transport functions (Milenio, 2025; Atlantic Council, 2025; France 24, 2025):
DJI Mavic 3 and Mavic 4 are reconnaissance and tactical filming drones used to map safe routes, record confrontations, and monitor enemy convoys. Their low thermal profile makes them difficult to detect.
DJI Agras T30/T40 are agricultural drones adapted by cartels to transport and drop grenades, explosives, or drug loads, with autonomy of up to 25 minutes and a payload capacity of 30 kg.
FPV Mark IV and Mark V are modified racing drones with real-time vision, used as guided bombs capable of precisely targeting enemy convoys or fortifications.
Next-generation FPV fiber-optic drones include a physical link cable that eliminates interference, rendering jammers useless. These versions are inspired by prototypes used by Ukraine and Russia during the conflict of 2023-2024.
Skyeye X50 and X10, of Chinese industrial origin, are equipped with thermal cameras and encrypted signals for night missions or border transport.
Explosives Used in Drug Trafficking Drones
Armed drones have been found with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and adaptations of military explosives obtained through smuggling or local production (El País, 2025; NYT, 2025; DW, 2025).
IEDs are constructed with mixtures of ammonium nitrate, fuels, agricultural fertilizers, black powder, and diesel, and are used against patrols and armored facilities.
Military explosives like C-4 and PETN, sourced from stolen arsenals, are adapted for Agras and FPV drones, generating high-power detonations.
Homemade fragmentation grenades are manufactured with PVC pipes and artisanal shrapnel, primarily used by the CJNG.
Remote-controlled or cellular signal-detonated devices allow operators to activate charges from over 300 meters away, coordinated by operators equipped with FPV goggles.
Portable anti-personnel mines, many derived from designs used in Colombia and Ukraine, are launched from modified DJI drones through gravity drop systems.
These explosives are assembled in hidden workshops located in Michoacán, Guanajuato, and Sinaloa, where criminal technicians combine civilian agricultural materials with commercial electrical circuits.
International Response and State Cooperation
Mexico has developed joint operations between SEDENA and the National Guard in critical regions and signed a Bilateral Anti-Drug Arms Agreement with the United States. Additionally, it works with the DEA and Europol to identify assembly workshops and financial flows related to drone purchases.
Colombia enacted the Mercenarism Prevention Law in 2025, with penalties of up to 20 years for ex-military personnel collaborating with criminal organizations. The first sentence against an ex-soldier involved in training hitmen was issued (DW, 2025), and tracking has begun for private agencies suspected of recruitment.
The United States maintains the primary indictments for arms trafficking and tactical training in cases like “U.S. v. [Redacted]” (S.D. Texas, Case No. 4:21-cr-00884-1). Furthermore, the Hemispheric Security Executive Order authorizes the Pentagon and the DEA to act against cartels considered terrorist organizations.
Spain is conducting Criminal Case 38/2025 against Petar Dimitrov Mirchev, a detained Bulgarian ex-soldier supplying weapons to the CJNG, revealing ties with Eastern European smugglers.
Ukraine has imposed strict regulations on military academies: Kill House Academy and centers in Lviv and Dnipro must register with NATO observers after the presence of Latin American fighters in their programs was confirmed.
INTERPOL, UNODC, and the UN are coordinating a shared intelligence system following the Palermo Convention on transnational crime.
Conclusion
Mexico is on the brink of an unprecedented criminal hybrid war. The cartels have transitioned from drug traffickers to paramilitary actors with technological capabilities and international projection. The militarization of drug trafficking redefines the balance of power in Latin America, wielding industrial weaponry, advanced drones, and combat tactics learned in foreign conflict zones.
Multinational cooperation is advancing, but it needs to go beyond repressive measures. Technological control over drones, regulation of dual-use trade, tracking of explosive components, transnational financing, and a hemispheric intelligence network linking defense, justice, and innovation are required.
Latin America faces the threat of becoming the most complex laboratory of irregular warfare of the 21st century. Preventing this will depend on the collective capacity to anticipate, coordinate, and neutralize this new generation of transnational organized violence.
About the Author:
William L. Acosta is a graduate of PWU and Alliance University. He is a retired police officer from the New York Police Department, as well as the founder and CEO of Equalizer Private Investigations & Security Services Inc., a licensed agency in New York and Florida, with international reach.
Since 1999, he has led investigations into narcotics cases, homicides, and missing persons, in addition to participating in criminal defense at both state and federal levels. As a specialist in international and multijurisdictional cases, he has coordinated operations in North America, Europe, and Latin America.
Comments