Drone Proliferation among Drug Trafficking Organisations in Latin America
Janhavi Pathak | 30 May 2024
Summary
Drug Trafficking Organisations (DTOs) in Latin America have adopted the use of cheap and commercial drones for daily operations, spiking violent clashes and migration in impoverished communities.
Regional governments are struggling to counter the growing illicit use of drones due to high levels of corruption, limited state resources, and scant cross-border cooperation. This has resulted in the erosion of state legitimacy in people's eyes as DTOs expand and bolster their state capacity.
Latin America has experienced an unprecedented rise in the illicit use of drones by DTOs in recent years. Several transnational organised crime groups, such as Primeiro Commando da Capital (PCC), Sinaloa, and Jalisco, have deployed cheap commercial drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. With better operational capabilities, inter-gang violence, along with clashes between the militaries and DTOs have spiked, inducing fear and instability in impoverished neighbourhoods. Regional governments continue to grapple with high levels of corruption, worsening economic crises, and limited resources as DTOs engineer and adopt new and more lethal weapons, endangering peace and security in the region.
The rise in drone usage by DTOs has engendered widespread insecurity and fear among the local communities. Commercial off-the-shelf (COT) drones equipped with cameras have bolstered the surveillance capacity of DTOs, with people living in fear of reprisals for disobedience. Indiscriminate violence and high crime rates have triggered a mass migration of people toward urban centres or other safer countries in the region, such as the United States (US). Mexico hosts seven of the world’s most dangerous cities with staggering homicidal rates, especially in peripheral regions. Regional variations in security and stability have become a vital issue in propelling illegal immigration across the US-Mexico, with illegal border crossings reaching an all-time high in January 2024.
Heightened surveillance capabilities through real-time intelligence gathering have further rendered effective military/policing actions futile. Political leaders have doubled down on organised groups through stringent military actions, including extensive police raids and mass incarceration of gang members. However, drones are readily used to drop and pick up packages and convey information between members inside prisons and ring-leaders outside. This has exacerbated the transformation of prisons into new ‘hubs’ of information sharing and operations.
The absence of an efficient solution against the illicit use of COTs has transformed relatively safer areas into active conflict zones. Stronger DTOs vying for control over key supply chain areas are fielding COTs for targeted armed violence against rival gangs, and recently, against political candidates to establish dominance. Companies seeking to expand investment in Latin America are faced with limited options. Investment is becoming concentrated in well-protected and developed areas, worsening overall income distribution across the continent, with indigenous communities being the worst affected.
Jared Brashier/Unsplash
Forecast
Short-term
Illicit drone proliferation is unlikely to stop, along with the concomitant migration of communities in conflict-prone areas. The risk of violence spilling onto new regions, as DTOs vie for control remains high. This can amplify insecurity and erode states’ governance stature among people.
Medium and long-term
Governments in Latin America will most likely tighten security measures, ranging from domestic policies to international cooperation (with the US and Europe), to counter the potential risk of cross-border movement of illicit drugs and contraband by drones.
