Mexico City (EFE).- As part of a coordinated operation with the United States along the border between Tijuana and San Diego, California, Mexico deployed 800 military personnel and equipment capable of jamming drones within a three-kilometer radius.
Authorities have primarily detected the use of these devices by migrant smugglers.
As of Friday, Secretary of National Defense Ricardo Trevilla Trejo explained that Operation «Águila Alta» covers a five-kilometer strip centered on Mesa de Otay and extending 500 meters on either side of the border.
«Around 800 personnel are patrolling,» the general explained during a press conference held by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in the southern state of Chiapas.
In addition to ground patrols, there are semi-fixed and mobile anti-drone systems with a jamming range of up to three kilometers. Mexico is using «two or three» of these systems to cover its portion of the area while the US is conducting a similar operation on its side.
Trevilla noted that the operation has not yet yielded any results on the Mexican side and announced a meeting with US authorities next week to exchange information on findings from both countries.
The defense minister stated that Mexico has not observed an increase in drone use along the border. She explained that, according to information shared with Washington, drones are primarily used by migrant smugglers.
Sheinbaum clarified that these are commercial drones, not weapons-equipped devices.
«These are commercial drones being used at the border,» she said, explaining that smugglers use them to detect patrols and facilitate the illegal crossing of people.
Trevilla distinguished this phenomenon from that observed in states such as Michoacán and Sinaloa, where Mexican authorities have faced criminal groups using drones equipped with weapons and explosives.
The general also noted that Mexico has 10,000 National Guard members deployed along the entire northern border, in addition to 3,000-3,300 military personnel stationed in border states.EFE
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