EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Five House members are giving federal agencies 30 days to tell them if Mexican cartel drones pose a threat to U.S. service members on border duty. If so, they want to know what steps are in place to take them down.
In a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Chris Rocheleau, Republican members of Congress led by U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona, expressed concerns about cartels possibly targeting the 9,000 Department of Defense troops recently tapped to assist agents and officers on the Southwest border.
Such concerns surfaced during a congressional delegation visit to the Southwest border and come on the heels of El Paso’s interim Border Patrol chief saying drones flying across the border in Juarez, Mexico, have been monitoring his agents daily.
“While the presence of active-duty personnel has granted enhanced capabilities, the drug cartels across the border are already seeking new plans for attack,” the letter said. “During our time at the border, we heard firsthand from commanders and supervisors on the ground being able to conduct (counter unmanned aerial systems) operations should the cartels attempt a drone attack on U.S. service members or federal law enforcement.”
Drug cartels across the border in Chihuahua earlier this year dropped explosives over a Mexican National Guard patrol, sending three soldiers and police officers to the hospital.
The GOP congressmen said even small and mid-sized drones pose a threat on any battlefield. They used as an example the Jan. 28, 2024, drone attack on the Tower 22 outpost that killed three U.S. service members and wounded 47 others in Rukban, Jordan.
The members of Congress demand to know which agency is responsible for responding to unmanned aerial systems threats at the Southwest border and how fast it can determine if a drone is hostile and needs to be downed.
“We have seen success in securing our nation’s borders. However, when it comes to dangerous drug cartels, where there is a will, there is a way,” U.S. Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah, tweeted.
“Cartel drone activity at the southern border threatens our national security,” added Ciscomani.
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