{"id":7207,"date":"2026-09-11T13:15:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T13:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/?p=7207"},"modified":"2026-09-15T15:46:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T15:46:25","slug":"drones-are-becoming-organized-crimes-weapon-of-choice-in-latin-america-governments-are-struggling-to-keep-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/2026\/09\/11\/drones-are-becoming-organized-crimes-weapon-of-choice-in-latin-america-governments-are-struggling-to-keep-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Drones are becoming organized crime\u2019s weapon of choice in Latin America. Governments are struggling to keep up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Link to article:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/09\/09\/americas\/drones-crime-latin-america-latam-intl<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article discusses the rapid rise of drone usage by organized crimes across Latin America. ACLED data shows that armed-drone incidents have skyrocketed, with most occurring since January 2025. Drones started out as a way to smuggle drugs and phones into Brazilian prisons, but they are now being used for surveillance, conspiracy, and coordinated attacks. Cartels in Mexico are attaching explosives to commercial drones, leading the U.S to start using laser systems to shot them down near the border. Columbia has become the worst hit country, where guerilla groups use drones with thermal cameras to intimidate communities and control territory. Police conducting a raid in Brazil were targeted by a bomb dropped from a drone. There is a significant human cost, especially in Haiti, where drone strikes by security forces have killed over a thousand people, including civilians who are not gang associated, drawing comparisons to tactics seen in the Ukraine war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is relevant because it shows how quickly cheap, commercial technology can shift the balance of power in conflict, allowing criminal groups to challenge militaries and police. Drone tactics from the Ukraine war are clearly spreading globally, into criminal use similar to the spread of the AK-47. This is a pattern in Latin American cartels and guerrillas; they have always quickly adopted new tools to stay ahead of law enforcement and state regulation. The lasting impact is concerning as both criminals and states normalize armed drones, civilians are bearing the cost. Civilian lives are being lost and they are being put through psychological terror which could destabilize already fragile regions even further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a multitude of ways that this problem could be addressed. Governments such as Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia can invest in drone-detection technology, tighten regulations on drone sales, and improve intelligence sharing. The U.S could continue to offer technical support while respecting Mexico’s sovereignty concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To connect to what we have recently discussed in class, Intergovernmental organizations like the UN could push for drone-specific arms control agreements. Human rights groups could keep pressuring governments about the civilian casualties due to drone strikes. The issue also relates to weak state capacity, since criminal groups thrive where government authority is consented, as in Haiti and Catatumbo. The spread of drone tactics from Ukraine to Latin America shows how modern conflict technology is no longer contained to geographic boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Link to article: https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/09\/09\/americas\/drones-crime-latin-america-latam-intl This article discusses the rapid rise of drone usage by organized crimes across Latin America. ACLED data shows that armed-drone incidents have skyrocketed, with most occurring since January 2025. Drones started out as a way to smuggle drugs and phones into Brazilian prisons, but they are now being used for surveillance, conspiracy, and coordinated attacks. Cartels… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":377,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/377"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7207"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7247,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7207\/revisions\/7247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}