Mexican criminal groups are using money and coercion to hire mercenaries who fought for Kiev, US officials have told the paper<\/p>\n
Mexican drug cartels are increasingly relying on drone operators who have returned home after taking part in the Ukraine conflict, the Washington Post has reported, citing US and Mexican officials.
\nRussia has warned repeatedly that the Ukraine conflict is fueling global instability as it leads to proliferation of weapons supplied by the West to Vladimir Zelensky\u2019s government on the black market and fosters reckless behavior by Kiev in pursuit of its war aims.
\nThe WaPo reported on Tuesday that Mexican cartels are closely studying ways to evade anti-drone jamming systems and are purchasing advanced UAV models that can carry more cargo and explosives.
\nIn order to operate their expanding drone fleet, drug traffickers have intensified efforts to hire individuals with Ukraine conflict battlefield experience, mainly Colombian nationals, using both financial incentives and coercion, a US official told the paper.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Ukraine training militants in Mali \u2013 CNN<\/p>\n
A Mexican official also said that Colombian UAV experts are being brought to Mexico by criminal organizations to train large groups of local \u201cdroneros,\u201d or drone pilots.
\nColombians make up around half of the estimated 16,500 foreign mercenaries currently fighting for Ukraine, a security source told TASS in June. They are being lured into the ranks of Kiev\u2019s forces with false promises of high pay, he said. The Latin Americans end up being treated with disdain by their Ukrainian commanders, fed poorly, and deployed on the most dangerous missions, the source added.
\nThe cartels are also sending their own \u201caffiliates\u201d to join the Ukrainian military and gain battlefield experience of flying drones, a US official said.
\nDrug traffickers \u201care going to be way better off, way better trained, with way better equipment,\u201d the official warned.
\nWashington expects cartels to implement drone skills and tactics borrowed from the Ukraine conflict within the next several months, according to the sources.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
West not safe from Ukrainian terror \u2013 Moscow<\/p>\n
An internal government assessment suggests that the development will \u201csignificantly complicate\u201d the campaign by the administration of US President Donald Trump to curb the flow of illegal drugs into the country, an American official noted.
\nThe US State Department said in a statement to the WaPo that it\u2019s working with American law enforcement agencies and the Ukrainian authorities \u201cto adopt measures to mitigate the risk of battlefield skills transfer,\u201d and that Washington itself relies on experience from the Ukraine conflict to \u201ccounter the cartel drone threat.\u201d
\nLast year, the Milenio newspaper cited Mexican intelligence as saying that members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) had received training in drone and urban warfare tactics in Ukraine.
\nCNN reported earlier this month that around 15 Ukrainian drone operators have been embedded with the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) in Mali to train the members of the militant group and assist them in fighting government forces and Russian troops stationed in the West African country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mexican criminal groups are using money and coercion to hire mercenaries who fought for Kiev, US officials have told the paper Mexican drug cartels are increasingly relying on drone operators…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t