Mexico Says Cartels Using Drones To Attack Security Forces

Mexico City, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2021 ) :Mexico's drug cartels are using explosive-laden drones to attack the country's security forces, Defense Minister Luis Sandoval said Wednesday.

"We have found that there are some cartels using drones with explosives," the general said during President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's daily news conference.

Jalisco New Generation, one of the country's most powerful cartels, is among those using drones, which have been deployed in several states, Sandoval said.

The most recent attack happened on Monday night in the town of Aguililla in western Michoacan state when police were clearing roads that had been blocked by gang members, he said.

Two police officers were wounded, one in the arm and the other in the leg, and the perpetrator has been arrested, Sandoval said.

Although the attacks using drones are worrying, they have not been very effective, according to the general.

"They cannot carry amounts (of explosives) that are harmful to personnel or to a facility," Sandoval said.

More than 300,000 people have been murdered in Mexico since the government deployed the military to fight drug trafficking in 2006, according to authorities, who say most of the killings are linked to gang violence.