Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
U.S. forces used a high-energy laser to disable three drones along the U.S.-Mexico border last week, highlighting the growing use of commercial drones by criminal groups and the expanding military response to them.
The drones were intercepted late Aug. 25 and early Aug. 26 by Joint Task Force-Southern Border using the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system, according to U.S. Northern Command. The operation took place in the Rio Grande Valley, though officials did not initially say whether the drones were over U.S. or Mexican airspace.
Mexico's Defense Ministry later said the aircraft were detected and disabled in U.S. sovereign territory, describing them as commercial-style drones used by migrant smugglers to monitor authorities. Northern Command offered a different characterization, saying the drones were linked to cartel networks and were "hostile" because they supported activities threatening U.S. military and Customs and Border Protection personnel. The military has not identified the operators or a specific organization.
Drones have become increasingly common tools along the border, used by cartels and affiliated groups for surveillance, drug trafficking and coordinating migrant crossings. More than 27,000 drone incursions have been reported near the southern border in 2024, most at night.
The episode also comes as criminal groups across Latin America adapt inexpensive commercial drones for surveillance, territorial control and attacks, according to InSight Crime some costing as little as $600 to $1,200 before modification. In Mexico, specialized operators known as "droneros" have become valuable assets to criminal organizations; the Jalisco New Generation Cartel has used drones carrying improvised explosives in Michoacán and Jalisco against rivals, security forces and civilians.
But the significance of the latest incident goes beyond whether criminal groups are adopting new technology, according to Rodrigo Peña, a political sociologist specialized in crime.
Peña said technological innovation by criminal organizations has historically pushed governments toward new security policies and more punitive responses. “The idea of drones, and not only drones, but also counterattacking drones with lasers, challenges, for instance, the idea of sovereignty,” Peña said, arguing that technology is changing traditional ideas about borders and state authority.
This technological escalation can also influence the political language governments use to describe security threats, potentially creating new justifications for the use of force.
In the U.S.-Mexico relationship, Peña said that creates an important distinction between cooperation based on intelligence sharing and cooperation involving direct action against a perceived threat. New weapons and surveillance systems may therefore test where each government draws the line between collaboration and sovereignty.
Experts say the threat on the U.S. side should be distinguished from weaponized drone use in Mexico. Cartels primarily use drones near the U.S. border for surveillance supporting narcotics, human and weapons smuggling, with no known use to date of weaponized cartel drones inside the United States.
The August operation took place within a broader framework of bilateral cooperation. Mexico's Defense Ministry says the two countries have run simultaneous "mirror operations" since February 2025, with forces patrolling their respective sides of the border and sharing information to disrupt weapons and drug trafficking. About 8,000 U.S. service members are currently assigned to Joint Task Force-Southern Border.
The incident follows earlier problems with the same technology in Texas. In February, the FAA temporarily restricted airspace around El Paso over concerns about laser use near civilian flight paths, and the military later mistakenly shot down a CBP drone near Fort Hancock — prompting calls for better coordination among the military, aviation regulators and federal law enforcement.
The successful intercept marks a growing technological component to border security, though the earlier Texas incidents raise questions about how authorities identify threats and coordinate sophisticated military technology near civilian airspace.
