The scene is by now all too familiar for those acquainted with coverage of modern war. A bird’s-eye view frames two figures ambling about below, then charts the path of an improvised explosive charge as it tumbles down, impacting with a puff of smoke and an explosion that is felt, not heard, through the camera feed, sending the two figures scrambling for cover.
But this episode does not come from the trenches of eastern Ukraine, nor the urban devastation of Syria or Gaza. It is of a clash between rival transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) taking place in Mexico, and is just one of dozens like it showcasing how criminals have rapidly taken to the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to supplement their operations. The adoption of drones by TCOs is the latest example of how powerful criminal networks often borrow from military and insurgent tactics to challenge the state.
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Source: CSIS News
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