Secret US drones led to arrest of notorious Mexican cartel boss El Chapo

A secret U.S. drone operation led to the arrests of multiple individuals associated with drug cartels, including Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

The unarmed drones spied on cartels and were operated by the Department of Homeland Security and the Central Intelligence Agency at the Mexican military’s request.

U.S. drone intelligence aided in the arrests of Guzmán in 2014 and 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported. The drones also helped locate his son, Ovidio Guzmán, in 2023.

Why It Matters

Joaquín Guzmán, 67, is a former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. He was convicted in February 2019 on multiple charges, including engaging in a criminal enterprise and distribution of cocaine. He was sentenced to life in prison.

President Donald Trump has designated several Mexican drug gangs, including the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations and suggested bombing fentanyl labs in Mexico. He has said he will impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico unless it stops fentanyl trafficking and migrant smuggling.

What To Know

The drone program in Mexico has been in operation for more than two decades, according to The Wall Street Journal‘s report.

The drones were used to capture surveillance video of cartel activity and labs, which was fed back to officials in the United States and Mexico. Many of the drones used were MQ-9 Reapers, which are used in counterterrorism operations around the world.

Last week, the operation aided in the arrest of a security chief working for a son of Guzmán, Mexican Defense Minister General Ricardo Trevilla told the outlet.

The drone program began tracking Guzmán’s whereabouts shortly after he escaped from prison in 2001.

In 2014, Guzmán was arrested at a hotel in the Sinaloa beach resort of Mazatlán. A drone used in the operation was deliberately crashed into the Pacific Ocean after a mechanical failure, WSJ reported.

Guzmán escaped from prison again in 2015. Drones surveyed Sinaloa state in the weeks leading up to his recapture, identifying where he was staying and his daily travel patterns.

In 2016, a drone hovered above the city of Los Mochis as special forces raided one of his safe houses. While Joaquín Guzmán was able to flee, he was later spotted by a local police officer who arrested him.

What People Are Saying

U.S. Air Force General Glen VanHerck, the former commander of U.S. Northern Command, told The Wall Street Journal: “The Mexican military is very capable, and if we enable them by providing intelligence support, they will go after our common threats. We just need to do it quietly and not brag about it.”

What Happens Next

The program’s future remains unclear as tensions mount in the U.S.-Mexican security partnership.

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