WATCH: DHS issues stark warning after 300 ‘hostile’ cartel drones detected at southern border
The Department of Homeland Security issued a stark warning after more than 300 cartel drones were detected along the southern border in just over a month.According to the Department of...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Department of Homeland Security issued a stark warning after more than 300 cartel drones were detected along the southern border in just over a month. According to the Department of War , 378 cartel drones were detected at the southern border between Aug. 22 and Thursday. Of those, 75 drones were turned back, 15 were engaged and one was captured. Fox News Digital previously reported that the War Department’s Joint Task Force – Southern Border took down "approximately" 100 suspected cartel drones in August alone. In response to the threat, the Department of War and DHS are increasing their use of drone detection and interception tools along the southern border. The agencies are also working with private companies to develop technology to counter the increased presence of cartel drones. In a statement posted on X, DHS wrote that "hostile surveillance of American personnel ends here." EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP’S CBP AXES BIDEN-ERA POLICY ALLOWING PRIVATE GIFTS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN FEDERAL CUSTODY "To the Cartels," DHS wrote, "Your drones are failing, your tactics are being exposed, and you have no advantage. @CBP and @DeptofWar will keep taking them down." In an interview with Fox News, Jeffrey Stalnaker, deputy chief patrol agent for Border Patrol, said cartels primarily use drones for reconnaissance during drug and human smuggling operations rather than for smuggling. Cartels previously sent lookouts to monitor Border Patrol agents and other U.S. personnel but now use drones to watch from overhead. "They’re watching when our soldiers and our agents are coming into the field, where they’re working, and then that allows them to plan how they’re going to send individuals north from Mexico into the United States illegally, trying to circumvent us between the ports of entry," he explained. Federal officials told Fox News that U.S. anti-drone measures at the southern border have succeeded so far, but cartel drone tactics are rapidly evolving. Some cartel drones are known…