C/O Futures Cartel Research Note Series Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan
31 May 2023
Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) has been at the forefront of Mexican cartel drone usage since at least late 2017 with an ever-increasing use of these systems for ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), propaganda, and IED (improvised explosive device) attack purposes. Recent imagery from April 2023 suggests that CJNG has now institutionalized drone usage in a specialized “Drone Operators” (Operadores Droneros) unit shown via a unit patch worn on their ‘cartel uniform’ (e.g. body armor battle kit). This unit patch may have appeared as early as November 2021 in CJNG related videos but had not been previously identified due to the low quality of the imagery resolution.
