Mexican drug cartels are modernizing their weapons to include IED's, drones and even chemical weapons.

 

Members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel with .50BMG anti-material rifles and a machine gun. New York Times.

The Mexican Drug Cartels are modernizing their weapons to include advanced warfighting weapons like IED's, combat drones and even chemical weapons. The New York Times. In the past the Cartels were armed with rifles and handguns, but now they are armed with heavy weapons, like claymore anti-personnel mines, rocket propelled grenades, improvised mortars and even armored trucks with mounted machine guns (technicals). More concerning are the use of modern weapons, which have turned parts of Mexico into war zones similar to the Syrian Civil War or the Russia-Ukraine war. IED's are extremely common and the Cartels are even using drones as a weapon as war, either as surveillance platforms or as weapons themselves. The Cartels have even used chemical weapons in bombs, including aluminum phosphide and other dangerous pesticides. Mexico is comparatively under equipped when compared to the Cartels. 

An archived version of the New York Times report is available here. 

My Comment:

The Mexican Drug War has been a real war for a decade now and given how long the Cartels have been at it, is it any surprise that they are advancing as warfare evolves? It is predictable that the Cartels would advance as well. 

Of course, with the source being the New York Times they couldn't resist blaming the United States for this. Instead of blaming the Cartels for their actions, or the smugglers that are bringing guns over the border, they tried to blame gun manufacturers. Obviously the gun manufactures aren't building drones, chemical weapons or IED's for the Cartels, but a few guns go over the border and it's somehow their fault? Idiocy. 

I've said for a long time that the Cartels were going to learn from ISIS and it's clear that they have. Many of the tactics and weapons they are using were developed by ISIS and other terror groups in the Syria conflict. Using drones to drop bombs, loading those bombs with pesticides and using IED's to blow up your enemies? All of those were used regularly in the Syrian Civil War. 

It is insane to me that the Cartels are better equipped than the Mexican military and police. The weapons that the Mexicans are using are things that any modern military would have (other then chemical weapons of course). You would think that Mexico would have sniper units to counter the .50 BMG rifles being used by the Cartel, or their own drone forces to fight back, but apparently they don't? 

It seems that Mexico should stop blaming their problems on the United States and should instead buy weapons for their troops. Of course, given the massive corruption in the Mexican government, I would not be surprised if those weapons ended up with the Cartels regardless. Indeed, that's why the statements about the source of firearms in Mexico are so misleading, they were of course built in the United States, but they were sold to the Mexican Government and were either stolen or lost since then. 

I do think that we should be doing more against the Cartels. I support Trump's threats to use military force against the Cartels. If they are using drones to fight their wars, why can we do the same thing to then? It's obvious they are a threat, they are a major source of drugs coming over the border, as well as illegal immigrants, and they have a corrosive impact on all aspects of government. How many of our government officials are on the take of the Cartels? 

And I do think there is an argument that we shouldn't tolerate a de facto armed insurgency on our southern border. Though the goal of these Cartels is profit, not conquest, they are extraordinarily  dangerous and that was true even before they got armed up.