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ARTICLE · 20 OCTOBER 2026

How Latin America’s Security Landscape Is Being Transformed By Drones

Steptoe LLP
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Organized crime groups across Latin America are rapidly adopting cheap commercial drones, retrofitting them with explosives, surveillance equipment, and trafficking payloads to enhance their illicit operations. As cartels and guerrilla groups innovate faster than governments can respond, this technological shift is creating unprecedented security challenges, forcing regional authorities to collaborate with the US and import advanced counter-drone systems. The weaponization of unmanned aerial systems is acce

MexicoGovernment, Public Sector
Elton Smole
Elton Smole

Cheap and commercially available drones are being widely adopted by organized crime groups in Latin America to enhance their illicit activities. Rapid innovation by cartels and guerrilla groups is creating an ever-shifting landscape of threats, posing risks to public security and territorial integrity. Drones in the price range of $600-$1200USD are retrofitted with explosives, surveillance equipment or narcotics trafficking payloads, giving gangs unprecedented capabilities. The weaponization of these technologies is accelerating:while 670instances of weaponized drone events have been recorded in Latin America in the past eight years, more than 72% of these events occurredbetween January 1, 2025, and August 21, 2026.

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