Concerns Mount Over Cartel Militarization and Anti-Aircraft Capabilities Near U.S. Border
New reports highlight an alarming escalation in the militarization of Mexican drug cartels, warning that these organizations now possess Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs) capable of shooting down aircraft in the border region. The updates suggest that major cartels are channeling billions of dollars in illicit revenue into building private armies, procuring equipment and training that some analysts claim rivals that of the Mexican military.
Background investigations confirm that the threat of cartel anti-aircraft capability is not theoretical. Transnational criminal organizations, particularly the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel, have previously demonstrated access to military-grade weaponry. In a defining incident in 2015, cartel operatives used an RPG to successfully down a Mexican military Eurocopter EC725 Cougar in the state of Jalisco. Additionally, seizures by authorities frequently uncover caches containing .50 caliber Barrett rifles, belt-fed machine guns, and improvised armored fighting vehicles known as “monsters.”
While the narrative that these groups are “at war” with the United States is gaining traction among observers citing the lethal toll of the drug crisis, security experts offer a more nuanced perspective. Unlike traditional military adversaries, cartels are motivated by profit rather than political ideology or territorial conquest. However, their tactics have undeniably shifted from organized crime to paramilitary insurgency.
Objections to the claim that cartels are better equipped than the Mexican Army note that while criminal groups often outgun local law enforcement, the Mexican federal armed forces retain significant advantages in air superiority, heavy artillery, and troop numbers. Furthermore, while the capability to target U.S. aircraft exists, cartels have historically avoided direct engagement with U.S. forces to prevent triggering a massive military intervention that would dismantle their business operations. Despite this, the presence of surface-to-air weaponry along the border represents a severe security challenge for both nations.
