A few years ago, it was surprising to learn that drug traffickers were using drones to move small illicit loads. But now, fully into 2025, the scenario has taken a disturbing turn. Today, drones are weapons of war: they carry improvised explosives and spread terror from the sky. The victims are no longer only rivals or police authorities, but also the civilian population. What is known about this new tool of organised crime in Mexico?

Along with countries in a state of war, such as Ukraine and Syria, Mexico is also part of the list of territories with drone-dropped explosive attacks. And the number of aggressions and deaths they cause is clearly on the rise.

The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) has acknowledged the deaths of 16 soldiers in 2022 and 42 during the first seven months of 2023. In turn, between 2012 and 2014, in the United States 150 drones were detected crossing the border into Mexico loaded with drugs, while since 2022 to date the U.S. border patrol has recorded the flight of some 155,000 drones used by the organised crime at the border.

In Mexico, it only takes a few clicks on Amazon to purchase a drone, with no regulation limiting its sale or acquisition. In addition, they have a derisory cost for organisations that spend billions of dollars on weapons. Thanks to the specimens confiscated in Sedena operations, it is known that some groups use basic models, of approximately 700 dollars. But cartels with greater financial capacity, such as Jalisco New Generation, use high-end agricultural drones, originally designed for fumigation.

Another advantage of these unmanned aircraft is that no sophisticated training is required to operate them.

Everything points to the fact that drones today have a more important role in surveillance and attack tasks than in the transport of narcotics. They have been used to launch chemical explosive devices, such as in April 2024, in Michoacán, which caused a stinging and suffocating sensation among the civilian population. Initially they were used only against rival groups, but over time they have begun to affect civilian infrastructure: houses, schools, temples, etc. However, several journalistic and academic investigations suggest that the cartels do not only use drones to attack; they are also effective espionage tools. A drone can accurately identify the license plate of a moving vehicle, detect the body heat of a person hidden in the trees and intercept private communications, all without putting the operator at risk.

In the face of this growing threat – which includes direct aggressions against its personnel – Sedena has intensified the acquisition and deployment of unmanned systems, designed not only for surveillance and reconnaissance tasks, but also to inhibit enemy drones. In addition, Sedena is working with the Aeronautical University in Querétaro on the development of the first 100% Mexican drone, aimed at surveillance and crime-fighting tasks.

At the regional level, the government of Michoacán has implemented a portable anti-drone system that combines a detection radar with a jamming cannon, capable of shooting down drones at a distance of up to 1.5 kilometres.

The CIA has operated a drone programme in Mexico for more than two decades, using mostly MQ-9 Reaper aircraft – commonly used in counter-terrorism operations – to monitor drug trafficking leaders at the request of the Mexican government.

In May of this year, the Mexican Senate urgently requested an amendment to the Civil Aviation Law to regulate the use of unmanned aircraft. The proposal seeks to establish controls over points of sale and require a registry of those who import, market and own drones, in order to be able to trace their final destination and prevent them from ending up in the hands of organised crime.

The request comes in a context in which organised crime has already appropriated technological tools to enhance its violent capacity, and armed drones have already claimed lives.

In the meantime, Mexico must deal with this new type of violence: one that falls from the sky, without warning and without clear consequences for those responsible.

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During the past month of May, Europol coordinated a referral action day (RAD) on the online exploitation and radicalisation of minors. During this day, more than 2,000 links pointing to jihadist, terrorist and violent right-wing extremist propaganda aimed at minors were referred.

The referral day took place just weeks after Europol launched a new operational task force to address the growing trend of recruiting young people into serious and organised crime.

Recent data provided by Europol reveals that minors are currently involved in more than 70% of criminal markets. Protecting children from being recruited and exploited by criminal networks is one of Europol’s key priorities. Strong collaboration between public authorities and private sector partners is essential to prevent the radicalisation of minors, and to prevent them from harming themselves and our society.

Terrorist groups are increasingly targeting young people and exploiting their vulnerabilities. They also take advantage of their online capabilities and skills in advancing violent and extremist agendas. It is a new wave that uses broader manipulation tactics.

Terrorist organisations and their supporters have developed new tactics to recruit and gain followers by tailoring their message and investing in new technologies and platforms to manipulate and reach minors.

The propaganda identified during the operational action includes content combining images and videos of children with extremist messages, as well as materials offering guidance to radicalised parents on raising future jihadists.

One of the key observations that has led to this coordinated action is the use of artificial intelligence, especially in the creation of images, text and videos designed to deter a younger audience. Propagandists invest in content, short videos, memes and other visual formats, carefully stylised to appeal to minors and families who may be susceptible to extremist manipulation, as well as content that incorporates gaming elements with terrorist audiovisual material.

Another type of content is the glorification of minors involved in terrorist attacks. In this sense, terrorist propaganda predominantly targets minors and manipulates them into joining extremist groups based on heroic narratives that portray them as «warriors» and «the hope of society».

Girls are mentioned much less frequently and their role is largely limited to raising and indoctrinating future fighters for the cause.

Another disturbing manipulation technique in recent years is the increasing use of victim narratives, particularly images of children wounded or killed in conflict zones. This manipulation serves a dual purpose: it fosters emotional identification with the victims, while inciting a desire for retaliation and further violence.

During 2024, law enforcement authorities in EU member states contributed to solving a large number of terrorism-related cases involving minors.

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The Belgian Federal Judicial Police of Limburg, with the collaboration of the Austrian Directorate State Protection and Intelligence Service, and with the operational support of Europol, has dismantled a criminal organisation dedicated to the international trafficking of firearms. The operation, which took place in May of this year, resulted in the seizure of 74 weapons, the dismantling of a synthetic drug laboratory and the arrest of 11 people.

The operations, which were carried out in a coordinated manner in Belgium and Austria, included the search of more than 20 locations. During the searches, 50 pistols, 13 handguns, 4 machine guns, 4 rifles, 1 revolver, 2 alarm pistols, 4 large capacity magazines, 16 additional magazines and 2 police batons were seized.

 A synthetic drug production laboratory with more than 450 kilos of a new substance was located in one of the properties searched, as well as a storage site for smuggled cigarettes.

The investigation, launched months ago by the Belgian police, led to the identification of the heads of the network, their collaborators and several regular buyers. The organisation operated from Belgium but maintained connections with other arms trafficking groups throughout Europe, especially in Austria.

According to the authorities, some of the Austrian suspects – two of them arrested in Belgium – supplied weapons parts that were subsequently assembled and distributed illegally. Some of these parts – e.g. grips – can be purchased in Austria without a license, which facilitates their use by criminal networks. Austrian police confirmed that the grips of the 50 pistols seized in Belgium had been legally acquired in their country. This led to further searches of the detainees’ homes, during which several electronic data storage devices were seized.

Europol supported the operation through operational analysts, who coordinated international cooperation and organised strategic meetings. During the searches, a Europol mobile office was deployed in Belgium to facilitate the cross-checking of evidence against its databases.

These types of operations demonstrate the importance of international police cooperation in dealing with new forms of organised crime, which often operate in networks across several countries.

In Catalonia, police forces maintain close collaboration with Europol and other European agencies to detect, prevent and act against possible local connections with this type of crime, especially in sensitive areas such as arms trafficking, organised crime and smuggling.

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The UK Government has announced a set of innovative measures to tackle the rise in environmental crime linked to illegal waste dumping (fly-tipping) and other fraudulent waste management practices. These initiatives are part of a state strategy to improve the cleanliness of public spaces, strengthen environmental surveillance and empower local authorities and citizens.

Among the outstanding measures, the government will allow municipalities to seize and destroy vehicles involved in serious and repeated cases of illegal dumping, without the need for prior judicial conviction. This new immediate action capability aims to deter criminal networks that use vehicles to dump waste in unauthorised spaces, a practice that has an estimated cost of millions of pounds annually to local authorities.

In parallel, a new open-access digital tool has been launched that displays interactive maps of environmental crime hotspots across the country. These ‘heatmaps’ identify the areas with the highest incidence of waste-related crimes and want to encourage citizen collaboration. In fact, the public has been explicitly called upon to report suspected fraudulent waste management activities, such as unauthorised incineration, illegal landfills or unregistered waste transport.

These actions are part of a broader plan that includes:

• Strengthening the licensing system for waste transport.
• Increased administrative penalties.
• Technological support to local authorities to monitor criminal activities.

With this integrated and proactive approach, the UK aims to significantly reduce the environmental and economic impact of waste crime, while promoting a culture of shared responsibility between administrations and citizens.

In Catalonia, although the phenomenon of illegal waste dumping does not reach the levels of impact of the United Kingdom, it also represents a growing challenge in certain peri-urban spaces, forest areas and protected natural environments. The collaboration between municipalities, rural agents, security forces and the Catalan Waste Agency (l’Agència de Residus de Catalunya, belonging to the Catalan Government) has been key to detecting and sanctioning these practices, although they often encounter technological and legal limitations when tracking down those responsible. In this regard, digital tools such as heatmaps or the possibility of sharing information in real time could be a very useful tool to improve operational response and prevent recurrences.

In addition, measures such as the direct seizure of vehicles involved in environmental crimes could open an interesting debate in our country on the scope for administrative action in the face of serious and repeated conduct. The British experience highlights the importance of combining enforcement actions with a strategy of citizen awareness and data transparency, a model that could inspire future initiatives to strengthen the fight against environmental crime in Catalonia.

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The Dutch and German law enforcement agencies, with the support of Europol, dismantled a criminal group allegedly responsible for several attacks against ATMs with explosives in Germany. As a result, 18 people belonging to a highly specialised criminal group that had settled in the Netherlands were arrested.

These detainees had extensive experience in blowing up ATMs with solid explosives, causing at least €1.5 million worth of damage while looting €1.2 million, of which the police were able to recover a third.

In total, €360,000 in cash and more than €600,000 in cryptocurrencies were seized, along with equipment and vehicles used to commit the robberies.

This major police operation is the result of a comprehensive action plan developed in an operational taskforce formed by Germany, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland, coordinated by Europol, which made it possible to link the ATM attacks and activities related to the intercepted criminal group.

The group of 18 Dutch nationals was based between the Utrecht metropolitan area and Amsterdam and is believed to have attacked ATMs in several German federal states. Investigations have also shown increasingly sophisticated operations by the criminals, who were taking counter-surveillance measures, collaborating with other criminal groups and using various infrastructures when carrying out the robberies.

Police authorities also carried out dozens of house searches, seizing a large amount of equipment used in ATM attacks, including explosives, gasoline cans, license plates, SIM cards, cash counting machines and vehicles, including four cars linked to several robberies.

The offenders followed a pre-established criminal modus operandi. First, they looked for places to hit in various countries, both online and on-site. Basically, the targets they were looking for were easily accessible ATMs with relatively modest security measures and convenient getaway options.

After identifying and scouting potential ATMs to rob, the criminals return during the night and blow up the ATMs with solid explosives. These attacks can often cause severe damage to buildings and their residents.

In recent years, this criminal phenomenon has spread and moved across several European Union countries.

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