The U.S. southern border isn’t only being invaded by land. According to a top Air Force general, there’s an “alarming” number of drones crossing into U.S. airspace per month.
"The number of incursions was something that was alarming to me as I took command last month," Gen. Gregory M. Guillot said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, reports Fox News Digital.
"I don't know the actual number – I don't think anybody does – but it's in the thousands,” he told Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) in response to a question about how often they’re being documented at the border.
"I've talked to Customs and Border Protection, who are responsible for the UAS incursions on the border, along with DOJ. And they put the number at thousands,” he continued.
When Budd pushed for specifics, Guillot estimated, “We can probably have over 1,000 a month.”
Mexican cartels have been using drones to track the location of authorities along the US-Mexico border in order to more easily smuggle humans and drugs, according to US Customs and Border Protection officials.
Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez told the House Oversight Committee in February of 2023 that in her Texas sector alone, more than 10,000 drone incursions and 25,000 drone sightings had been reported in the last year.
“The adversaries have 17 times the number of drones, twice the amount of flight hours and unlimited funding to grow their operations,” Chavez told lawmakers.
In January of 2023, authorities discovered drone footage of Border Patrol agents allegedly shot by human smugglers during a raid of what was believed to be a safe house used to hide migrants illegally crossing the US-Mexico boundary.
“Human smugglers using drones to surveil the Border Patrol is a growing trend that we’ve observed along the border,” San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron M. Heitke said in a statement. “This technology provides transnational criminal organizations with new capability that they are eager to exploit.” (New York Post)
While the number of drone incursions is concerning, the commander of North American Defense Command and US Northern Command said he hasn’t “seen any of them manifest in a threat to the level of national defense.”
“But I see the potential only growing,” he added.
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