Last week, The New York Times reported that President Trump issued a directive authorizing the Department of Defense (DoD) to conduct direct military operations against certain Latin American drug cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Shortly afterward, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected the presence of U.S. military forces on her soil. However, it appears Mexico has not opposed the presence of U.S. spy drones in the skies over cartel territory.

Several open source intelligence analysts on X have posted flight tracking data of a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper spy drone operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that flew deep into Mexico on Wednesday morning. 

According to a viral X post by OSINTdefender, the MQ-9B, using the call sign TROY701, "was orbiting for several hours earlier today to the west of Mexico City, near the Valle de Bravo Reservoir in the State of Mexico." 

The head of Mexico's Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, was quoted in an interview by local media outlet Noticieros Televisa as saying the unarmed spy drone "has been flying over the State of Mexico in recent hours is not a military plane, but an unmanned aircraft flying at the specific request of an institution of the Mexican Government." 

What remains unclear is the target of the joint U.S.-Mexico spy drone mission. However, given recent news that President Trump is intensifying the campaign against FTO-designated drug cartels, it's evident that many more such missions are likely on the horizon.

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Recall last week that U.S. forces could embark on capture/kill missions, maritime interdictions, and cross-border SOF raids against high-value cartel members. 

Why? Well, explained in one chart. China has waged irregular chemical warfare. 

This is all part of a broader effort by Trump to restore law and order, and, more importantly, to strengthen hemispheric defense across the Americas before the 2030s begin.

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