Cartel Drones as Tools of Coercion

AI Summary

Research by Håvard Haugstvedt examines how Latin American cartels use drones as strategic tools for aerial coercion, documenting 44 incidents from 2017 to 2024. The study expands the discussion of drone warfare beyond the Middle East into regions of Mexico.

Håvard Haugstvedt’s study in Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflicts titled “Cartel aerial operations: exploring Latin American cartels’ use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a tool for strategic coercion,” pushes the drone-warfare conversation the Middle East and into Michoacán and Guerrero. Drawing on 44 documented incidents between 2017 and 2024, Haugstvedt argues that Mexican cartels have built an aerial coercion playbook … Read more The post Cartel Drones as Tools of Coercion appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.