MEXICAN CARTEL DRONE IED BOMBLETS
I&W NOTE: MEXICAN CARTEL DRONE IED BOMBLETS NOW APPEARING By Robert J. Bunker and David A. Kuhn, C/O Futures, LLC © Copyright 2021-2022
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his short I&W (Indications & Warning) Note is meant to provide a ‘heads up’ concerning the recent appearance of drone IED bomblets in the Mexican crime wars and their early utilization by the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) – one of the most dominant and operationally advanced cartels in the country. In the recent book Criminal Drone Evolution: Cartel Weaponization of Aerial IEDs (SWJ–El Centro Anthology, Oct. 2021), we discussed the initial shift from single use (point IED detonation) drones in 2017 to multi-use (aerial bombardment) drones in 2021. Some confusion and debate existed concerning the potentials of such a shift when it was first reported in various news outlets. These reports began to circulate concerning the 20 April 2021 Aguililla, Michoacán incident in which two police officers were injured by a weaponized drone. The use of potential IED bomblets was also mentioned related to a 4 May 2021 Tepalcatepec, Michoacán incident as well as later nonspecific incidents in which villagers were being targeted and terrorized by CJNG drone aerial
capability could not be properly vetted or, in some instances, the items were clearly not Mexican cartel related hardware. Even now, it is still unclear whether the Aguililla and Tepalcatepec incidents were point IED detonation or aerial bombardment drone attacks. What has since been confirmed, however, is that CJNG is now deploying IED bomblets on consumer drones. Four incidents (i.e., data points) – from Peribán, Mazamitla, Tecalitlán, and Tepalcatepec – are briefly highlighted to provide some basic information and imagery related to this emerging Mexican cartel capability:
bombardments. The reports could not be initially substantiated, however, because the sourcing and images being attributed to the incidents/aerial bombardment
National Guard and Army personnel. The cartel gunmen (presumably CJNG) fled the scene and left behind the abandoned truck which was secured by Mexican authorities.
Peribán, Michoacán (2 March 2021) The imagery originated in an official SSP Michoacán tweet related to a seized truck containing 4 assault rifles (AK, other series), 38 magazines, numerous small arms rounds, and the 7 IED bomblets (simply designated as generic explosive devices). A limited firefight had taken place in the vicinity of Peribán between the occupants of the truck and Mexican
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