The U.S. is using unarmed drones to conduct surveillance of drug cartels inside of Mexico, according to U.S. and Mexican officials, highly secretive operations that helped Mexican officials arrest major drug figures like Sinaloa cartel drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
The flights, launched from airfields inside Mexico using Department of Homeland Security and CIA drones, have been used to seek out remote fentanyl labs and track the movements of internationally wanted figures like Guzmán, the officials told The Wall Street Journal.
