Mexico and the United States continued to solidify a close collaboration to counter transnational criminal organization (TCO) activity in August 2026 by signing a defense agreement to provide Mexico access to the U.S. Army drone and counter-drone technology. The agreement will enable Mexico to obtain unmanned aerial system (UAS) and counter-UAS (c-UAS) technology at competitive prices. In recent years, Mexican cartels have used drones to surveil U.S. troops along the southern border, coordinate drug smuggling and attack rival TCOs. They also have used drones in attacks on Mexican security forces. “Under the leadership of [U.S.] President Donald Trump and [(Mexican] President Claudia Sheinbaum, our cooperation continues to yield results,” U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson posted to the X social media platform on August 16.
In a separate post, Johnson said the agreement demonstrates growing cooperation between the North American security partners. “Our defense cooperation continues to grow stronger. During [Army Secretary Daniel P.] Driscoll’s visit, the United States and [Mexico] signed a statement of intent to strengthen our strategic and operational capabilities through defense innovation and new technologies. It will enable [Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense] to access the U.S. Army’s digital marketplace to acquire cost-effective unmanned and counter-unmanned aerial systems. This technology will strengthen our ability to combat cartels and address our shared security challenges,” Johnson wrote, concluding his post with the hashtag #JuntosLogramosMás, which means “together we achieve more.”
The agreement, also signed by Mexican Army Commander General Héctor Ávila Alcocer and Driscoll, follows a December 2025 meeting of the U.S.-Mexico Security Implementation Group, which discussed the concept. The group was established in September 2025 to forge closer collaboration on security issues that affect both countries.
In 2024, the latest year for data collection on UAS activity by cartels, TCOs launched 77 drone attacks in Mexico, more than double the previous year. UAS devices linked to Mexican cartels had been used about 1,000 times along the southern border, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank. The nonbinding declaration of intent did not include models, quantities, cost or delivery dates, and there is no purchase requirement, Mexico News Daily reported.
The drone pact follows closely on a high-level meeting in July between U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command Commander Gen. Gregory M. Guillot and Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Mexico’s secretary of national defense, and Adm. Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, secretary of the Navy, in Veracruz, Mexico. At that meeting, the leaders discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship. “The security of North America relies heavily on the strength of partnerships and our ability to operate with a shared purpose,” Guillot said in a USNORTHCOM news release. “The engagements we had here in Veracruz underscore our deep mutual trust and commitment to addressing complex regional challenges alongside our Mexican partners.”