New: The CIA has been covertly flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to spy on drug cartels, current and former officials familiar with the matter told CNN, part of Trump’s shift to treat cartels like terror orgs. From @NatashaBertrand @ZcohenCNN and me: cnn.com/2025/02/18/pol…
The drones are not armed. And the CIA has flown surveillance drones to hunt cartels inside Mexico before, according to a former and a current US official, under at least one small program that partnered with Mexican authorities.
But the more recent flights were communicated to Congress using a particular notification reserved for new or updated covert programs that CIA intends either to conceal or deny, a source familiar with the matter said—suggesting that the flights represent a distinct escalation.
CIA declined to comment specifically about the drones. A spokesperson said that broadly “countering drug cartels in Mexico and regionally is a priority for CIA,” and that “Director Ratcliffe is determined to put CIA’s unique expertise to work against this multifaceted challenge.”
A transition doc, “2025 Agency Action Plan,” reviewed by CNN, said the admin should to “treat counter-drug cartel work as a form of counter-terrorism and use those authorities and unique resources appropriately, including by moving resources from other regions if necessary.”
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