Drone Footage Captures Explosive Attack Between Rival Gulf Cartel Factions

“Enojon” for Borderland Beat 

On February 2nd, a video circulated through social media showing members of the ‘Grupo Escorpion’ faction of the Gulf Cartel (CDG) targeting members of the rival CDG faction ‘Los Metros’ aboard a convoy of makeshift armored vehicles or ‘monstruos’ in Aldama, Tamaulipas. In the footage, the drone operator could be heard discussing with another member how to approach the convoy and which vehicle to target. A third individual would operate an unseen, second drone within the footage.

During the incident, the drone operator would ask which hook the explosive payload was attached to and was told number two–this was shown through the camera interface as the icon of a red parachute above two black dots on the lower right. When preparing to attack the convoy the operator would repeatedly press the aforementioned icon, but is told to unlock the mechanism first, allowing them to successfully drop the explosive payload and allegedly kill three rival members, no official entity has commented on the incident as of yet.

Based on the camera interface the drone is a DJI Matrice 30 series model equipped with what appears to be a payload drop mechanism, whose UI bears a resemblance to promotional videos for a product called “Air Payload drop release mechanism system hooks for DJI M30 drone” by UAV For Drone. We reached out to the company on February 16th to ask if they were willing to confirm if the interface seen in the video matches what was used was their product, however we have not received a response as of yet. 

Initial reports would falsely attribute the footage to a drone attack against military personnel on February 1st in the Dolores town of Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua that gravely injured Jorge Alejandro Gutiérrez Martínez, Commander of the 42nd Military Zone, Aída Roxana, an Officer of the Secretariat of State Public Security, and two Soldiers identified as Eliseo Carlos and Humberto. Although, the X (formerly known as Twitter) account, Pernicious Propaganda, would correctly geolocate the incident as taking place along a road outside the town El Porvenir of Aldama, Tamaulipas (Coordinates: 25.9302509, -98.1892069). 

While the use of explosive payloads from drones are typically associated with the ongoing conflict in the Tierra Caliente region, Tamaulipas has also faced its share of incidents. During a press conference around October 28th, 2024, Sergio Hernando Chávez García, the Secretary of Public Security of Tamaulipas, would confirm the use of drones by criminal organizations in the state following the seizure of a drone equipped with an explosive payload along with an attack against State Guard personnel. The result was an officer being gravely injured, although this affirmed the violence is not targeting citizens and has been limited to confrontations between rival groups. 

Such violence has become commonplace since September 9th, 2023, in what has been deemed as the beginning of the internal conflict between the Grupo Escorpion and Los Metros factions along with their respective cells and ally criminal organizations. Although, since the alleged truce between the rival factions it’s unclear if the violence will lessen or if it’ll remain steady as efforts are shifted towards other groups within Tamaulipas and regions deemed strategically important. 

Sources: Hyperlinked In Text