A Mexican Town Worried The World Cup Could Lead To Cartel Attacks. It’s Being Bombed By Drones

Rural Mexican communities are facing bombardment from cartel drones despite spending weeks trying to warn the government that such an attack was likely.

The Associated Press reported that a smattering of rural communities known as Guajes de Ayala have faced such attacks. According to the outlet, the community had been trying to warn authorities of the potential of cartel threats and activities by La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

The community had worried that as World Cup celebrations occurred in major hubs such as Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey cartel forces would move in.

“While some are celebrating goals, others are getting massacred by drones carrying bombs,” 24-year-old Marilu Solorio told the AP. “Instead of protecting people in the places where they’ve been playing the World Cup, (Mexico’s government) should be protecting people like us, who have never done anything wrong.”

The use of drones by Mexican drug cartels has become increasingly commonplace. Last year, Border Report reported that an average of 328 drones came within 500 meters of the U.S. border every day.

“Nearly every day transnational criminal organizations use drones to convey illicit narcotics and contraband across U.S. borders and to conduct hostile surveillance of law enforcement,” Steven Willoughby, deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security’s counter-drone program, told Border Report at the time.

The Brookings Institute reported that although drug cartels use drones primarily for reconnaissance when it comes to the U.S., the story in Mexico is much different.

“Since at least 2020, Mexican cartels have also operated weaponized drones against their enemies, security forces, and communities,” the Brookings report stated. “In October 2025, the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) flew an off-the-shelf drone loaded with a primitive explosive device, known in Mexico as a potato bomb, into a heavily-protected compound of the state prosecutor’s office in Tijuana.”

The report noted that no one was killed in the attack, but that the cartel demonstrated the ability to penetrate high-defense areas.

In Guajes de Ayala, the AP reported that a local self-defense group had attempted to respond to the cartel violence. Meanwhile, the Mexican government denied the cartel violence despite livestreamed videos by locals showing gunfire and smoke billowing from mountain lookouts established by citizens for security.