Editorial illustration for CJNG uses AI, drones, social media to oust Knights Templar, Zetas in five years
Mexican Cartels Weaponize AI for Drug & Border Ops
CJNG uses AI, drones, social media to oust Knights Templar, Zetas in five years
Why does a Mexican cartel’s tech play matter to anyone watching organized crime? The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, has been quietly reshaping its operations with tools most people associate with Silicon Valley rather than smuggling routes. While the group’s leaders have long relied on brute force, recent reports show they’re now fielding artificial‑intelligence algorithms to parse surveillance feeds, deploying off‑the‑shelf drones to scout rival hideouts, and using social‑media platforms to coordinate attacks and spread intimidation.
Here’s the thing: those capabilities didn’t appear overnight. After the high‑profile capture and extradition of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, CJNG turned to a new recruitment drive, pulling in specialists who understand finance, chemistry and data analytics. The result?
A rapid expansion that has upended long‑standing rivals across three Mexican states. The numbers speak for themselves—within a half‑decade, the cartel has reshaped the power map in Michoacán, Jalisco and Zacatecas.
Cartels Embracing Tech In less than five years, the CJNG displaced the Knights Templar from southern Michoacán and expelled Los Zetas from northern Jalisco and parts of Zacatecas. After Guzmán Loera's capture and extradition, the group strengthened its strategy by recruiting financial and chemical s
Cartels Embracing Tech In less than five years, the CJNG displaced the Knights Templar from southern Michoacán and expelled Los Zetas from northern Jalisco and parts of Zacatecas. After Guzmán Loera's capture and extradition, the group strengthened its strategy by recruiting financial and chemical specialists to boost the manufacture of synthetic drugs and diversify its income through money-laundering schemes in sectors such as livestock, mining, agriculture, and construction, as well as expanding extortion of small- and medium-size businesses. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) notes that the CJNG operates in more than 40 countries and has a financial structure known as Los Cuinis, headed by Abigael González Valencia, Oseguera's brother-in-law.
This network coordinates money-laundering operations through international trade, cryptocurrencies, and links with Asian networks. Several investigations have documented the use of digital tools for recruitment and fraud. In 2024, Interpol warned that groups like the CJNG were involved in large-scale financial scams supported by AI, natural language models, and cryptocurrencies.
It also detected the expansion of human trafficking for forced criminal activity in scam compounds. A study by El Colegio de México, in collaboration with the Civic AI Lab at Northeastern University in Boston, revealed that TikTok has become a recruitment tool for Mexican cartels, including CJNG.
Will the CJNG’s new tools sustain its dominance now that El Mencho is gone? The cartel’s rapid adoption of AI, drones and social‑media tactics helped it push the Knights Templar out of southern Michoacán and force Los Zetas from northern Jalisco and parts of Zacatecas within five years. After the capture and extradition of Guzmán Loera, the group reportedly bolstered its operations by recruiting financial and chemical expertise.
Yet the death of its founder raises questions about command continuity and whether the same technological edge will translate into tighter control or further fragmentation. Experts warn that a reconfiguration of drug‑trafficking networks could spark a fresh surge of violence, but the exact scale remains unclear. Authorities are now turning their attention to the CJNG’s mechanisms of intimidation and how its digital infrastructure might be disrupted.
In the short term, the cartel’s capacity to replace leadership and maintain its tech‑driven model will be the key factor shaping the next phase of Mexico’s security challenges.
Further Reading
- Papers with Code - Latest NLP Research - Papers with Code
- Hugging Face Daily Papers - Hugging Face
- ArXiv CS.CL (Computation and Language) - ArXiv
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Common Questions Answered
How are Mexican cartels using drones to enhance their operations?
[washingtonpost.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/02/11/mexico-el-paso-drones-drugs-cartels/60e804c2-07a0-11f1-b196-5e1986b3575c_story.html) reports that cartels are using drones to modernize their operations in multiple ways, including smuggling fentanyl, organizing migrant border crossings, surveilling territory, and waging war on rival cartels. According to Department of Homeland Security data, more than 27,000 drones were detected within 500 meters of the U.S. southern border in the last six months of 2024, primarily operating at night.
What is the historical context of drug trafficking by air in Mexico?
Drug trafficking by air has deep roots in Ciudad Juarez, particularly through Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the founder of the Juarez Cartel, who earned the nickname 'The Lord of the Skies' in the 1990s for transporting large drug shipments in small aircraft. [seattletimes.com](https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/how-mexican-cartels-employ-drones-as-tools-to-smuggle-drugs-and-fight-enemies/) notes that when Fuentes died in 1997, his family continued operations, and by the time his brother Vicente was arrested, an estimated 70% of cocaine entering the United States came through Juarez.
When did Mexican drug cartels begin using drone technology?
Mexico first issued an international alert about drug traffickers' use of remotely piloted aircraft systems in 2010, which marked the beginning of widespread drone adoption by cartels. [abcnews.com](https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/mexican-cartels-employ-drones-tools-smuggle-drugs-fight-130082081) reports that between 2012 and 2014, U.S. authorities detected 150 unmanned aircraft systems crossing the border with Mexico, a number that dramatically increased to 10,000 incursions in the Rio Grande Valley area of southern Texas a decade later.