US Border Agents Now Face Drone Bombs Threat: Report
February 4, 2025
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Cartels have approved the deployment of weaponized drone explosives targeting border agents and other U.S. law enforcement at the southern border, it has been reported.
According to a leaked memo seen by NewsNation, violent threats continue to rise on social media, including pledges to use lethal force against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson told Newsweek: “We remain vigilant and stand ready to ensure the safety of our personnel, migrants, and local communities, and the security of our borders.”
Why It Matters
ICE has been thrust into the forefront of the national conversation surrounding immigration enforcement operations as President Donald Trump lays the groundwork to begin large-scale mass deportations.
Trump made immigration a core component of his successful presidential campaign. Americans largely support immigration reform overall, but disagree about how policies such as deportations should be carried out.
A DJI Mavic 3 drone flies past a U.S. government surveillance tower near the U.S.-Mexico border on September 27, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona. A DJI Mavic 3 drone flies past a U.S. government surveillance tower near the U.S.-Mexico border on September 27, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona. John Moore/Getty
What To Know
CBP is distributing two memos to its agents and officers, according to reports.
One post features a call for the murder of ICE officers, and another TikTok video instructs undocumented immigrants in the country to urinate and spit on the food of ICE officers and to defecate in their cars. Another social media post calls for the killing of local ICE agents.
A second memo alerts that cartels have sanctioned the use of drone explosives targeting CBP personnel and U.S. law enforcement officers.
However, one source told Newsweek, “when they put out these memos, it’s more be aware than something coming.”
Meanwhile, a former ICE field office director has said targeted immigration enforcement under the Trump administration will “absolutely” dismantle cartels and crime syndicates.
What People Are Saying
A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson told Newsweek: “The U.S. Border Patrol’s mission includes detecting, deterring, disrupting, and apprehending dangerous individuals and narcotics from entering the U.S. Threats and assaults against CBP personnel are taken very seriously. We remain vigilant and stand ready to ensure the safety of our personnel, migrants, and local communities, and the security of our borders.”
Security expert Charles Marino told NewsNation: “This is not surprising, and threats are very serious. Look, we’re seeing an unprecedented response by the Trump administration to an unprecedented national security and humanitarian crisis that was allowed to fester and get worse and worse.”
John Fabbricatore, a retired ICE field office director in Colorado and traveling fellow at the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, told Newsweek: “Absolutely, I think that they can because we’re serious about enforcing the law now.”
He added, “We’re serious about how we’re going to treat these terrorist organizations and these gangs.”
What Happens Next
As the threat of violence against U.S. law enforcement increases, the Trump administration’s response will likely focus on increasing counterterrorism measures and deploying more resources to the border to combat cartel operations. With drone explosives now reportedly being sanctioned by cartels, CBP and ICE will likely ramp up surveillance and defensive technologies.
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