5 months ago
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EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Five House members are giving national agencies 30 days to archer them if Mexican cartel drones airs a menace to U.S. work members connected borderline duty. If so, they privation to cognize what steps are successful spot to instrumentality them down.
In a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Chris Rocheleau, Republican members of Congress led by U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona, expressed concerns astir cartels perchance targeting the 9,000 Department of Defense troops precocious tapped to assistance agents and officers connected the Southwest border.
Such concerns surfaced during a legislature delegation sojourn to the Southwest borderline and travel connected the heels of El Paso's interim Border Patrol main saying drones flying crossed the borderline successful Juarez, Mexico, have been monitoring his agents daily.
“While the beingness of active-duty unit has granted enhanced capabilities, the cause cartels crossed the borderline are already seeking caller plans for attack,” the missive said. “During our clip astatine the border, we heard firsthand from commanders and supervisors connected the crushed being capable to behaviour (counter unmanned aerial systems) operations should the cartels effort a drone onslaught connected U.S. work members oregon national instrumentality enforcement.”
Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona, addresses reporters aft a closed-door House Republican Conference gathering connected Tuesday, June 4, 2024.Drug cartels crossed the borderline successful Chihuahua earlier this twelvemonth dropped explosives implicit a Mexican National Guard patrol, sending three soldiers and constabulary officers to the hospital.
The GOP congressmen said adjacent tiny and mid-sized drones airs a menace connected immoderate battlefield. They utilized arsenic an illustration the Jan. 28, 2024, drone onslaught connected the Tower 22 outpost that killed 3 U.S. work members and wounded 47 others successful Rukban, Jordan.
The members of Congress request to cognize which bureau is liable for responding to unmanned aerial systems threats astatine the Southwest borderline and however accelerated it tin find if a drone is hostile and needs to beryllium downed.
“We person seen occurrence successful securing our nation's borders. However, erstwhile it comes to unsafe cause cartels, wherever determination is simply a will, determination is simply a way,” U.S. Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah, tweeted.
"Cartel drone enactment astatine the confederate borderline threatens our nationalist security," added Ciscomani.
