Mexico says US drones fly under Mexican supervision

Mar 16, 2011, 17:11 GMT

New York - Mexican authorities confirmed Wednesday reports that US drones had entered Mexican territory to help track down drug gang activity, but they stressed that they had done so under Mexican supervision and only to deal with specific cases.

The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing unnamed American military officials and Mexican officials, that the United States has been sending high-altitude, unarmed drones into Mexico since last month.

The report said the move was part of the increased US role in Mexico's drug wars and that the drones are being sent deep into Mexican territory to help locate drug traffickers and their networks. Information gleaned from the missions is being passed on to Mexican officials.

'(Mexico) has requested from the United States government the support of drones on specific occasions and events,' Mexico's National Security Council said in a statement.

The council said such interventions aim to obtain information as requested by the Mexican government, not by the United States, 'particularly in the border area, to attain concrete goals in the field of security.'

'When they take place, these operations are always done with permission, surveillance and supervision from national agencies, including the Mexican Air Force,' the statement said.

According to The New York Times, the deployment of drones follows an agreement between Presidents Barack Obama of the United States and Felipe Calderon of Mexico to continue the surveillance flights when they met in Washington earlier this month.

The agreement was not announced at the time.

Mexico, particularly its northern regions, has experienced a surge in violence linked to organized crime in recent years, with more than 15,000 people killed in 2010 alone.

For years, Mexico complained that the United States - the main market for drugs moving through Mexico - was not doing enough to help fight the drug gangs but instead was fuelling the wars with high demand for illicit drugs and ready supplies of weapons travelling south of the border in exchange.

Under Obama, however, cooperation has been visibly stepped up, with high US government officials acknowledging the need to get more directly involved in anti-narcotics efforts, most notably by curbing the flow of funds and firearms that fuel crime south of the border.

The United States has trained thousands of Mexican troops and police officers and supplied equipment to Mexico's security forces. However, it had so far stopped short of sending its own personnel on missions into Mexico, for legal reasons as well as nationalistic concerns.

The Mexican National Security Council stressed that the deployment of drones complies with Mexico's laws and that it has allowed the country to move forward 'in the development of intelligence capacities.'

The deployment of drones on Mexican territory follows the scandal over the operation 'Fast and Furious' on the illegal trade in firearms.

Personnel of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) allowed up to 2,000 firearms to be illegally traded from the United States into Mexico so they could be tracked down, without informing either Mexican authorities or the US Justice Department.

They then lost track of the weapons.

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