Drone Warfare By Insurgents And Cartels with Guillermo Calderón López

In this episode, I sat down with Guillermo Calderón López, a Jalisco, Mexico-based journalist and analyst, to discuss the use of drones by groups like Hamas and Hezbollah in the current Israel-Gaza War. We also looked at the use of drone technology by cartels in Latin America and jihadists elsewhere. Guillermo and I also examined the challenge drone warfare poses to counterinsurgents.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Once exclusive to nation states, dronewarfare is now increasingly being carried out by
insurgents, criminal groups, and terrorists. During the October seventh attack on southern
Israel, Palestinian militant group Hamas deployedseveral suicide drones with small payloads to target
Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles along theIsrael Gaza border. In the present Gaza

(00:23):
War that ensued, militant groups fromLebanon, Iraq and Yemen launched drones periodically
at Israel to relieve pressure on Hamas. On the US Mexico border, drug
and human trafficking organizations used drones tomonitor law enforcement in Mexico. Cartels have
even used explosive leaden drones against rivalsand authorities. Welcome to Strategic Wisdom with

(00:50):
Andrew jose I Am Andrew jose aWashington, DC based security policy analyst and
news reporter bringing you unique analysis andcommentary on issues in international relations, counterinsurgency,
and war. In today's episode,we'll dive into non state actors increasing

(01:11):
use of drones. Joining me todayis a fellow reporter from Mexico to discuss
the impact, trends, and implicationsof drone warfare by non state actors.

(01:59):
Guguero College lopezze Jalisco, Mexico basedjournalist and analysts specializing in the Middle East,
jihadism, and the former Soviet Union. Guillermo's work has been featured in
Militant Wire and the Spanish language internationalrelations publication the Scripando la Gedra. In

(02:19):
his recent reporting work for Militant Wire, Guillermo has reported on the use of
drones in the current Israel Gaza warby jihadi's outfits such as the Iran sponsored
by Rainy group Saraya Alasta. JermoCarlo Lopez, Welcome to the show.
Thank you, Andrew. I'm sopleased to be here with you. Could

(02:40):
you explain to the audience today onhow drones have been used by militant groups
in the current Israel Gaza war andhow sophisticated is the technology that is being
used in these drones. Well,we have to distinguish first in the Ams

(03:00):
israild war and the brother completed thesethat includes jamming Iraqs Area. AMAS has
used these drones, not although notso much that reported as by SAW in
Iraq, this Laming Resistance has useddrones. For example, one of tours

(03:27):
in the United States intercepted who attackedrooms name ASEF two K. These drones
have also been used by the whodis in themen M They're a sicide drone
and it explains to eight to tentwenty meters and the it's pieces when it

(03:51):
explodes go into a ratio of twentyfour hundred meters. Write that twenty four
hundred meters in it and and thewhen in this radio will have serious troubles.
It was used in Iraq. Inthis Syria too, the Islamic Crisis

(04:13):
Sistance has also used them fight.It's a chemicaside room and it has been
used on an attack on Al Hadirbase. It has Iranian design. Both
are chemicalsies. Sara jaa Star hashas used improvised rooms. Those rooms are

(04:35):
not such sophisticated as the others.Saraya drones have been locally assembled. Who
teachs have all suits also used asdrombot body is. It is like the

(04:56):
most least sophisticated rone as well.Has use also the another of Rome since
the two thousands, and it hasbeen used in Kalile. It's like a
drone one way room. Also thecase the two K it's also an assid

(05:26):
room mm hmm. And the Hoodieshave used the wave drones based on the
on another kind of drone name Shahevone thirty six, and also the Rangers
themselves know have used this drone.It can reach the Shah very sick,

(05:49):
can reach one hundred to twenty hundredkilometers, can carry fifty explosive kilograms lower
and warheads. It has GPS,and it's driven by inertia, and it
can damage infrastructure. These are allsophisticated drones and almost all are made by

(06:15):
Iran, Thank you so much.Nowadays, drone technology has been widely commercialized
by anyone with an Amazon account canorder a basic camera carrying drone. Are
the drones that we see today used? Are they mostly rigged variants of commercial

(06:36):
UAVs modified variants of drones that arecommercially available. I don't think so.
I don't think so. These haveour another designing different capabilities, So no,
I don't think so. What wouldyou say is the extent of involvement
that state sponsors have in the manufactureand use of these drones as Dimension m

(07:00):
R manufactured by Iran? So arethey like Iran manufacturers and then exports them,
where Iran basically sends the designs andthese are locally manufactured. No,
so as I knew it exports them. And one kind of drone was being
used in Ukrato about by Russia.Right, yeah, So what makes these

(07:26):
drones a challenge for Israel and belligeransin other wars? What is it about
drone warfare that makes it so challengingtoday for countries that respond to aerial threats.
Well, I was writing songs beforecoming into here, communites before coming

(07:47):
into here that Israel was concerned thatthe drone schools would overload be the Irontal
and they are, and that wouldmake the Iron done unable to respond to
an initial or something later. Somethinglike that happened on October seven, moving

(08:13):
away from Gaza. How common isdrone warfare by non state groups, including
Jihad's outfits elsewhere in the world.Well, the Islamic State back in twenty
sixteen almost stopped the most offense thedrones work US in trouble for the Iraqi

(08:33):
security forces and the US Air Force. That's the twenty sixteen the then that
type has Yes, the drones intheir attack on Jordan against are in the
US base. You't remember that attackin February. This was this year this

(08:56):
year, right, yeah, ohyeah, yeah. And I think the
United States responded to it by carryingout strikes in Iraq. And I think
even Jordan joined itsig in mixing theattack because the the US has bombed Theoria
a lot of times on Iraq,and they also responded by killing a cond

(09:20):
in Iraq. Moving back to ourconversation here, and you had this also
use drones on their attack on themilitary academy back in October. What about
drug cartels in Mexico and South America? How do they use drones? How
drones helped these groups in their dayto day operations and long term strategy.

(09:46):
Well, they use them facing thearrivals, They used them facing the military
police. That's for a start,it has been. Cartels also use the
drones on four ways. See he'stwenty ten for their main purposonal trafficking drugs.

(10:11):
Now that's what cartils do. Theybegin to use drones on twenty seventeen
to fight, and after twenty twinand the pandemic, they use the drones
for propaganda, spreading their narrative,sending success to the population. To the

(10:39):
government and also regarding themselves, helpingpeople and for like vision combat. In
twenty twenty one, they also usethe drones for rather information and exploring the
ara before attacking the arrival when thetwo police officers and it is widely used

(11:05):
among curtils and is the drone?Are they similar to the ones used by
the groups in the Middle East?Or these are more rudimentary or ordimentary?
Would you say that these drones areusually like DGI drones that are bought off
the market, or the cartels haveengineers who make the drones in the house.

(11:28):
They already have divisions in church ofmaking the drone aimentary new but curtils
are already there their unity in churchof this. How would you propose policymakers

(11:48):
regulate this technology balancing both innovation andsecurity interest. They are already regulated works
in Australia see He's twenty thirteen.Drones must be at least thirty meters a
week from urbanstructor buildings and if oneone wants to use other roone, well

(12:18):
they must that could with the council. In Friends, it is forbidden to
be play grounds over the nuclear planetsand in Hong Kong they have no fly
zones. I don't see how muchmore can they be regulated? Ladies and

(12:39):
gentlemen, you just listen to journalistsand analyst Pierremo Color on lapezte Pieron Color
on Lapez. Thank you for yourtime, Thank you for inviting, Thank
you for listening to Strategic Wisdom.Be sure to follow and subscribe whatever podcast

(13:01):
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(13:24):
Wisdom. That is s t RA t w I S d O M.
This is your host, Andrew Josesigning of