US drone flies over central Mexico in operation requested by Mexican government

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection drone, operating at the request of the Mexican government, flew over central Mexico to assist local investigations, according to officials.

Flight-tracking data showed that a CBP MQ-9B SkyGuardian drone took off on Wednesday morning from Texas and arrived in Valle de Bravo, a municipality in the State of Mexico near Mexico City.

The unmanned aircraft reportedly flew over Valle de Bravo and nearby locations, entering the area at 6:43 a.m. and remaining in flight for about 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Mexico’s top security official, Omar García Harfuch, said the aircraft was not a military drone but an unarmed, unmanned plane operating for investigative purposes at the request of the Mexican government.

“They flew specifically in support and collaboration for investigations we have in our country,” Harfuch said. He denied that any foreign military operations were being conducted.

Journalist José Luis Montenegro, who specializes in organized crime in Mexico, said the operation appeared to be targeting brothers Johnny “El Pez” Hurtado Olascoaga and José Alfredo “El Fresa” Hurtado Olascoaga, leaders of ‘La Nueva Familia Michoacana,’ the cartel that controls the region.

The U.S. Department of State designated ‘La Nueva Familia Michoacana’ as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group under a January executive order signed by President Trump.

The drone activity comes a day after the United States took custody of 26 inmates from Mexico, including leaders and operatives from cartels with FTO and SDGT designations.

Those extradited include high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, and Cártel del Noreste, as well as Servando “La Tuta” Gómez Martínez, former leader of the Knights Templar Cartel.