RIO GRANDE VALLEY — The U.S. military used a laser to shoot down three drones along the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Texas' Rio Grande Valley on August 25, 2026. The Pentagon announced the operation on Thursday, stating the drones were allegedly operated by drug cartels.

The drones were shot down late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning by the U.S. military's southern border Joint Task Force. The operation used an Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system to neutralize the aerial threats.

USNORTHCOM determined the drones were hostile because they supported activities posing a physical threat to U.S. military personnel and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The southern border Joint Task Force is a unit of USNORTHCOM tasked with supporting non-military authorities in the region.

"Cartel networks are increasingly employing unmanned aircraft systems to facilitate illicit human-smuggling and actively spy on our personnel and law enforcement partners," Major General Curtis Taylor said. Taylor serves as a spokesperson for the command and provided details on the nature of the threat.

A USNORTHCOM spokesperson stated that shots were taken in coordination with all partners operating along the border. The command did not specify exactly where the drones were shot down or which cartels the drones were believed to belong to.

"By integrating layered countermeasures alongside advanced directed-energy capabilities like this laser system, we have made it clear that we will not tolerate hostile surveillance." Taylor said. The military emphasized its commitment to protecting personnel from aerial surveillance.

A USNORTHCOM spokesperson stated that no additional details would be provided due to operational security reasons and ongoing counter cartel and counter drone operations. This limitation on information prevents the disclosure of specific tactical capabilities or future patrol patterns.

AeroVironment Inc delivered its first two multi-purpose high-energy lasers to the U.S. Army last summer. The U.S. Army has previously deployed AeroVironment Inc's LOCUST system in other contexts.

In mid-February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection used a military laser on-loan from the Pentagon to shoot down an object near El Paso, later reported to be Mylar balloons, leading the FAA to temporarily close airspace. The deployment of the LOCUST system led to a seven-hour airspace shutdown near Texas' El Paso International Airport earlier in 2026.

US security officials have expressed concern about the use of drones by Mexican cartels. Mexican cartels mostly employ crudely adapted versions of off-the-shelf drone models to drop drug packages or surveil trafficking routes.

Why It Matters

The use of directed-energy weapons against cartel drones marks an escalation in the technological methods employed by the U.S. military along the southern border. The Posse Comitatus Act provides that whoever willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute U.S. laws, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, shall be fined under title 18, U.S.C. or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. This legal framework governs the extent to which military assets can be used for domestic law enforcement purposes.

The incident shows the growing role of unmanned aircraft in cross-border criminal activities and the corresponding military response. Austin Doctor is an associate professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the director of strategic initiatives at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center. His expertise provides context for understanding the operational patterns of these groups.

Timeline

The southern border Joint Task Force was formed in 2025. The southern border Joint Task Force was formed in support of President Trump's immigration policies.

In February 2026, a U.S. military laser accidentally shot down a U.S. Customs and Border Protection drone in the Fort Hancock area in southwest Texas. Austin Doctor noted that cartels have not used weaponized drones inside the U.S. but they do use them inside Mexico to target rival cartels. Austin Doctor stated that cartels primarily use drones near the border for surveillance purposes "to support their other illegal criminal activities, including smuggling of narcotics, smuggling of persons, firearms, and other illicit goods." In February 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration briefly shut down commercial airspace around El Paso following an internal safety disagreement between the FAA and Pentagon over military drone tests near Fort Bliss.

What's New

In parts of Mexico farther from the U.S. border, cartels have used drones to drop explosives in deadly attacks. Since its establishment in 2025, the border task force has conducted tens of thousands of detection and monitoring patrols and thousands of observation flights.