Drone Attacks by Drug Traffickers in Colombia on the Rise

What Happened?

In the past several months, the number of drone attacks by drug organizations against government security forces in Colombia has been steadily increasing. According to the Economist, drug trafficking groups have used drones to attack police stations, army bases, naval vessels, and individual soldiers on active duty in Colombia. 

Columbia’s former vice president, Humberto de la Calle, said, ‘this has never happened before in Colombia.’ Even as the current President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, has been trying to broker what he calls total peace with the various armed groups in the country, they have increased their attacks against the Colombian government.

Why it Matters

Two factors are likely behind the increase in drone attacks against Colombian government forces. First, a flood of cheap and capable drones, mostly made in China, has made buying drones cheap and operating them easy. Second, video footage from the conflict in Ukraine has grown significantly online, providing anyone who wants to look at it with a vast and easily accessible tutorial on how to use drones to attack your enemies. None of the commercial drones made in China carry weapons, but videos from Ukraine show how to modify drones to employ munitions.

While Colombia has seen a rise in drone attacks against government security forces, the availability of drones and instructional footage worldwide means what is happening in Colombia could happen anywhere. Even groups with modest resources can afford to purchase hundreds of drones, and few technical skills are required to turn commercial drones into attack drones. Ukraine has led the way in drone innovation, and nearly all those modifications can be found and analyzed through online video content posted from Ukrainian and Russian sources.

In the case of Colombia, armed groups have been battling government forces on and off for decades. But armed drones are increasingly becoming the weapon of choice by drug organizations and militias because they are cheap, effective, and can be employed with almost no risk to the drone operators. As drone operators in Ukraine have shown, drones can enable smaller groups to punch well above their weight in battle, giving them the ability to destroy larger and more expensive military machines with low-cost and easy-to-use drones. 

Counter-drone technology has been catching up, with many major militaries, including the U.S. military, racing to train and equip their troops with technology to track and defeat attack drones. Columbia’s armed forces appear to have not yet adopted the newest counter-drone equipment.

How it Affects You

Drone attacks by gangs and drug traffickers in Colombia should be seen as a warning for governments everywhere. Because drones are so inexpensive, easy to modify, and effective when used, they pose a serious threat to security forces worldwide. Drone attacks against government forces can happen anywhere in the world, and it is likely this style of attack will spread to other locations.