During a recent hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Gregory M. Guillot warned lawmakers of a new border threat: the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are crossing the border en masse. According to the general, the drones crossing the border now number over 1000 a month and are likely being used to help criminal elements.
Such is what Gen. Guillot told Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), noting when asked that there are thousands of the small UAVs crossing the border every month. He said, “The number of incursions was something that was alarming to me as I took command last month.” Continuing, he added, “I don’t know the actual number – I don’t think anybody does – but it’s in the thousands.”
Continuing, Gen. Guillot emphasized the likely veracity of that estimated figure, saying that Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) also thinks thousands of the small drones are crossing every month. He said, “I’ve talked to Customs and Border Protection, who are responsible for the UAS incursions on the border, along with DOJ. And they put the number at thousands.”
Then, when asked over what time interval the thousands of drones are crossing the southern border, Gen. Guillot emphasized that the massive number is a monthly figure. He told the committee, “I would say in probably over a month we could probably have over 1,000 a month.”
According to San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron M. Heitke, who spoke in a statement about the drone crossing issue that was quoted by the New York Post, the UAVs are likely being used by the drug cartels and traffickers to spy on Border Patrol agents.
Making that point, Agent Heitke said, “Human smugglers using drones to surveil the Border Patrol is a growing trend that we’ve observed along the border.” Continuing, Agent Heitke added that the drug cartels are trying to exploit the tech to gain a step up on the patrolling officers, saying, “This technology provides transnational criminal organizations with new capability that they are eager to exploit.”
Drones aren’t the only big border crosser problem. Chinese nationals are crossing en masse as well, Gen. Guillot claimed, saying, “The number of Chinese that are coming across the border is a big concern of mine. In fact, in the short period of time that I’ve been in command, I’ve gone down to the southern border to talk to the agents and leadership about that. And then I’ve also spoken with the acting commissioner of the CBP on this subject,”
Continuing on that point, he emphasized that intelligence personnel could be included amongst them, saying, “What concerns me most about specifically the Chinese migrants is – one, that they’re so centralized in one location on the border. And two, is while many may be political refugees, other explanations, the ability for counterintelligence to hide in plain sight in those numbers.”
Watch Guillot’s testimony before the committee here:
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