Overview
- Mexico has sent about 800 military personnel to the Tijuana–San Diego sector as part of Águila Alta, a coordinated U.S.–Mexico counter‑drone effort described as operations espejo.
- The Mexican deployment covers a roughly 5-kilometre border strip centered on Mesa de Otay with 500 metres of depth into Mexican territory and uses two to three semifixed or mobile counter‑drone units.
- Those counter‑drone systems can inhibit devices out to about 3 kilometres, but Mexican defence officials say the operation has produced no confirmed results on Mexico’s side so far.
- Authorities say most drones detected on the border are commercial models used by 'polleros' for video surveillance to aid illegal crossings and are distinct from weaponized drone uses reported in states like Michoacán and Sinaloa.
- U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson has publicly praised the joint operation and Mexican officials plan a bilateral meeting next week to exchange technology, intelligence and the U.S. findings to better reconcile results.