Cops, cartels and the new drone wars on the southern border

On the U.S. side of the southern border, local law enforcement officials have begun using AI-programmed drones to locate drug traffickers and migrants. • On the Mexico side, drug cartels are using their own drones to stake out desert areas in the U.S. to smuggle their products.

Why it matters: The U.S. government — whose own patrol drones help create what it calls a "virtual wall" — has long fueled the tech war along the border. But now even small local agencies are stepping into this arms race against cartels and illegal immigration.

The big picture: The drone wars are unfolding even as migrant traffic has dropped to its lowest levels in decades. They're being driven in part by staffing shortages in police and sheriff's departments, as well as cuts in federal aid that have limited tra