U.S.CRIME WATCH

Drone count sparks questions about who is watching whom

Experts warn the cartels will keep innovating, and the drones reportedly scout agents and map smuggling routes; the desert now has more surveillance than a mall.

On air: Rosa Ticks and Hank Ledger on BBN Crime Watch
Published 8:41 PM ET, Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Photo: Unmanned aerial vehicle — Photo: Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

At a glance

First reported by Fox News: “Cartels use drones to scout border agents and map smuggling routes, expert warns”.
Covered on BBN on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 8:41 PM ET on BBN Crime Watch, by Rosa Ticks and Hank Ledger.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

Fox NewsCartels use drones to scout border agents and map smuggling routes, expert warns

What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe new detail tonight is the scale: the military counted three hundred seventy-eight cartel drone incursions along the Mexico border in thirty days, and experts say the cartels are not finished innovating.
Rosa Ticks · Live ReporterTHREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-EIGHT! That is TWELVE a day, and every single one is LOOKING at the agents, allegedly, like a nosy neighbor with a PROPELLER!
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorTwelve a day.
Rosa Ticks · Live ReporterThey are mapping the routes, Hank! Who patrols where, when the shifts change! I am eating a gas station burrito and I feel personally OBSERVED!
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo the people paid to watch the desert are being watched by the desert, and nobody has asked for a meeting about it.
Rosa Ticks · Live ReporterAnd the drones never take a day off!
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWhich means they have logged more border hours than anyone on the schedule, and they still don't have a pension.