After what may be the shortest trade war in history, Mexico and Canada have each committed 10,000 troops to their respective borders, while the US has reinforced its southern border with thousands of troops. These developments suggest the US military may be gearing up for potential action against out-of-control Mexican drug cartels, with the first step involving the collection of signals intelligence (SIGINT) through surveillance flights over cartel-controlled territories in Mexico.
Several open-source intelligence X accounts have posted flight tracking data of a US Air Force RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft, indicating it may have conducted a SIGINT operation over the southern half of Baja California, a region home to heavily armed Tijuana Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel members.
“Wow, for the first time I have ever seen, a U.S. Air Force RC-135V “Rivet Joint” Signals Intelligence Platform from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, is operating within Mexican Airspace, over the Gulf of California between Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa,” OSINTdefender wrote on X.
WarMonitor wrote on X, “American military RC-135V Rivet Joint surveillance plane has been taking a good look at cartel positions all over the western coast of Mexico today including in Sinaloa.”