Mexican Cartel Drone Attacks Displace 800 to 1,000 Families in Guerrero

Between 800 and 1,000 families have been forced to leave their homes in the mountains of central Mexico after attacks by the criminal group Los Ardillos using drones carrying handmade explosives and high-caliber weapons. The wave of violence in Guerrero state began on Wednesday and intensified over the following days, according to community and human rights groups.

Thousands of people, including children and the elderly, fled in a short period after what they described as years of mounting attacks. Videos shared on social media showed families taking refuge in a church and a soccer field while gunfire and explosions echoed across farmland and forests.

A representative for the People’s Indigenous Council of Guerrero – Emiliano Zapata said the communities had experienced days of terror. 50 caliber weapons, killed animals and set fire to hillsides, prompting her to flee with her twin sons. The National Indigenous Congress reported that villages faced eight hours of bombings on one day last week.

The group has documented 76 people killed and 25 missing in the region in recent years from conflict involving Los Ardillos. A study from Mexico’s Ibero University found the number of people displaced by violence in the country more than doubled from 12,600 in 2023 to 28,900 in 2024.

Nearly 400,000 people were displaced nationwide as of the end of 2024.

The Guerrero state government reported registering only 90 displaced people and said federal and state forces had been sent for security and surveillance operations. Community representatives said the attacks target local armed self-defense groups and aim to force residents to grow opium poppies.

They added that three joint military, national guard and state police bases in the area had not halted the violence. One representative stated the communities had largely been abandoned by Mexican forces. The use of bomb-carrying drones and sophisticated weaponry by criminal groups has become more common in Mexico in recent years.

Many poor and rural communities have responded by forming their own defense forces or fleeing their homes.