“I Feel Like a God”: Drones in the Modern Drug War
“I Feel Like a God”: Drones in the Modern Drug War
“Sometimes I feel like a God hurling thunderbolts from afar,” one US soldier commented, regarding the god-like power drone operators have as they surveil from above. Aerial military capacity was once dominated by state powers. This monopoly, however, has increasingly been challenged by crafty militias and other armed forces – as we have seen in Ukraine – thanks to the development of cheaper drone technology and aerial UAVs.
While consumers have had unprecedented access to drones, so too have insurgent and criminal groups. The traditional aerial hegemony of nation-states has collapsed, making power over the sky accessible to all; and with this change comes a new form of drug war violence currently developing in Mexico. (Talking Drugs, UK, 28.11.2023)
https://www.talkingdrugs.org/i-feel-like-a-god-drones-in-the-modern-drug-war/