Mexican lawmakers complained about the drone flights into Mexico, saying they violated the sovereignty of the nation

 well known that the United States routinely uses military drone aircraft in the Middle East with great success to monitor the movement of our enemies. Now it has come to light that the same technology is being used by the United States to help fight the drug gangs in Mexico.

The revelation came when some Mexican lawmakers complained about the drone flights into Mexico, saying they violated the sovereignty of the nation. It turns out, however, that the Mexican government is actively encouraging the flights.

There are apparently two types of drone flights going into Mexico.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has been flying Predator drones into Mexico since 2009 and the U.S. Air Force has been sending in Global Hawk drones for the past month, according to an Associated Press report.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretary Patricia Espinosa said neither of the drones is armed and they are requested and “controlled” by Mexico and therefore cannot violate that nation's sovereignty. According to the AP report, a Mexico representative is always present at the U.S. flight center during operations.

This opens a new window into the kind of cooperation that is taking place between the two nations in the effort to battle drug activity in Mexico. Undoubtedly there are other activities taking place of which we are not yet aware.

We have long urged the United States to take an active role in helping Mexico battle the drug lords and are pleased to see Mexican officials taking advantage of our nation's technological abilities.

Whether the drones are tracking terrorists or drug runners, the goal is the same: to get rid of the “bad guys.”