Mexico City, Mexico - Mexico's military is preparing to confront the threat of possible unauthorized drones in soccer stadiums during this year's World Cup.

On Tuesday, soldiers at a military base in Mexico City demonstrated the anti-drone equipment they are set to use to protect the nation's stadiums against potential incursions by cartel drones.

The prevention tactics are a response to the growing use of internet-bought drones by drug cartels to hit rivals and civilians in regions plagued by organized crime.

While these areas are typically far from the three World Cup venues, which will host 13 of the tournament's 104 matches, drones still present a very real threat.

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Mexico will cohost the competition alongside the US and Canada from June 11 to July 19.

"[Drone prevention] is going to be focused in the stadiums and where there are crowds, which could be the 'Fan Fest' events or any point where there are meetings of people," Captain Jose Alfredo Lara, a communications and electronics engineer, told AFP.

Mexico's specialized anti-drone battalion will use two types of anti-drone equipment. One is a semi-mobile system that will establish a perimeter within which "no unauthorized drone will be allowed to fly."

The other is a portable system that a soldier can adjust to aim towards wherever a nonauthorized drone may be flying.

Once a military team locates a drone, it will cut off the pilot's communication with it. As a result, "the device loses control and won't be able to come close," Lara explained.

The captain said that organized crime groups have increasingly used drones over the past five years, leading the Mexican military to take actions "to be able to mitigate these types of threats."