Mexico City ( CNN ) -- Mexico on Wednesday admitted that American unmanned drones operate over its territory , but denied that it constitutes a violation of its sovereignty . U.S . Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles have been used to collect intelligence and track drug traffickers , but only under Mexican supervision , according to a statement by the technical secretariat for the Mexican National Security Council . `` Each of these actions is undertaken with full respect to the law , '' the statement says . The New York Times first reported that the Pentagon had begun flying high-altitude , unarmed drones over Mexico last month . The joint operation is designed to gather intelligence that can be acted upon by Mexican authorities . Such flights were responsible for obtaining information that led to the capture of several suspects in the February 15 slaying of a U.S. immigration agent in Mexico , the paper reported . The flights had been kept secret `` because of legal restrictions in Mexico and the heated political sensitivities there about sovereignty , '' The New York Times reported .
U.S. drones are flying over Mexican territory , the Mexican government says . Comment: The drones helped follow suspects in a U.S. agent 's killing .