() Fears that crime cartels in Mexico may be invading the U.S. via fleets of surreptitious drones are probably overblown at this point, an expert on aerial phenomena says.

But former Pentagon insider and UFO researcher Luis Elizondo warns that federal officials must keep a close watch as drones become increasingly weaponized.

“This administration really needs to pay attention right now to the drone threat, especially along the southern border,” he told “CUOMO” on Friday.

Steven Willoughby, deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security’s counter-drone program, this week told a Senate panel that more than 300 Mexican drones typically come within 500 meters of the U.S. border each day. Authorities believe transnational criminal organizations are using the remote-controlled devices to surveil U.S. law enforcement and find weak spots for smuggling.

Elizondo says cartels have long exploited emerging technology to penetrate border security, such as when organized drug criminals in the Amazon built submarines in an attempt to invade U.S. territorial waters.

“This is a normal escalation,” he said. “We should not be surprised at all with the proliferation of drone technology, that the cartels now in Mexico are using this technology to their advantage.”

Criminals have used drones to lethal effect in Mexico. Elizondo said such a development on the U.S. side of the border would not be a “far stretch.”