These communities are insular and lawless, not to mention hours away from any significantly sized town. They know who belongs there and who doesn't.

The spy would have to be internal people who are turned, which is not easy either because these folks are not educated, and would have trouble hiding their new income or acting within the confines of a information providing program.

Not impossible, but unfortunately, our government doesn't have the resources.

Regarding drones, the area is impossibly large. If we had enough cash, live satellite monitoring and deployed army stations for every zone would be the ideal solution.