US Federal Aviation Administration cited “special security reasons” to justify the closure of airspace over El Paso, which was expected to last ten days
Several drones belonging to a Mexican cartel violated US airspace this Wednesday, said a US administration official cited by Reuters.
According to the agency, the Pentagon took steps to disable the devices. The information was confirmed to CNN by a US government official, who guarantees “there is no danger to commercial travel”, after the Department of War (DOW) “took measures to disable the drones”.
On the social network
The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.
The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.
The restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy)
The drone incursion comes after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced in the early hours of Wednesday the temporary closure of airspace over El Paso, prohibiting all flights to and from the airport in Texas, which borders Mexico, for ten days.
The organization claimed to justify the unprecedented action, according to government officials, leaving several planes and thousands of travelers stranded.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has already made statements and guarantees that there is no information about the use of drones on the border between the USA and Mexico, when asked about the temporary suspension of flights at El Paso airport.
Although the FAA did not specify the nature of the reasons behind the closure of the airspace, two sources informed on the matter claim that the decision was motivated by a US military operation related to drug cartels.
Airlines sources said the suspension of flights was related to the Pentagon’s use of anti-drone technology to combat the use of drones by Mexican drug cartels on the US-Mexico border.
To The New York Times, a person informed about the matter assured that the brief interruption was associated with a test of a new anti-drone technology carried out by soldiers at the Army base in Fort Bliss.
After the Federal Aviation Administration warned that the temporary restrictions would remain in force until February 21, the organization chose to lift the alert this morning, and guaranteed that “all flights will return to normal”.
Tensions between the US and regional leaders have increased since the Trump administration mounted a large military buildup in the southern Caribbean, attacked Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro, in a military operation.
