The extraordinary ten-day closure of the airspace over the Texas city of El Paso was canceled after less than 24 hours. American officials confirmed that the radical measure was behind a purposefully coordinated incursion of drones belonging to the Mexican drug cartel.
Mexican drug cartel drones have violated US airspace, US officials said Wednesday. Because of this, the international airport in the city of El Paso, Texas was closed. The AFP agency drew attention to it, writes TASR.
- The cartel’s drones violated the airspace of the United States.
- The airport in El Paso was briefly closed for security reasons.
- American authorities quickly resolved the incident and eliminated the threat.
- Mexico has no information about the drones and is investigating the incident.
- This case may influence political decisions in the US.
Cancellation of closure
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced late Tuesday that the airspace over the city of El Paso will be closed to all aircraft for ten days for unspecified “security reasons.” The FAA lifted the closure after less than 24 hours.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Platform X that the FAA and the Department of Defense “acted quickly to address the intrusion of cartel drones.” “The threat has been neutralized and commercial traffic in the region is not threatened,” he added.
Mexico is investigating the incident
An anonymous Washington official confirmed to AFP that they were “drones of a Mexican drug cartel.” According to him, the American armed forces “took steps to neutralize them”. He did not provide further details.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said at a press conference that her government has no information about drones on the US border and is investigating the closure of the airspace.
An excuse for Trump?
AFP emphasizes that the report of the violation of US airspace comes about five months after the start of a US military campaign in the Caribbean targeting ships suspected of drug smuggling. According to the agency, this incident could provide President Donald Trump with an excuse to carry out his threats to attack the mainland as well.
El Paso has approximately 700,000 inhabitants and is one of the 25 largest cities in the United States. According to data on its website, almost 3.5 million passengers passed through the aforementioned airport between January and November 2025, AFP reports.
