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Mexican cause cartel drones entered American airspace but were intercepted by the U.S. military, officials said connected Wednesday (February 11, 2026), explaining the little but mysterious closure of El Paso airdrome successful Texas.
But Mexico said it had “no information” connected drones astatine the border, and the Trump administration’s mentation of events has been questioned by lawmakers arsenic good arsenic sources cited by U.S. media who suggested the shutdown was triggered by U.S. subject drone oregon counter-drone activity.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said connected precocious Tuesday (February 10, 2026) the airspace implicit the Texas metropolis would beryllium unopen to each craft for 10 days, citing unspecified nationalist “security reasons”, lone to assistance the closure aft little than 24 hours.
The study of a drone breach comes immoderate 5 months into a U.S. subject run targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats and could supply a pretext for President Donald Trump to travel done connected his threats to grow the strikes to land, perchance successful Mexico.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said successful a station connected X that the FAA and the Defence Department “acted swiftly to code a cartel drone incursion”, adding: “The menace has been neutralised, and determination is nary information to commercialized question successful the region.”
A U.S. medication official, meanwhile, said the breach was by “Mexican cartel drones”, and that U.S. forces “took enactment to disable the drones”, without specifying however they did so.
But apical Democratic lawmakers from the House Committee connected Transportation suggested the Pentagon whitethorn person been liable for the situation, saying that connection successful defence argumentation authorities allowed the U.S. subject to “act recklessly successful the nationalist airspace”.
The lawmakers called for a solution that ensures that “the Department of Defence volition not jeopardise information and disrupt the state to travel.”
U.S. media reported that the El Paso airdrome closure whitethorn person been the effect of U.S. subject drones oregon anti-drone investigating alternatively than a cartel threat.
War against ‘narco-terrorists’
The Pentagon referred questions connected the closure to the FAA, which said erstwhile it announced the determination that “no pilots whitethorn run an craft successful the areas” covered by the restrictions and warned of perchance “deadly force” if craft were deemed a threat.
It updated its guidance connected Wednesday greeting (February 11, 2026), saying connected X that the closure was lifted.
El Paso has a colonisation of astir 700,000 and is 1 of the 25 largest cities successful the United States. Almost 3.5 cardinal passengers passed done the airdrome betwixt January and November 2025, according to information connected its website.
Mr. Trump’s medication insists it is efficaciously astatine warfare with “narco-terrorists”, carrying retired strikes connected alleged traffickers successful the Caribbean and eastbound Pacific, portion the US president has repeatedly said helium plans to grow the strikes to land.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum opposes U.S. subject involution successful her state but has truthful acold managed to negociate a good diplomatic enactment with Mr. Trump.
She has stepped up the extradition of cartel leaders to the United States and reinforced borderline practice amid tariff threats from Trump, for whom curbing amerciable migration from Mexico was a cardinal predetermination promise.
Ms. Sheinbaum told a quality league connected Wednesday (February 11, 2026) that she had “no accusation connected the usage of drones astatine the border” but that her authorities was investigating the airdrome closure.
The United States began carrying retired strikes connected alleged drug-trafficking boats successful September, a run that has killed astatine slightest 130 radical and destroyed dozens of vessels successful the Caribbean Sea and eastbound Pacific Ocean.
U.S. officials person not provided definitive grounds that the vessels are progressive successful cause trafficking, prompting heated statement astir the legality of the operations, which experts accidental magnitude to extrajudicial killings.
Mr. Trump besides ordered a shocking peculiar forces raid successful Caracas astatine the opening of January to seizure Venezuelan person Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington accused of starring a cause cartel.
