The sudden closure of airspace over El Paso, Texas exposed conflicting versions between the government of Donald Trumphe Pentagon and federal legislators about what happened in the border with Mexico.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Tuesday night the suspension of operations due to 10 days for “security reasons”but revoked the measure hours later, after a wave of cancellations and local confusion.
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Disagreement between FAA and Department of Defense
The Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, He stated on the social network the FAA and the Department of Defense reacted to the incursion of drones attributed to a Mexican cartel. “The threat was neutralized”he stated, ensuring that there was no risk to commercial traffic. The attorney general Pam Bondi He also supported that explanation and maintained that the measure responded to the presence of unmanned aircraft linked to organized crime.
However, Democratic lawmakers rejected that narrative. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett stated that the information reviewed at the Capitol did not point to cartel drones, but to a disagreement between the FAA and the Department of Defense for the use of unmanned military aircraft in the area. According to their version, the temporary closure responded to operational tensions over protocols and authorization of military flights.
Anti-drone technology tests
Media reports such as CBS, The New York Times y The Wall Street Journal They pointed to a different scenario: anti-drone technology tests at the Fort Bliss military base, adjacent to the El Paso International Airportwould have motivated the closure. According to these sources, the Pentagon deployed a laser-like device before the FAA completed a safety evaluation. It was even reported that a knocked down object turned out to be a party balloon, according to Fox News.
The Pentagon referred questions to the FAAwho warned about possible sanctions and use of “lethal force” in the restricted area. The current legislation, pointed out the Congressmen Rick Larsen and André Carsonallows the armed forces to act with wide margin in public airspace, which opened a debate on civilian oversight and transparency.
The episode had an immediate impact on the “sister” city of Ciudad Juarez: all airlines suspended flights in a terminal which moved 3.49 million passengers in the first 11 months of 2025. The mayor Renard Johnson described the decision as “unnecessary” and lamented the lack of coordinationremembering that a similar closure had not occurred since September 11, 2001.
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‘There is no information on the use of drones’: Sheinbaum
From Mexico, the president Claudia Sheinbaum He said he had no information to confirm the use of drones on the borderasked not to speculate and announced that The Security Cabinet would investigate the causes of the closure on the American side. He stressed that Mexican airspace was not restricted and reiterated that there is permanent communication between both governments.
“There is no information about the use of drones on the border. In any case, the Security Cabinet is investigating,” he said.
The episode also reopens a sensitive topic in the bilateral relationship: the political use of language of “incursions” and “threats” in the midst of American pressure against the cartels.
Washington has been insisting for months that the Criminal groups use drones for surveillance and smugglingwhile Mexican authorities have shown a more skeptical tone in public about this activity specifically in the border area.
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