El Paso, Texas — U.S. authorities temporarily closed airspace over El Paso International Airport on Tuesday after drones operated by a Mexican cartel violated U.S. airspace, officials announced. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) quickly lifted the restrictions, stating there was no ongoing threat to commercial aviation.
The Associated Press reported that an unnamed Trump administration official said the airspace was closed “after drones from a Mexican cartel violated it, but the Department of Defense took measures to deactivate them.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the national security nature of the incident.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the account on social media platform X. “The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion,” Duffy wrote. “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.”
The FAA announced on social media that it had lifted the temporary airspace closure over El Paso, affirming no threat existed to commercial aviation and that all flights would resume. Both the FAA and the Department of Defense determined there was no threat to commercial travel, the anonymous official told the AP.
The official did not specify how many drones were involved or what specific actions were taken to deactivate them.
The situation caused concern in Mexico due to the large number of Mexican nationals living in the El Paso area. El Paso has a significant population of Mexican origin, estimated at approximately 340,000 people, making it one of the U.S. cities with the highest concentration of individuals from Mexico.
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