Cartel Drones Behind El Paso Airspace Chaos, US Army Took Them Out

The US navy intercepted Mexican cartel drones that breached US airspace, the White Home stated on Wednesday, revealing why the federal government made the uncommon choice to briefly limit flights over El Paso.

A Trump administration official advised Enterprise Insider that “Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace,” including that the Pentagon “took motion to disable the drones.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon “have decided there is no such thing as a menace to industrial journey,” the official added.

It is unclear how the US navy disabled the cartel drones — whether or not they have been shot down or jammed with digital warfare expertise — and in the event that they have been carrying any medicine. The Pentagon declined to offer extra details about the incident.

A social media account for the Workplace of the Underneath Secretary of Protection for Analysis and Engineering, which advises Pentagon management on cutting-edge expertise, revealed a photograph displaying what seems to be a laser destroying a small drone with the caption “defend the homeland,” suggesting that lasers could have been concerned within the El Paso incident.

Fort Bliss, a serious US Military set up in El Paso, couldn’t instantly be reached for touch upon the incident.

Cartels in Latin America have a historical past of utilizing drones for drug-related operations, together with for smuggling.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated in a social media submit that the FAA and Pentagon “acted swiftly” to deal with what he described as a “cartel drone incursion.”

The FAA earlier issued a shock discover shutting down the airspace above El Paso, a serious metropolis in west Texas on the US-Mexico border, and halting all flights as much as 18,000 toes for 10 days on account of “particular safety causes.” The restricted space coated a 10-mile radius.

The restrictions went into impact from 11:30 p.m. MT on Tuesday and have been scheduled to final till the identical time on February 20. The FAA warned that the US “could use lethal pressure” if an plane grew to become “an imminent safety menace.” It didn’t supply extra particulars in regards to the scenario.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose congressional district contains El Paso, known as the FAA’s choice “unprecedented.”

Nevertheless, the FAA stated shortly earlier than 7 a.m. MT on Wednesday that the short-term airspace closure over El Paso had been lifted, including that “all flights will resume as regular.” The company didn’t share extra particulars in regards to the weird, hourslong incident, which appeared to catch native lawmakers without warning.

Lately, entry to drones has turn out to be simpler for each state and non-state actors, prompting Western militaries to discover low-cost strategies to counter them, together with each kinetic and digital applied sciences.

These issues are prime of thoughts amongst Western international locations following a string of drone incursions throughout Europe close to the top of 2025, throughout which Russian drones violated the airspace of a number of NATO states and unidentified drones have been noticed above important infrastructure — together with airports — in different allied international locations.