US Parliament Denies Pentagon on Mexican Cartel Drone Triggering Texas Airport Closures

Illustration. The Laser Weapon System (LaWS) or anti-drone laser hits a fighter jet target during a US military exercise in the Pacific Ocean in August 2022. (US Navy photo via Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - The US President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday, February 11, accused Mexican cartel drones of causing a temporary closure of the Texas Airport. However, the reason was denied.

Citing AFP on Thursday, February 12, a number of US lawmakers from the Democratic Party said US military activities were responsible for the closure of the airport.

The charges of drone violations in the Texas region were issued after five months the US military launched an attack on the Latin American border under the pretext of targeting ships suspected of smuggling drugs. The reason is alleged to give Trump the freedom to follow up on his threat to expand ground attacks into Latin American territory.

Trump has previously threatened to attack cartels in Mexico.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Tuesday night, February 10, that the airspace of the city of El Paso in Texas, which borders Mexico, was closed for all civilian aircraft operations for 10 days. The FAA used the "national security" excuse so that it could lift the closure in less than 24 hours.

A US administration official said the closure was caused by "Mexican cartel drone" activity. He said without giving specific details, that US forces had "taken action to disable the drone".

US Representative for El Paso, Veronica Escobar, questioned the Trump administration's explanation, saying it was "not what we have been told in Congress."

"The information coming from the government is absurd and not the information I can gather overnight and this morning," Escobar, a Democrat politician, told reporters on Wednesday local time.

Democratic lawmakers on the House Transportation Committee added that the Pentagon was responsible for the situation. He signaled that the US government's excuse was not appropriate, saying that defense policy laws allowed the US military to "act recklessly in public airspace."

Other lawmakers stressed the need for concrete solutions from the "US Department of Defense that does not endanger safety and interfere with freedom of travel."

Dallas Love Field Airport in Dallas, Texas, USA. (Unsplash-Gabriel Tovar)

The Reason for "Drug Terrorists"

US media also reported that the closure of the El Paso airspace was likely due to US military activity rather than Mexican drones. CNN said the closure was due to the Pentagon's plan to use anti-drone lasers without coordinating with the FAA.

On Wednesday morning, February 11, the Pentagon announced that the closure had been lifted.

The US government under the command of Donald Trump has repeatedly announced a war on drug cartels that they call "drug terrorists".

In its operations, the US military carried out attacks on ships suspected of drug smuggling in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific waters. Trump has also repeatedly said his plan is to expand US military attacks in this operation through land routes.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum opposes US military intervention in other countries, including Mexico. So far, Sheinbaum has managed to negotiate it through good diplomatic channels with Trump.

Since Trump's threat, Sheinbaum has increased the extradition of cartel leaders to the US and strengthened border cooperation amid Trump's tariff threats.

Sheinbaum said in a press conference on Wednesday, February 11, that she "has no information about the use of drones on the border". However, the Mexican government is investigating it.