Pentagon disabled Mexican cartel drones before airspace closure over El Paso was ended

The Department of War said Wednesday that drones flown by Mexican drug cartels had crossed over into U.S. airspace, leading to the shutdown of flights around El Paso in Texas, but that the airspace was reopened after the Pentagon disabled the drones.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday reopened the airspace around El Paso International Airport after a temporary closure due to cartel drones, following an announcement that the flightspace shutdown could last ten days.

“Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace,” a Trump administration official told Just the News on Wednesday. “The Department of War took action to disable the drones. The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X on Wednesday, "The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. 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 temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted. There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal," the FAA posted on X on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the FAA had said that all flights would be stopped at El Paso International Airport for ten days for "special security reasons."

The El Paso airport had posted on Instagram on Wednesday, saying, "All flights to and from El Paso are grounded, including commercial, cargo and general aviation. The FAA has issued a flight restriction halting all flights to and from El Paso effective from February 10 at 11:30 PM (MST) to February 20 at 11:30PM (MST). Travelers should contact their airlines to get most up-to-date flight status information."

The notice said the airspace was classified as national defense airspace. Deadly force could be used on an aircraft if it is determined that it “poses and [sic] imminent security threat,” according to the notice, adding that pilots “may be intercepted, detained, and interviewed” by law enforcement and security personnel.