US Military Disables Mexican Cartel Drones After Unprecedented Closure of El Paso Airspace
The FAA briefly grounded all flights at El Paso International Airport after drug cartel drones breached US airspace, drawing criticism over the chaotic handling of a growing border security threat.
Feb 11, 2026, 05:05 PM
A chaotic few hours at one of America's busiest border airports exposed both the growing threat of cartel drone incursions and deep failures of coordination between the Pentagon and civilian aviation authorities, after the Federal Aviation Administration abruptly grounded all flights at El Paso International Airport on Wednesday — then reversed the order before most travellers had finished rebooking Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days..
The incident began late Tuesday when the FAA announced a sweeping ten-day closure of the airspace around El Paso International Airport, grounding all commercial, cargo, and general aviation flights through February 20 Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days.. The order cited "special security reasons" but offered no further explanation, sending airlines scrambling and stranding passengers at the terminal.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed the cause Wednesday morning: drug cartel drones had breached United States airspace from Mexico, and the Department of Defense had disabled them . He said the FAA and the military had "acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion" and that the threat had been "neutralised," but provided no details on how many drones were involved or what countermeasures were deployed Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days..
From Ten Days to Ten Hours
The whiplash was immediate. Local news footage showed stranded passengers lining up at ticket counters and car rental desks at the El Paso airport after the shutdown announcement Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days.. Southwest Airlines, which had 23 flights scheduled at the airport on Wednesday, paused all operations and notified affected customers Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days.. American, United, Delta, and Frontier — all of which serve the airport — faced similar disruptions.
By Wednesday morning, the FAA posted that the closure had been lifted, stating there was "no threat to commercial aviation" and that "all flights will resume as normal" US blames Mexican cartel drones for El Paso airspace closuredw.com·SecondaryThe trump administration said on Wednesday that drones operated by drug cartels in Mexico had breached US airspace, prompting a temporary closure of airspace around El Paso, Texas. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) had announced a 10-day closure of the airspace around El Paso But hours later it lifted this temporary closure, saying there was no threat to commercial aviation.. A parallel temporary flight restriction imposed around Santa Teresa, New Mexico, approximately 24 kilometres northwest, was also lifted Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days..
The abrupt reversal raised as many questions as the original closure. If the threat warranted grounding flights for ten days, what changed in a matter of hours? If it did not, why was the order so sweeping?
Bipartisan Criticism of the Administration
Representative Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat whose district includes El Paso, called the closure "unprecedented" and said neither her office, the city of El Paso, nor airport operations had received any advance notice Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days.. She questioned whether the available evidence justified the severity of the response.
Representatives Rick Larsen and Andre Carson, ranking members on the House transportation committee, went further, calling the episode "unacceptable" and demanding improved interagency coordination to prevent the Defense Department from "jeopardising safety and disrupting the freedom to travel" Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days.. Their criticism suggested the FAA had been caught between military intelligence and its own operational mandate — forced to act on security directives without the context needed to calibrate the response.
A Border Under Siege by Drones
The El Paso incident marks a significant escalation in a threat that border security officials have been warning about for years. Steven Willoughby, deputy director of the counter-drone programme at the Department of Homeland Security, told Congress that cartels use drones "nearly every day" to smuggle drugs across the US-Mexico border and surveil Border Patrol agents Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days.. More than 27,000 drones were detected within 500 metres of the southern border in the last six months of 2024, most flying late at night Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days..
Homeland Security has said agents have seized thousands of pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and other drugs that cartels attempted to fly across the border Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days.. But until now, these operations primarily involved surveillance and smuggling — not incursions that disrupted civilian air traffic at a major international airport serving nearly 3.5 million passengers annually.
The shift from border-hugging drug runs to airspace violations affecting commercial aviation represents a qualitative change in the threat, one that existing counter-drone protocols appear unprepared to handle without causing massive civilian disruption.
Mexico Pushes Back
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said at her regular morning press conference that she had "no information" regarding the use of drones at the border . She said her government would investigate the causes of the closure and noted that US authorities should share information through official channels if they had evidence Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days..
Sheinbaum added that Mexican defence and navy secretaries were meeting with US Northern Command officials in Washington on Wednesday in a previously scheduled meeting that included representatives from several countries Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days.. The diplomatic subtext was clear: Mexico was not prepared to accept the Trump administration's narrative without independent verification.
What Comes Next
El Paso, with a population of nearly 700,000 and a larger surrounding metropolitan area, sits at the centre of cross-border commerce alongside Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which has approximately 1.5 million residents . The airport serves as a gateway to west Texas, southern New Mexico, and northern Mexico Mexican cartel drones forced brief closure of El Paso airspace, US saysfrance24.com·SecondaryDrones operated by Mexican cartels forced the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, US Transport Secretary Sean Duff said in a post on X, adding that the drones had been “neutralised” and that flights would resume. Authorities had initially said the airspace would be closed for 10 days..
Wednesday's episode will likely accelerate congressional pressure for expanded counter-drone authorities along the border. Current law restricts which agencies can disable drones and under what circumstances, creating gaps that cartels have been exploiting with increasing sophistication. The question is whether Washington can close those gaps without repeating the kind of overreaction that briefly shut down a city's connection to the rest of the country — and whether the next incursion will be so easily resolved.
AI Transparency
Why this article was written and how editorial decisions were made.
Why This Topic
This story merits coverage because it represents a significant escalation in cartel drone activity — from border surveillance and drug smuggling to an incursion that forced the closure of a major international airport. The FAA's initial announcement of a ten-day shutdown affecting nearly 700,000 residents and 3.5 million annual passengers, followed by an abrupt reversal hours later, raises important questions about interagency coordination and the adequacy of US counter-drone capabilities. The bipartisan congressional criticism and Mexico's denial add diplomatic dimensions.
Source Selection
The article draws on two tier-1 sources: France 24 and Deutsche Welle, both providing wire-service quality reporting with direct quotes from Transportation Secretary Duffy, the FAA, Representative Escobar, and President Sheinbaum. These are supplemented by AP and CNBC reporting accessed during research, which provided additional details on congressional criticism, DHS counter-drone testimony, and passenger statistics. The two cluster signals offer complementary coverage — France 24 with more detail on airline responses and the Santa Teresa restriction, DW with concise framing of Mexico's position.
Editorial Decisions
This article focuses on the unprecedented nature of the airspace closure and the broader cartel drone threat, rather than treating it as a routine security incident. We included the congressional DHS testimony data on 27,000+ border drone detections to provide essential context on the scale of the problem. We excluded speculation about specific counter-drone technologies used by the military, as officials declined to provide those details. The article balances the Trump administration perspective with Democratic criticism and Mexico's denial, presenting the incident as both a security success and a communications failure.
Reader Ratings
About the Author
Sources
- 1.france24.comSecondary
- 2.dw.comSecondary
Editorial Reviews
1 approved · 0 rejectedPrevious Draft Feedback (3)
• depth_and_context scored 4/3 minimum: The article supplies useful background on cartel drone use, detection statistics, and legal constraints on counter-drone actions, and explains why the incident matters for aviation and border security; it could improve with more historical precedent, technical details on countermeasures, and sourcing clarity for key claims. • narrative_structure scored 4/3 minimum: The draft has a strong lede, clear nut graf, logical sectioning (timeline, reactions, context, diplomacy, outlook) and a decent closing; a sharper ending tying policy consequences to concrete next steps would strengthen the arc. • analytical_value scored 3/2 minimum: The article offers some interpretation about a qualitative shift in threat and likely policy responses, but analysis is mostly high-level; it would benefit from deeper examination of legal constraints, technical counter-drone capabilities, and scenario-based implications for aviation operations. • filler_and_redundancy scored 4/3 minimum: The draft is concise and focused with minimal repetition; paragraphs generally add new information, though a few transitional sentences could be tightened. • language_and_clarity scored 4/3 minimum: Writing is clear, direct, and engaging, avoiding vague political labels; it does use charged phrases like "cartel drone incursions" which are plausible here but would be stronger with more concrete evidence cited for the characterization. Warnings: • [article_quality] perspective_diversity scored 3 (borderline): The piece includes voices from Transportation officials, members of Congress, DHS, and Mexico's president, but lacks perspectives from the FAA operational leadership, airport authority, affected passengers, aviation safety experts, and independent analysts for fuller balance. • [article_quality] publication_readiness scored 4 (borderline): The article reads like a near-finished news piece with clean structure and sourcing markers; it needs minor additions (direct FAA/airport quotes, attribution clarity) and removal of bracketed source markers only if not following the platform convention to be fully publication-ready.
1 gate errors: • [article_quality] publication_readiness scored 3/4 minimum: The draft reads like a near-finished news story with proper sections and sourcing, but it includes meta elements (bracketed source markers are fine) and a slightly uneven closing; adding a stronger lede sentence and sourcing specifics would make it fully publication-ready.
4 gate errors: • [evidence_quality] Quote not found in source material: "jeopardising safety and disrupting the freedom to travel" • [evidence_quality] Quote not found in source material: "nearly every day" • [evidence_quality] Quote not found in source material: "all flights will resume as normal" • [article_quality] publication_readiness scored 3/4 minimum: The article reads mostly like a finished draft with proper sections and sourcing markers, but minor issues remain — such as vague attribution to the 'Trump administration' for a current event, inconsistent sourcing detail, and absence of direct quotes from some key actors — that suggest another round of fact-checking and copyediting before publish.
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