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U.S. aviation authorities announced that they have reopened airspace over El Paso, Texas, after initially closing the airspace due to suspected drone intrusion by a Mexican cartel.
Wednesday’s announcement reversed the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) previous statement that it would abruptly suspend air traffic over the southern border city for 10 days.
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Such a closure would have been unprecedented. But by late morning, the FAA announced it would resume normal access to the area, raising questions about the legitimacy of the drone’s claims.
“The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted. There is no threat to civil aviation. All flights will resume as normal,” the agency said in a social media post.
El Paso is one of the largest cities in Texas, located on the banks of the Rio Grande River, directly across from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
But border security has become a focus of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The Trump administration claimed Wednesday’s brief airspace closure was the result of drones operated by Mexican drug cartels invading U.S. airspace. It is suggested that the drone was then destroyed.
“The FAA and (Department of Defense) acted quickly to address the cartel’s drone intrusion,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on social media at 9:37 a.m. ET (14:37 GMT).
“The threat has been neutralized and there is no risk to commercial travel in the area.”
However, the Mexican government has not confirmed any drone intrusion.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said at a morning press conference that there was “no information regarding the use of drones at the border,” but added that the security cabinet would investigate the incident.
Anonymous U.S. officials told media outlets including CNN and CBS News that the sudden airspace closure due to the U.S. military testing a laser-based anti-drone system near El Paso may have been a false alarm.
CBS and Fox News also reported earlier this week that a party balloon was shot down after being mistaken for a drone, according to official sources.
The El Paso airspace closure began suddenly late Tuesday night and continued into early Wednesday morning.
Still, the Trump administration claimed the airspace closures were evidence of a threat from Mexican cartels.
Attorney General Pam Bondi told House members on Wednesday that it was a “decisive blow against terrorist organizations,” referring to the alleged drone incident.
“I’m sure you saw the news this morning,” Bondi told members of Congress. “The news is reporting that cartel drones are being shot down by our military. What we all need to be concerned about right now is protecting America.”
The Trump administration has frequently cited criminal organizations operating in Mexico as a threat to U.S. national security.
Since taking office on January 20, 2025, President Trump has begun designating cartels across Latin America as “foreign terrorist organizations,” raising concerns that the United States will launch aggressive military operations across its borders.
President Trump himself has threatened to attack drug-trafficking organizations in Mexican territory, despite criticism that such attacks amount to a violation of Mexico’s sovereignty.
President Trump has already authorized military attacks on ships in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean, under the pretext of stopping international drug trafficking. He suggested land targets as an extension of that military operation.
President Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview published on January 9: “We’re going to start landing on land. As for the cartels, the cartels are running Mexico. It’s very sad to see.”
“You know what happened to that country. But cartels are running this country.”
But some elected officials have expressed skepticism about the Trump administration’s claims about Wednesday’s drone intrusion. Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso, was among those seeking more information.
“I think the FAA owes the community and the country an explanation as to why this happened so suddenly and abruptly and why it was lifted so abruptly,” Escobar said at a news conference.
“Information from the federal government does not match.”
