At her Wednesday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum faced questions about the closure of airspace over El Paso, Texas, from late Tuesday to early Wednesday.
According to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and U.S. government officials quoted in various media reports, the airspace was closed after Mexican cartel drones breached the airspace.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — which said in a Notice to Airmen that aircraft could not fly above El Paso for 10 days for “Special Security Reasons” — reposted Duffy’s X post, which said that the FAA and the Department of War “acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.”
However, the assertion that a Mexican cartel drone (or drones) entered U.S. airspace and precipitated the decision to close the airspace above El Paso on Tuesday has been disputed.
Citing “four people briefed on the situation,” The New York Times reported on Wednesday afternoon that FAA officials “were forced to close El Paso’s airspace late Tuesday after the Defense Department decided to try out new anti-drone technology without giving aviation officials ample time to assess the risks to commercial airlines.”
“Those accounts, offered on the condition of anonymity because the officials were not authorized to comment publicly, challenge the official explanation from the Trump administration,” the Times wrote.
“According to the people briefed on the situation, El Paso’s airspace was shut down when the Defense Department, operating out of Fort Bliss, a nearby Army base, decided to mobilize that new technology over the FAA’s objections,” the newspaper said.
“According to two of the people briefed on the situation, military officials deployed that technology earlier this week against what they thought was a cartel drone, but which turned out to be a party balloon.”
For its part, CNN, citing “multiple sources,” reported that “a Pentagon plan to use a high-energy, counter-drone laser without having coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration about potential risks to civilian flights prompted Wednesday’s unprecedented airspace shutdown over El Paso.”
“A source familiar with the timeline of events said that the U.S. military used the laser technology to shoot down four mylar balloons this week, contributing to the decision by the FAA to shut down local airspace,” CNN wrote.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat who represents El Paso in the U.S. Congress, said that the assertion that the closure of airspace over El Paso was due to an incursion by Mexican cartel drones was “not the information that we in Congress have been told.”
🚨 The highly consequential decision by FAA to shut down the El Paso Airport for 10 days is unprecedented and has resulted in significant concern within the community. https://t.co/qAZGrQ8I0Q
— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) February 11, 2026
“There’s no threat. There was not a threat, which is why the FAA lifted this restriction so quickly. The information coming from the [Trump] administration does not add up,” she said.
Sheinbaum: ‘No information’ about drones at the northern border
After a journalist noted that it had been reported that the El Paso Airport was closed due to the entry of Mexican cartel drones into U.S. airspace, Sheinbaum said that “there is no information about the use of drones at the border.”
The reporter subsequently asked the president whether Mexico’s security cabinet would investigate the presence of cartel drones at the northern border.
If Mexican authorities “have any information” about drones in the border area, the FAA or any other U.S. government department can ask the Mexican government for it, Sheinbaum said.
Asked what she thought really happened in the airspace above El Paso to cause its closure, the president responded that there was no point in speculating.
“Vamos a averiguar las causas”☝️🔴: responde la presidenta Sheinbaum sobre el cierre del espacio aéreo en El Paso, Texas, por supuestos drones del narco. pic.twitter.com/7NKoz5Gy6E
— Grupo Fórmula (@Radio_Formula) February 11, 2026
“We’re going to have the information and we’re going to always maintain what we have maintained [with U.S. authorities], which is permanent communication,” she said.
Earlier in her press conference, Sheinbaum noted that Mexican airspace wasn’t closed.
“The airspace of Texas was closed,” she said before noting that the FAA had announced that the closure had been lifted.
“… We’re going to find out exactly why they closed it,” Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum rejects Bloomberg report on USMCA
A reporter noted that Bloomberg published an article that states that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering withdrawing from the USMCA, the North American Free trade pact that is up for trilateral review this year.
Citing “people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Trump is privately musing about exiting the North American trade pact, … injecting further uncertainty about the deal’s future into pivotal renegotiations involving the U.S., Canada and Mexico.”
“The president has asked aides why he shouldn’t withdraw from the agreement, which he signed during his first term, though he has stopped short of flatly signaling that he will do so,” wrote Bloomberg, citing its sources.
Sheinbaum said she didn’t believe Bloomberg’s report, telling reporters that Trump has “never” spoken about withdrawing from the USMCA in her calls with him “because it’s very important for them and for us.”
“So there is no message in that sense,” she said.
Trump did say last month that the USMCA provides “no real advantage” to the United States and is “irrelevant” to him.
“We could have it or not, it wouldn’t matter to me,” he said Jan. 13.
“I think they want it, I don’t really care about it,” Trump said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Jan. 28 that Mexico and the United States had agreed to begin formal discussions as part of the USMCA review.
Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that those discussions were going “well,” and noted that Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard would attend her press conference on Thursday to respond to questions related to the USMCA.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
