The airspace was closed over El Paso, Texas, causing passengers to wait in a queue at El Paso International Airport. The closure was called by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) due to claims of a cartel drone infiltration. However, the Trump administration’s swift reversal of the closure has raised questions as to the legitimacy of the foreign drone claims.
According to the US aviation authorities, the airspace over El Paso has reopened after initially closing due to an alleged drone incursion from a Mexican cartel. In the meantime, air traffic over the southern border city was paused for 10 days.
While such a closure would have been unprecedented, by late morning, the FAA announced that flights would resume in and out of the area as normal. This led to questions about the legitimacy of the drone claims.
“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 said in a social media post.
El Paso is one of the largest cities in Texas, which nestles on the banks of the Rio Grande River, directly across from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. However, securing border areas is a focus in Donald Trump’s second term in the Oval Office.
According to the Trump administration, Wednesday’s brief airspace closure came as a result of a drone operated by a Mexican drug cartel. It asserted that the drone was trying to infiltrate US airspace. However, it has now been suggested that the drone was destroyed.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on social media at 9:37 ET, “The FAA and [the Department of Defense] acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.”
“The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region,” he added.
MS NOW: “A congressional official with knowledge of the matter is telling MS NOW the cause of the shutdown of El Paso airspace is a lack of communication between the Pentagon and FAA. The official told us the FAA and DOD are ‘not in clear communications with each other,’ going on… pic.twitter.com/vSpjGmj12u
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 11, 2026
However, there has been no confirmation from the Mexican government of the drone incursion.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters, “There is no information about drone use on the border,” but she did add that the security cabinet would investigate the alleged incident.
Meanwhile, anonymous US officials told media outlets like CBS News and CNN that the sudden airspace closure may have been a false alarm. They claimed this was caused by the US military’s tests of its laser-based counter-drone system near El Paso.
According to official sources, earlier this week, CBS and Fox News reported that a party balloon was misidentified as a drone over El Paso, leading it to be shot down. The closure of El Paso airspace began late on Tuesday night and lasted until early Wednesday morning.
Despite talks of a party balloon, the Trump administration stated that the airspace closure was evidence of a threat from Mexican cartels. Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke to lawmakers on Wednesday, citing the alleged drone incident as “striking crucial blows against terrorist organizations”.
“I think you’ve seen the news this morning,” Bondi told Congress members. “The news is reporting that cartel drones are being shot down by our military. That’s what we all should care about right now: protecting America.”
When Donald Trump was asked about the airspace closure, he simply said, “They learn.”
Trump downplays the airspace closure over El Paso: “People learn. People learn.” pic.twitter.com/8jaVVR5g8i
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 13, 2026
The Trump administration has frequently spoken of criminal groups operating in Mexico as being a threat to US national security. Since Trump took office on January 20, 2025, he has begun designating cartels across Latin America as “foreign terrorist organizations,” which has spurred fears that the US could launch aggressive, cross-border military actions.
Moreover, the president has threatened to attack drug trafficking groups in Mexico, despite criticism that this could lead to a violation of Mexican sovereignty. After military strikes were led in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, allegedly to disrupt international drug trafficking, Trump has spoken of land-based targets as an extension of the campaign.
“We are going to start now hitting land. With regard to the cartels, the cartels are running Mexico. It’s very sad to watch,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview published on January 9.
You see what’s happened to that country. But the cartels are running it.
🚨 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
However, some elected officials have expressed skepticism about the Trump administration’s claims of a drone incursion on Wednesday. Among them, Democratic Congress member Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso, was one of those asking for more information.
“I believe the FAA owes the community and the country an explanation as to why this happened so suddenly and abruptly and was lifted so suddenly and abruptly,” Escobar said in a news conference.
“The information coming from the federal government does not add up,” Escobar added.
