What just happened in El Paso?

It appears to be El Paso International Airport no It will be closed for 10 days, despite the previous announcement causing panic overnight. But the reasons for announcing the lockdown in the first place are still not entirely clear, nor is it a coincidence or a precursor to a national security crisis.

What happened in El Paso?

Tuesday evening, the F.A.A Lockdown announced airspace over El Paso, Texas, and a temporary halt of all operations at the city’s airport beginning at 11:30 p.m.

According to the initial announcement, which caught local and state authorities by surprise, the lockdown was scheduled to last until February 20. But in a tweet on Wednesday morning, the FAA announced that the “temporary closure” had been lifted and that “there is no threat to commercial aviation.”

Early reports about what went wrong seem to agree that drones were part of the explanation, but exactly what role they played has been a matter of confusion.

Transport Minister Sean Duffy “The FAA and War Department acted quickly to counter the incursion of the cartel’s drones,” he tweeted on Wednesday.

However, Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents the El Paso district in Congress, told reporters Wednesday morning that the Mexican drone incursion “was not the information we were told in Congress” and that current explanations remain muddled.

“There is no threat. There was no threat, which is why the FAA lifted this restriction so quickly,” she added. New York Times. “The information received from the administration is baseless.”

Even if there was a drone incursion, this is not something that would normally trigger such a drastic response. US Northern Command I have been informed about it 1,000 drones cross the US-Mexico border every month.

CNN I mentioned The closure was due to “US military activity related to drug cartels,” including “drone operations and testing of laser countermeasures,” citing an administration official.

But another The source also said The New York Times said it was “a test of new anti-drone technology by the Army at Fort Bliss, a nearby military base.” foot. Bliss is home to Main drone base.

The Texas Tribune suggested a different angle: The Army had botched its communications with other agencies, leading to the service’s shutdown. This was reported by a source in the industry The Ministry of Defense had “Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, were operated against drug cartel operations from a base near the El Paso airport without sharing information with the FAA.”

None of this fully explains why the shutdown will last 10 days, which will be by far the longest security interruption of air service in a major city. Since September 11th.

Background of the incident: Trump’s threats against Mexican cartels

The mysterious incident comes at a time of growing speculation that the United States will take direct military action against Mexican drug cartels. It’s an idea that President Trump It has been suggested repeatedly Since his first term, but he has threatened again following the raid on Venezuela in January. The Mexican government strongly opposes direct US military action on Mexican territory.

Last summer, Trump signed an order directing the US military to take over the mission Take strict action against several drug gangs. The US military regularly conducts reconnaissance flights along the US-Mexico border without entering Mexican airspace. The CIA has She reportedly stepped up Secret drone flights over Mexico itself.

There was Previously speculation That action of sorts was about to begin in mid-January, when the Federal Aviation Administration warned planes flying over the eastern Pacific Ocean to “exercise caution” due to U.S. military installations.

If this was not in fact the prelude to a new military operation, but simply the result of miscommunication between the Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration, it would bring to mind the January 29 crash in Washington, D.C., between an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission and an American Airlines plane, killing 67 people. Investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board It concluded last month She blamed this incident on “deep and underlying systemic failures” in organization and communications.