FAA warns pilots of military hazards over eastern Pacific near Latin America

The eastern Pacific advisories mark the second expansion of FAA aviation caution zones tied to U.S. military operations in the Western Hemisphere since November, when the agency issued a similar warning over Venezuelan airspace, and follow a reported near-collision in December between a commercial airliner and a U.S. Air Force refueling tanker over the Caribbean.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday issued a series of advisories urging U.S. aircraft operators to “exercise caution” when flying over the eastern Pacific Ocean near Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America. The agency cited “military activities” and possible satellite navigation interference. The 60-day alerts warn that “potential risks exist for aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight and the arrival and departure phases of flight.”

The alerts were issued as Notices to Airmen — formal advisories, known as NOTAMs, that the FAA and other aviation authorities issue routinely in any region where hostilities or unusual operational hazards are present.

Four months of drug-interdiction strikes

The advisories come after nearly four months of U.S. military strikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific that the U.S. alleged were trafficking drugs. That campaign included 35 known strikes that killed at least 115 people, according to the Trump administration.

The figures are those of the U.S. government; no independent accounting of the strike campaign or its casualties has been published.

Prior Venezuela warning and the Caracas strike

In November, the FAA warned all pilots to exercise caution when flying in airspace over Venezuela “due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity.”

On Jan. 3, the U.S. conducted what it described as a “large-scale strike” across Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized and transported to New York, where they face federal drug trafficking charges, the Associated Press reported.

Near-miss over the Caribbean

The expanded warnings also follow an aviation incident reported in December, in which a JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a U.S. Air Force refueling tanker.