Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum moved to calm concerns after U.S. aviation regulators warned U.S. aircraft operators to “exercise caution” over the eastern Pacific Ocean near Mexico and other parts of the Americas, citing “military activities.”
Sheinbaum said her government waited a couple of hours until the U.S. government provided “written” assurance that there would be no U.S. military flights over Mexican territory. She said the U.S. government had not given Mexico a heads up about any military operations.
She said the U.S. government provided precise coordinates for where it was operating, and Mexican authorities issued a statement saying the Federal Aviation Administration advisory had no implications for Mexico.
The concerns also grew after images of a U.S. military transport airplane appeared on social media at Toluca’s airport, about 39 miles (63 kilometers) west of Mexico City. The post circulated after the FAA warning and fed public questions about whether any U.S. military activity would involve Mexican territory.
Sen. Clemente Castañeda, of the opposition Citizen Movement party, posted on X asking the government for an explanation, saying Mexico’s senate is supposed to approve sending Mexican troops abroad or allowing foreign troops into Mexico.
Sheinbaum described what she said was occurring as a “logistical” operation that did not require senate approval. She said the U.S. plane landed, Mexican public servants got on it, and they went to the United States for training, adding, “Who authorized this? The Secretary of Defense.”
The security cabinet, she added, had posted on X that the kind of training operations it described occur “in conformity with established protocols and in adherence to the bilateral collaboration agreements.”
Both episodes highlighted tensions tied not only to the Trump administration’s earlier unilateral action to capture Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, but also to the later renewal of offers and threats to take direct military action against drug cartels in Mexico, according to the reporting. Sheinbaum and Trump spoke again last week on the subject, with both governments saying they will collaborate on security issues.
A joint statement released last Thursday said security officials from both countries are scheduled to meet again Friday to “continue delivering tangible actions to strengthen security cooperation and meaningful outcomes to counter cartels, and stop the illicit flow of fentanyl and weapons from crossing our shared border,” while Mexico has stressed it will not accept violations of its sovereignty.