On February 11, 2026, widespread concern spread throughout the public and among elected officials when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) unexpectedly closed the airspace around El Paso, Texas and nearby Santa Teresa New Mexico. Using a standard notification to pilots, the FAA issued a NOTAM or Notice to Air Mission alerting pilots that the El Paso International Airport and ten miles around it would be shut down to air traffic for ten days. The suddenness of the airspace shutdown and the ten-day window led to speculation that something dramatic had happened.
Much of the news media speculation centered around the fact that the sudden closure of America’s airspace over a large metropolitan area like El Paso had not occurred since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. This led to conspiracies that ranged from war with México to cartel violence coming over the border. Matters were made worse by official reports that a Mexican drug cartel drone had been shot down on the U.S. side of the border.
During Attorney General Pam Bondi’s scheduled testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, she made the statement that a cartel drone had just been shot down by military forces, adding to the uncertainty as the closure of El Paso’s airspace was developing. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, added to the uncertainty by posting on his social media account that “the FAA and DOW [Department of War/War Department] acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.” Duffy added on his post that “the threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.” He concluded with “the restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming.” Duffy’s post appeared around 30 minutes after the FAA reopened the airspace.
NOTAMs, like the one alerting that El Paso’s airspace was closed, are normally issued with a ten-day window when the end of the alert’s trigger is not readily known. Generally, the alert is closed by the FAA before the ten days have elapsed.
But the uncertainty, suddenness and the ten-day window led to widespread speculation that something dramatic was developing. Around four hours later, at about 7:00am local time, the airspace around El Paso was reopened.
The Mexican airspace around El Paso was never closed and airlines continued to operate normally from the Cd. Juárez airport.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her regular morning briefing that the Mexican government had no information about cartel drones operating near the U.S.-México border.
El Paso’s Congresswoman, Veronica Escobar, who is a member of the House Armed Services Committee said she would have been notified as a member of the Committee had a cartel drone penetrated U.S. airspace that was deemed so dangerous to close the airspace and forced the military to react. She says she was not notified, adding that she knows why the FAA closed the airspace but could not disclose confidential information yet.
However, Escobar pointed out that “there was no threat to public safety,” and that Congress was not notified that an incursion by a drug cartel drone had occurred. Escobar added that “the information coming from the administration does not add up.” She was referring to administration officials saying that a drone had been shot down after encroaching on U.S. airspace while other information showed a test was underway.
An FAA/Military Breakdown in Communication?
New information has emerged that the airspace closure was the result of the military testing an anti-drone weapon that led to a breakdown in communications between the military and the FAA. The military had been planning on testing a high-powered laser for shooting down drones but friction with the FAA over a danger to aircraft in the area led the FAA to unilaterally order the shutdown to ensure the safety of aviators in the area.
Testing of the laser for drone interdiction had been ongoing in recent weeks at Fort Bliss, which is adjacent to the El Paso International Airport. Apparently, the laser had been used earlier in the week to shoot down a suspected cartel drone that turned out to be a party balloon.
Cartel drones are a common occurrence along the U.S.-México border because they are used to drop drug loads on the U.S. side of the border. This has been going on for years. None have led to the closure of airspace where they occurred as the El Paso closure did.
On December 14, 2010, a Mexican military Orbiter Mini recognizance drone crashed near Yarbrough Drive in El Paso, Texas. The military drone was immediately returned to the Mexican military. It’s inadvertent incursion into U.S. airspace did not lead to any suspensions of flights in the El Paso area like the recent one did.
Did A Cartel Drone Cross into the U.S. and Was Shot Down?
Based on the available information it is unlikely that a cartel drone encroached on U.S. soil and was shot down by U.S. military forces. The primary reason is that the sudden urgent notice to pilots by the FAA would not have included the standard ten-day window that normal NOTAMs include. It would have likely been a notice that included language like, “until further notice” because the extent of the danger would not have been known at the time of a sudden incursion.
Giving credence to the miscommunication of information is that the FAA’s notice was worded in such a way as to suggest that it was in response to a scheduled event, not a sudden dangerous incursion of U.S. airspace.
There is also no evidence, such as debris and the deployment of military forces, that such a sudden incursion would have resulted in locating and collecting the destroyed drone for examination and to keep the public safe. When the Mexican military drone crashed in El Paso, officials with the Department of Homeland Security responded to the crash, recovered the drone and returned it to the Mexican government. There is no evidence that federal officials have responded to debris from a cartel drone.
Had a cartel drone breach U.S. airspace and the military had responded as Bondi, Duffy and other federal officials have suggested, there would be ample evidence of such an event.
The likely scenario is that there was some type of miscommunication between the FAA and the military over the testing of a laser for anti-drone operations that led to the closure of airspace around El Paso and nearby Santa Teresa. Giving more credence to this scenario is that the closures were focused on the two airports, and not the general airspace in the area as well as the fact that the closure was limited to below 18,000 MSL. By limiting the closure to the airports and the airspace ceiling suggests that the closure was due to testing of anti-drone technology rather than an actual cartel drone incursion.
