In the span of four days, military aircraft from the U.S. and from México crossed each other’s borders to land on foreign soil. What had been a normal process, albeit infrequent over years of military cooperation between the U.S. and México had now become the polemic farce for opportunistic politicians and online pseudo analysts. On Saturday, a U.S. Air Force C-130 landed at the Toluca airport. As soon as the U.S. military aircraft was spotted on Mexican soil the sensationalist social media posts began to circulate. Joining them were opportunistic Mexican politicians looking to attack MORENA, the party in power for political gain.
The aircraft led to disinformation posts across social media suggesting that war between the U.S. and México had begun. As if that wasn’t enough drama, partisan politicians in México took advantage of the polemic to attack Claudia Sheinbaum’s presidency. Doctored pictures of missiles being offloaded at the Mexican airport led to suggestions that U.S. attacks against the Mexican cartels had begun.
On Monday, Sheinbaum had to clarify that this was not a U.S. military action, but rather the mundane task of transporting Mexican and U.S. military personnel between both countries as part of binational security agreements that have been around for years.
Then on Tuesday, seven Mexican military aircraft departed México and landed at six U.S. airports disembarking its cargo of people.
The eight military aircraft crossing the border over the last few days is political drama fed by rising tensions between the U.S. and México from Donald Trump’s constant threats to begin military operations against the drug cartels, with or without the support of Mexican officials.
Without the rise in tensions in recent days, the landing of the U.S. military aircraft would have gone largely unnoticed, except for a few plane spotters who are always on the lookout for aircraft of all types that pique their interest. U.S. military aircraft at Mexican airports are so routine that the news media largely ignores them. That is until Trump started threatening Mexican sovereignty.
Routine had now being turned into a spectacle for conspiracy armchair analysts on both sides of the border and fodder for opportunistic politicians.
As if that wasn’t enough drama to feed the conspiracy appetites, on January 16, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a Notice to Airman (NOTAM) advising them to be careful in and around Mexican airspace because of a “potential hazardous situation” caused by U.S. military activities in the region, giving rise to the belief that a U.S. military operation was imminent. A NOTAM like this is rare but it is not a signal for the launch of a military operation. It is known that U.S. surveillance aircraft are operating outside of Mexican airspace and U.S. forces have targeted suspected drug boats in the Caribbean making the NOTAM precautionary for pilots operating in the area. The Mexican government has said that normal airline operations remain and that the Mexican airspace is open to aircraft.
On Tuesday, Sheinbaum added that the U.S. had provided her a list of U.S. military aircraft operating in the region along with their locations showing they were over international waters. She added that no U.S. military aircraft were conducting military operations over México.
It was the American military aircraft landing in Toluca that rile up the political opportunists that were helped along by gullible people, AI generated images and outright lies.
The American C-130 In Toluca
On Saturday, January 17, a U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-130 landed at the Toluca International Airport. In response to the intense attention to the U.S. aircraft in México, the Security Cabinet of Mexico (Gabinete de Seguridad México) posted on its social media account on January 18 that the aircraft’s landing in Toluca “was authorized by Mexican officials,” as part of bilateral “training missions.” (translated from Spanish by author)
The American aircraft was transporting Mexican personnel for training in the U.S.
This was not the first time a U.S. military transport aircraft was used to transfer Mexican military and other security personnel for training in the U.S. However, as Sheinbaum explained, most of the previous U.S. aircraft flights had used military airports. The aircraft’s arrival in Toluca had been planned since October, according to Sheinbaum.
Because of the controversy, Sheinbaum announced on Wednesday that she made the decision that in future bilateral training flights, it would be a Mexican aircraft that will transport Mexican personnel to and from the U.S. when participating in binational security programs.
But as is common, news reports mischaracterize what Sheinbaum said. For example, an English news aggregator published that México “will limit the entry of US military aircraft, even when they are related to training activities.” Crediting Sin Embargo, the news aggregator added that the Mexican president prefers that Mexican aircraft be used.
Both the English translation and the Spanish original leave the impression that Sheinbaum was now “limit[ing]” U.S. military aircraft, when in fact she said that U.S. military aircraft will be allowed into México for logistical purposes, as has been common. But she had now ordered the use of Mexican military aircraft for future training logistical transportation of Mexican troops.
She did not limit U.S. aircraft transporting U.S. personnel for training in México or for logistical purposes notwithstanding the erroneous reporting that U.S. aircraft were now limited from operating in the country. It is also important to note that Sheinbaum added that the U.S. transport aircraft was not armed and its crew did not carry weapons.
For the Mexican political opposition, the arrival of the U.S. aircraft in Toluca was an opportunity to attack the president’s party politically suggesting that Congress had not authorized the entry of the U.S. aircraft unto Mexican soil.
Cross border deployment of Mexican military personnel for training and the arrival of foreign military personnel requires the approval of the Mexican Congress before the departure or arrival of troops.
Opposition Uses Toluca Aircraft in Attempt to Discredit Sheinbaum
Mexican Senator José Clemente Castañeda Hoeflich of the Movimiento Cuidadano, a left of center political party, accused the security cabinet of authorizing the American military aircraft without congressional approval.
In his post, Castañeda asked if the arrival of the military aircraft in Toluca was part of the scheduled arrival of U.S. SEAL Team members for training with Mexican naval troops from January 19 through April 15. The request for authorization said that a group of “armed” U.S. SEAL members would arrive on January 12, 2026, coincidently at Toluca. He added that the Mexican Constitution explicitly gives Congress the authority to approve or deny entry of foreign troops.
Both militaries training together allows them to operate on joint missions. The SEAL joint training was not new. Last year, between October 1 and November 15, a unit of 60 Mexican Marine Special Operators trained at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. On September 24, 2025, the Mexican Congress authorized the 60 Mexican military members to depart from the Toluca International Airport on board a U.S. C-130 transport aircraft on October 1, 2025, and return from Camp Shelby in Mississippi on November 15. In 2025 the departure of the Mexican troops on board a U.S. military aircraft did not create the controversy that Saturday’s event did because it has been a routine matter for years.
Several cross border training sessions between the American military and other militaries in the region occur regularly. For example, the 2019 Tradewinds program over several months in 2019 saw the U.S. military participate in training with military members of several nations in the area, including Barbados, Canada, Dominican Republic, Haiti, México and other countries.
Mexican military units have participated in training in the U.S. as well as U.S. servicemen have been training at Mexican military installations for over ten years now.
Another training session involving U.S. SEAL team members had been scheduled for January 18 through March 13. This is the training that Castañeda had alluded to in his social media post suggesting that the aircraft that landed in Toluca was transporting Mexican military personnel to the U.S. without Congressional approval. The December 19, request to the Mexican Congress asking for permission to allow Mexican military personnel to leave the country and train at Camp Shelby from January 18 through March 13 was not debated by the Mexican Congress.
The authorization for the SEAL team members to train with the Mexican military had been shelved by Sheinbaum after the January 3rd U.S. military operation to spirit Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro out of the country. It is assumed that the scheduled trainings has been delayed or canceled.
As Sheinbaum explained on Wednesday, the American military transport that landed in Toluca was transporting Mexican civilian security personnel as part of ongoing binational security training programs that had been authorized in October.
But before Sheinbaum could quell the aircraft drama, on Tuesday seven Mexican military aircraft landed at six U.S. airports giving the armchair analysts more material for their clickbait headlines.
Seven Mexican Air Force Aircraft Land at Six U.S. Airports
On January 20 seven Mexican military aircraft departed México and landed at six U.S. airports. On board were 37 people accused of being cartel members who were being extradited by the Mexican government to face trial in the U.S. The 37 were part of 92 people accused of drug trafficking that the Mexican government had extradited to the U.S. recently after the U.S. government assured Mexican officials that they would not seek the death penalty in the cases.
The seven Mexican aircraft landed in Houston, New York, Pennsylvania, San Antonio, San Diego and Washington.
Among the prisoners extradited to the U.S. included María del Rosario Navarro Sánchez, the first Mexican national to be charged with “providing material support to a designated foreign terrorists organization,” according to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice. She faces life in prison if convicted.
The 37 prisoners delivered to U.S. authorities on Tuesday is the third transfer of fugitives to U.S. custody since February of last year. On February 27, 2025, México transferred 29 prisoners to U.S. custody. Among them included Rafael Caro Quintero that U.S. officials had been seeking to prosecute for the 1985 murder of Drug Enforcement Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
The second transfer of cartel-related prisoners in Mexican jails occurred on August 12, 2025. In August 26 prisoners were transferred to U.S. custody. Tuesday’s transfer of another 37 prisoners brought the total to 92 cartel-related prisoners the Mexican government has transferred to U.S. authorities for prosecution in America courts.
What is important to note, is that Tuesday’s transfer was not the result of the Trump administration’s invasion threats nor was it a new event. It was the third transfer of prisoners in the last year.
The History of Mexican Military Aircraft in the U.S.
One may be tempted to believe that an American military aircraft landing in México is a unique phenomenon. The news media doesn’t help when it sensationalizes a routine landing. But what about Mexican military aircraft? Do they land on U.S. airports?
Likely surprising to most is that Mexican military aircraft have transited regularly over U.S. airspace and have frequently landed at U.S. airports for decades.
Whether it is for aircraft maintenance, repairs or transportation logistics, Mexican Air Force aircraft have operated within the United States for years. Because it largely goes unnoticed, many people believe that the aircraft landing in Toluca was a unique occurrence.
The Mexican military has offered humanitarian aid to Americans after disasters including after the 2005 Katrina hurricane when a Mexican 45-military vehicle convoy with uniformed Mexican military members crossed into Texas to help render aid to the hurricane victims. Most recently, Mexican firefighters were delivered to Los Angeles on a Mexican military aircraft.
Last year, a Mexican military C-130, like the American version in Toluca, landed at the Los Angeles International Airport delivering Mexican firefighters to help fight the California fires.
The routine interoperability training between the two militaries, the frequent use of airports by both countries on both sides of the border and the transfer of Mexican prisoners to U.S. courts has not stopped disinformation campaigns from erupting after the landing of the U.S. aircraft in Toluca.
Ballistic Missiles in México?
Moments after pictures of the U.S. C-130 in Toluca started circulating on social media, doctored images and postings appeared suggesting that U.S. military operations in México were imminent.
One such social media post showed a doctored image of what appear to be missiles being offloaded from the American aircraft. Because of their size, the fake missiles depict either ballistic missiles or Cold War-era surface-to-air missiles that would be difficult to launch from México considering that there is no infrastructure in México to support the deployment of such missiles. Moreover, missiles of these types would be ineffective against cartel targets considering the now prevalent use of aerial drones for military operations and smaller missiles requiring less infrastructure to operate.
For individuals with an understanding of modern military systems, the offloading of Cold War relics from a C-130 transport is immediately detectable but for many social media consumers on both sides of the border the fake missiles easily deceive them into believing a U.S. invasion is eminent.
At the end of the day, the problem isn’t a routine landing in Toluca. The problem is political rhetoric about invading a neighbor, opportunistic politicians seeking a political advantage and armchair analysts looking for clickbait headlines to bring attention to themselves.
Cover photograph credit: Lockhead C-130 Hercules Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, Ciudad de México, Luis Merlos Vega, July 2, 2023.
