Mexican cartel drones disabled after forcing El Paso airspace closure

Drones operated by Mexican drug cartels entered US airspace late Tuesday, forcing a brief closure of the skies over El Paso, Texas, a Trump administration official told The Post Wednesday morning.“Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace,” the official said.“The Department of War took action to disable the drones.

The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel.”The Federal Aviation Administration initially announced a 10-day restriction on air traffic over the border city, effective at 11:30 p.m.local time (1:30 a.m.

ET Wednesday).Fewer than eight hours later, the FAA wrote on X: “The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted.There is no threat to commercial aviation.

All flights will resume as normal.”The agency had cited “special security reasons” for restricting flights into and out of a US-based international airport for the first time since after the Sept.11, 2001, terror attacks on New York and Washington.The initial closure announcement caused an outcry among local officials, who complained of a lack of warning.“From what my office and I have been able to gather overnight and early this morning there is no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas,” local congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) wrote on X Wednesday morning shortly before the airspace restrictions were lifted.

“There was no advance notice provided to my office, the City of El Paso, or anyone involved in airport operations.”...