After a United States Air Force plane was seen flying near the Gulf of California, Rosario Avilés, an aviation expert, explained that the aircraft flew at a low altitude to be observed by drug cartels. She explained that it was in the middle of the Sea of Cortez, in the Gulf of California, and the joke is that it entered from there and then turned around. What the controllers comment is that it's not unusual; the only issue is that this time it was noticeable, and thinking negatively it could seem like they want to say, 'I have arrived, here I am.'
The events occurred on Monday when the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) reported the presence of the U.S. aircraft 83 kilometers southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, outside Mexican airspace over international waters. The image of a Boeing RC-135V flying over the Gulf of California caught the attention of social media users, as it happened shortly after President Donald Trump paused the imposition of tariffs on Mexico after reaching an agreement with his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum.
In an interview with Azucena Uresti, Avilés pointed out that the detected plane is for surveillance and collects data and listens to conversations. It was detected because it was at an altitude of 32,500 feet which could pose a risk to operations in the area. The aviation expert stated that the operation of such aircraft is normal over international waters, but they are usually not detected and SEDENA must authorize these types of flights.
Rick Francona, a retired intelligence officer from the United States Air Force (USAF), indicated that the orbit of the aircraft "is something I had not seen before" and considered it part of the new cooperation between the United States and Mexico against drug cartels. Rosario Avilés agreed that the sighting of the aircraft outside of Mexican airspace is part of measures to combat drug cartels. She expressed that this could be interpreted as a message that they are working against the "bad guys" in the area of the drug cartels.
