Mexican authorities have recorded at least two flights conducted on January 31 and February 3 in international airspace without prior request from the United States government. These involve sophisticated spy aircraft used to increase surveillance over Mexican drug cartels, with at least 18 missions along the border with Mexico and in the area around the Baja California peninsula.
Among the detected military flights are those made by U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft and a U-2 spy plane, used for submarine identification and intelligence gathering. These activities could be part of a strategy to monitor communications of Mexican criminal organizations, although the final use of the obtained information is unclear.
On January 20, during his first day in office, former U.S. President Donald Trump labeled Mexican drug cartels as terrorists. According to reports, it was revealed that the State Department is eyeing several Mexican cartels to be classified as terrorist organizations, including the Sinaloa cartel, the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG), the Northeast cartel, La Familia Michoacana, and United Cartels, as well as Colombia's Gulf Clan and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.
In light of the increased surveillance activity by U.S. military aircraft over Mexican cartels, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that she will seek an explanation from Washington. Despite the heightened awareness on the issue, Sheinbaum pointed out that the presence of spy planes over Mexican territory is part of the existing cooperation and coordination with the U.S. government.
The president clarified that this occurs in a context of collaboration and that this is not the first time such flights have happened. Additionally, she nuanced the statements of the Secretary of National Defense, Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, who raised the possibility of aerial espionage by the United States. In this regard, greater coordination and transparency in aerial surveillance activities over Mexican territory is expected.
