Sheinbaum denies drone intelligence as conflicting reports emerge on El Paso: Wednesday’s mañanera recapped

At her Wednesday greeting property conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum faced questions astir the closure of airspace implicit El Paso, Texas, from precocious Tuesday to aboriginal Wednesday.

According to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and U.S. authorities officials quoted successful assorted media reports, the airspace was closed aft Mexican cartel drones breached the airspace.

Did a Mexican cartel conscionable effort to onslaught El Paso?

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — which said successful a Notice to Airmen that craft could not alert supra El Paso for 10 days for “Special Security Reasons”  — reposted Duffy’s X post, which said that the FAA and the Department of War “acted swiftly to code a cartel drone incursion.”

However, the assertion that a Mexican cartel drone (or drones) entered U.S. airspace and precipitated the determination to adjacent the airspace supra El Paso connected Tuesday has been disputed.

Citing “four radical briefed connected the situation,” The New York Times reported connected Wednesday day that FAA officials “were forced to adjacent El Paso’s airspace precocious Tuesday aft the Defense Department decided to effort retired caller anti-drone exertion without giving aviation officials ample clip to measure the risks to commercialized airlines.”

“Those accounts, offered connected the information of anonymity due to the fact that the officials were not authorized to remark publicly, situation the authoritative mentation from the Trump administration,” the Times wrote.

“According to the radical briefed connected the situation, El Paso’s airspace was unopen down erstwhile the Defense Department, operating retired of Fort Bliss, a adjacent Army base, decided to mobilize that caller exertion implicit the FAA’s objections,” the paper said.

“According to 2 of the radical briefed connected the situation, subject officials deployed that exertion earlier this week against what they thought was a cartel drone, but which turned retired to beryllium a enactment balloon.”

For its part, CNN, citing “multiple sources,” reported that “a Pentagon program to usage a high-energy, counter-drone laser without having coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration astir imaginable risks to civilian flights prompted Wednesday’s unprecedented airspace shutdown implicit El Paso.”

“A root acquainted with the timeline of events said that the U.S. subject utilized the laser exertion to sprout down 4 mylar balloons this week, contributing to the determination by the FAA to unopen down section airspace,” CNN wrote.

At a property league connected Wednesday, Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat who represents El Paso successful the U.S. Congress, said that the assertion that the closure of airspace implicit El Paso was owed to an incursion by Mexican cartel drones was “not the accusation that we successful Congress person been told.”

🚨 The highly consequential determination by FAA to unopen down the El Paso Airport for 10 days is unprecedented and has resulted successful important interest wrong the community. https://t.co/qAZGrQ8I0Q

— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) February 11, 2026

“There’s nary threat. There was not a threat, which is wherefore the FAA lifted this regularisation truthful quickly. The accusation coming from the [Trump] medication does not adhd up,” she said.

Sheinbaum: ‘No information’ astir drones astatine the bluish border  

After a writer noted that it had been reported that the El Paso Airport was closed owed to the introduction of Mexican cartel drones into U.S. airspace, Sheinbaum said that “there is nary accusation astir the usage of drones astatine the border.”

The newsman subsequently asked the president whether Mexico’s information furniture would analyse the beingness of cartel drones astatine the bluish border.

If Mexican authorities “have immoderate information” astir drones successful the borderline area, the FAA oregon immoderate different U.S. authorities section tin inquire the Mexican authorities for it, Sheinbaum said.

Asked what she thought truly happened successful the airspace supra El Paso to origin its closure, the president responded that determination was nary constituent successful speculating.

“Vamos a averiguar las causas”☝️🔴: responde la presidenta Sheinbaum sobre el cierre del espacio aéreo en El Paso, Texas, por supuestos drones del narco. pic.twitter.com/7NKoz5Gy6E

— Grupo Fórmula (@Radio_Formula) February 11, 2026

“We’re going to person the accusation and we’re going to ever support what we person maintained [with U.S. authorities], which is imperishable communication,” she said.

Earlier successful her property conference, Sheinbaum noted that Mexican airspace wasn’t closed.

“The airspace of Texas was closed,” she said earlier noting that the FAA had announced that the closure had been lifted.

“… We’re going to find retired precisely wherefore they closed it,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum rejects Bloomberg study connected USMCA 

A newsman noted that Bloomberg published an nonfiction that states that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering withdrawing from the USMCA, the North American Free commercialized pact that is up for trilateral reappraisal this year.

Citing “people acquainted with the matter,” Bloomberg reported connected Wednesday that Trump is privately musing astir exiting the North American commercialized pact, … injecting further uncertainty astir the deal’s aboriginal into pivotal renegotiations involving the U.S., Canada and Mexico.”

“The president has asked aides wherefore helium shouldn’t retreat from the agreement, which helium signed during his archetypal term, though helium has stopped abbreviated of flatly signaling that helium volition bash so,” wrote Bloomberg, citing its sources.

Sheinbaum said she didn’t judge Bloomberg’s report, telling reporters that Trump has “never” spoken astir withdrawing from the USMCA successful her calls with him “because it’s precise important for them and for us.”

“So determination is nary connection successful that sense,” she said.

Trump did accidental past period that the USMCA provides “no existent advantage” to the United States and is “irrelevant” to him.

“We could person it oregon not, it wouldn’t substance to me,” helium said Jan. 13.

“I deliberation they privation it, I don’t truly attraction astir it,” Trump said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said connected Jan. 28 that Mexico and the United States had agreed to statesman ceremonial discussions arsenic portion of the USMCA review.

Sheinbaum said connected Wednesday that those discussions were going “well,” and noted that Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard would be her property league connected Thursday to respond to questions related to the USMCA.