The Cartels are missing the revenue's from drugs.human trafficking, and its showin, They also want to terrorize with intimidation tactics,hence the drones.

Mexican cartel drones breach US airspace, are disabled by War Department, Duffy says

"The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion," Duffy announced in a statement on X, referring to the Department of War. "The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mexican-cartel-drones-breach-us-airspace-disabled-war-department-duffy-says

The story is about a foxnews report

Further story from Fox news:

US military shot down party balloon near El Paso after drone suspicion, official says

Mexican president says her government has 'no information' on border drones following temporary airport closure

A U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the U.S. military earlier this week shot down what was later determined to be a party balloon near El Paso, Texas, after initially assessing it as a possible foreign drone.

The misidentification eventually led to a total shutdown of airspace around the El Paso airport.

A separate U.S. administration official had told Fox News that Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace near El Paso and that counter-drone measures were taken to disable them.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-military-shot-down-party-balloon-near-el-paso-after-suspecting-drone-official-says

1 minute ago, JerryM said:

Further story from Fox news:

US military shot down party balloon near El Paso after drone suspicion, official says

Mexican president says her government has 'no information' on border drones following temporary airport closure

A U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the U.S. military earlier this week shot down what was later determined to be a party balloon near El Paso, Texas, after initially assessing it as a possible foreign drone.

The misidentification eventually led to a total shutdown of airspace around the El Paso airport.

A separate U.S. administration official had told Fox News that Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace near El Paso and that counter-drone measures were taken to disable them.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-military-shot-down-party-balloon-near-el-paso-after-suspecting-drone-official-says

So that's why they shut down the El Paso airspace for 10 days then seemingly minutes later opened it up again. Thanks. Idiots.

The cartels have been using drones to carry drugs over the border for a long time.

3 minutes ago, gargamon said:

Idiots.

But OP Author will say they were protecting MY country.

1 minute ago, JerryM said:

But OP Author will say they were protecting MY country.

From party baloons? 555

13 minutes ago, gargamon said:

From party baloons? 555

The Fox News report in the OP Published February 11, 2026 10:31am EST but the follow-up with the Party balloon came at 1 PM same date.

So even Fox News can admit they got snookered but I doubt you will hear any mea culpa from the topic Author .

2 minutes ago, JerryM said:

The Fox News report in the OP Published February 11, 2026 10:31am EST but the follow-up with the Party balloon came at 1 PM same date.

So even Fox News can admit they got snookered but I doubt you will hear any mea culpa from the topic Author .

I doubt the OP will even respond to this thread. His modus operandi is merely to stoke fear with questionable topics with little substance behind them.

14 minutes ago, JerryM said:

The Fox News report in the OP Published February 11, 2026 10:31am EST but the follow-up with the Party balloon came at 1 PM same date.

So even Fox News can admit they got snookered but I doubt you will hear any mea culpa from the topic Author .

10 minutes ago, gargamon said:

I doubt the OP will even respond to this thread. His modus operandi is merely to stoke fear with questionable topics with little substance behind them.

Given that he has publicly put on ignore just about everyone who doesn't support his posts, there's little chance of him ever learning otherwise.

Military’s Use of Anti-Drone Technology Said to Cause El Paso Airspace Closure

Federal Aviation Administration officials were forced to close El Paso’s airspace late Tuesday after the Defense Department decided to use new anti-drone technology without giving aviation officials ample time to assess the risks to commercial airlines, according to four people briefed on the situation.

Those accounts, offered on the condition of anonymity because the officials were not authorized to comment publicly, challenge the official explanation from the Trump administration. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, along with representatives for the White House and the Pentagon, insisted on Wednesday that a sudden incursion of drones from Mexican drug cartels had necessitated a military response, which prompted the F.A.A. to close the airspace...

According to the people briefed on the situation, El Paso’s airspace was shut down when the Defense Department, operating out of Fort Bliss, a nearby Army base, decided to mobilize that new technology over the F.A.A.’s objections.

https://archive.ph/3E1OO

52 minutes ago, gargamon said:

So that's why they shut down the El Paso airspace for 10 days then seemingly minutes later opened it up again. Thanks. Idiots.

The cartels have been using drones to carry drugs over the border for a long time.

So, let me get this straight.

You're acknowledging that the cartels have been using drones for a long time, but calling them idiots for erring on the side of caution when they see an unidentified incursion into controlled airspace near an airport?

2 hours ago, riclag said:

The Cartels are missing the revenue's from drugs.human trafficking, and its showin, They also want to terrorize with intimidation tactics,hence the drones.

Just to note that the above intro is from the Author and is not part of the linked Fox News report.

16 minutes ago, impulse said:

So, let me get this straight.

You're acknowledging that the cartels have been using drones for a long time, but calling them idiots for erring on the side of caution when they see an unidentified incursion into controlled airspace near an airport?

From https://archive.ph/3E1OO above as to"abundance of caution":

The move left El Paso officials blindsided.

“I want to be very, very clear that this should’ve never happened,” Mayor Renard Johnson of El Paso said in a news conference Wednesday morning. “You cannot restrict airspace over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership.”

Federal agencies largely stayed mum on the controversy. The F.A.A. did not respond to requests for comment about the circumstances that led to the airspace closure, a Transportation Department spokesman declined to comment and a Pentagon spokesman repeated the military’s assertion that it had responded to a drone incursion.

4 minutes ago, JerryM said:

From https://archive.ph/3E1OO above as to"abundance of caution":

The move left El Paso officials blindsided.

“I want to be very, very clear that this should’ve never happened,” Mayor Renard Johnson of El Paso said in a news conference Wednesday morning. “You cannot restrict airspace over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership.”

Federal agencies largely stayed mum on the controversy. The F.A.A. did not respond to requests for comment about the circumstances that led to the airspace closure, a Transportation Department spokesman declined to comment and a Pentagon spokesman repeated the military’s assertion that it had responded to a drone incursion.

They'd have looked pretty stupid had a jet engine sucked in whatever they detected on radar where it didn't belong. Hindsight is always 20/20. They didn't know what it was until after it was over.

And Mayors aren't who I turn to for air traffic and defense advice.

6 minutes ago, impulse said:

They'd have looked pretty stupid had a jet engine sucked in whatever they detected on radar where it didn't belong. Hindsight is always 20/20. They didn't know what it was until after it was over.

And Mayors aren't who I turn to for air traffic and defense advice

As quoted above:

Federal agencies largely stayed mum on the controversy.

1 minute ago, JerryM said:

As quoted above:

Federal agencies largely stayed mum on the controversy.

Seems like the smart thing to do while they're gathering the facts and interviewing the participants and witnesses. Then they have to figure out what details are classified defense secrets.

Or, you can just blurt out whatever you want before you know the details.

8 minutes ago, impulse said:

Seems like the smart thing to do while they're gathering the facts and interviewing the participants and witnesses. Then they have to figure out what details are classified defense secrets.

Or, you can just blurt out whatever you want before you know the details.

Right. So maybe the reason they are mum but you aren't is that they know something that you don't.

5 hours ago, gargamon said:

From party baloons? 555

Ya gots ta be careful!

It could have been a Chinese wezzer barroom!

4 hours ago, impulse said:

They'd have looked pretty stupid had a jet engine sucked in whatever they detected on radar where it didn't belong. Hindsight is always 20/20. They didn't know what it was until after it was over.

And Mayors aren't who I turn to for air traffic and defense advice.

They DO look pretty stupid, so there's that.

5 hours ago, impulse said:

So, let me get this straight.

You're acknowledging that the cartels have been using drones for a long time, but calling them idiots for erring on the side of caution when they see an unidentified incursion into controlled airspace near an airport?

And you're a military base too, especially in light of the repeated incursions of Chinese and foreign actors on military bases. And let's not forget the Chinese balloon that nobody bothered to shoot down.

Thanks for helping protect our country FAA. The ones that complain are the ones that would love to see the destruction of America since it is a racist white supremacist murderous nation that has done nothing for the world since its existence. It should be giving back to the natives

7 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

They DO look pretty stupid, so there's that.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

They'd have looked stoopid had they shut down air traffic on September 11, 2001 and nothing happened.

If you want to see how redonculous "party balloons" can get, go to YouTube and search "gender reveal disasters". They've burned down homes and acres and acres with "party toys", including balloons.

7 hours ago, impulse said:

They'd have looked pretty stupid had a jet engine sucked in whatever they detected on radar where it didn't belong. Hindsight is always 20/20. They didn't know what it was until after it was over.

And Mayors aren't who I turn to for air traffic and defense advice.

Well, it looks like there was nothing to begin with and that, in fact, the basis of this was a jurisdictional conflict between the Department of Defense and the FAA about testing of weapons. Which would explain why the FAA declared a 10 day pause. That's one way of getting everyone's attention.

2 hours ago, impulse said:

Hindsight is always 20/20.

They'd have looked stoopid had they shut down air traffic on September 11, 2001 and nothing happened.

If you want to see how redonculous "party balloons" can get, go to YouTube and search "gender reveal disasters". They've burned down homes and acres and acres with "party toys", including balloons.

At least they didn't spend a hundred million dollars shooting down a "wezzer barroom"...........as cover for Sec. State Blinken being snubbed by the Chinese..................that they'd been tracking from liftoff in china six weeks prior................

That would look bigly stupid.

3 hours ago, Yagoda said:

And you're a military base too, especially in light of the repeated incursions of Chinese and foreign actors on military bases. And let's not forget the Chinese balloon that nobody bothered to shoot down.

Thanks for helping protect our country FAA. The ones that complain are the ones that would love to see the destruction of America since it is a racist white supremacist murderous nation that has done nothing for the world since its existence. It should be giving back to the natives

3 hours ago, impulse said:

Hindsight is always 20/20.

They'd have looked stoopid had they shut down air traffic on September 11, 2001 and nothing happened.

If you want to see how redonculous "party balloons" can get, go to YouTube and search "gender reveal disasters". They've burned down homes and acres and acres with "party toys", including balloons.

Real threats exist (drones over bases, cartel aerial smuggling), and the military/FAA, are adapting to the threats. The international & domestic far left would like nothing more than to have business back to Biden/Harris days of open borders, record crossings, cartel billions flowing again, and America looking weak while they rant to us about systemic progressive human rights for narco traffickers. See how the Mexican President appeases cartels.

https://www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/border-crime/cartels-flew-drones-60000-times-along-us-border-in-six-month-period/

Google ai overview

Anti-Cartel Strategy: Following the November 2025 assassination of a mayor, Sheinbaum refused to revive the "war on drugs" approach, arguing that it previously led to increased violence and that her government would focus on tackling the roots of crime.

Weapons Used to Fight Drones Don’t Mix Well With Civilian Airspace

The military has made fast progress in recent years building an arsenal of guns, missiles, lasers, jammers and even high-powered microwaves that can shoot down drones. But it has made much less progress figuring out the rules and procedures needed to use those technologies safely in a crowded civilian airspace.

That disconnect caused the sudden, unexpected shutdown of the airspace over El Paso on Tuesday night.

https://archive.ph/8LgZT#selection-655.0-659.101

Broad brush look at the inner chaos of siding with Cartel's and the ideology of the so called Oppressed ,sides steps the tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of deaths attributed to drugs & drug enterprizes all for the defeat of Western way of life.

google ai overview:

"Marxist international organizations and related far-left movements promote communist ideologies as a direct challenge to global capitalism, which they view as inherently exploitative and the root of social and economic inequality. The perceived connection between some Marxist groups and drug cartels is not typically a formal, ideological promotion of drugs, but rather a pragmatic alliance in Latin America, where insurgent groups have used the drug trade to fund armed struggles against states supported by Western imperialism".

"US military shot down party balloon near El Paso after drone suspicion, official says"

Thank gawd there weren't 99 of them!

13 hours ago, impulse said:

Or, you can just blurt out whatever you want before you know the details.

Can you please tell that to riclag? Thank you.

5 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Can you please tell that to riclag? Thank you.

You'll have to wait until he comes back up from his bunker.

Party Balloons.

Close a major airport for 10 days because of party balloons.

I wonder if Pete is putting some balloon logos on his car, like fighter pilots put downed enemy aircraft?

Of course you can fool MAGAs all of the time. No doubt when those balloons popped, all the armchair warriors began chanting "USA USA USA".

The intel this Administration is "producing" is pretty bad. That's why they are now being sued by families of dead Trinidad fisherman whose boat was blown up by the psychopath Hegseth.

Sorry Pete. Sometimes fishing boats are....fishing boats. And that makes Pete a murderer.