Officials continued to refuse to comment publicly on the reason for the abrupt closure and reopening of El Paso airport earlier this week.
But The New York Times reports that multiple people briefed on the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Customs and Border Protection officials deployed an anti-drone laser on loan from the Department of Defense without giving aviation officials enough time to assess the risks to commercial aircraft.
According to Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, and officials from the White House and the Pentagon, the reason for the closure was that Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace.
But the Times‘ sources said C.B.P. officials thought they were firing on a cartel drone, but it turned out to be a party balloon.
The closure, which appeared to surprise state and local officials, went into effect at 11:30 p.m. local time on January 10 and was lifted a little before 7 a.m. on Tuesday 11.
Neither the DoT nor the FAA answered requests for clarification of the reason for the closure from SupplyChainBrain, sent February 11.
Read More: Munich Airport Reopens After Drone Scare
Drones have become a significant tool and weapon used by Mexican cartels across Mexico in recent years, according to cartel operatives, security analysts and some government officials on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Some 27,000 drones flew within about 1,650 feet of the border over six months in 2024, piloted by organizations hostile to law enforcement, according to Steven Willoughby, deputy director of the counter-drone program at the Homeland Security Department.
In July 2025, Willoughby testified before Congress and asked lawmakers to continue the program. He did not go into detail on the nature of the anti-drone technology the department was testing.
The FAA recently announced it had stepped up drone enforcement in 2025, having “fined and suspended or revoked the licenses of multiple drone operators in 2025 for unsafe and unauthorized operations, including flights near major sporting events, emergency response activities, and in restricted airspace.”
