The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a warning to commercial airlines about “potentially hazardous conditions” when operating flights over parts of Mexico, Central America, and South America, citing increased military activity and the risk of GPS interference across the region.
In an official notice, the FAA urged airlines to exercise heightened caution while flying through the airspace of Mexico and several Central American nations, as well as portions of Ecuador, Colombia, and the eastern Pacific Ocean. The advisory, issued on Friday, will remain in effect for 60 days.
The move comes amid escalating U.S. military activity across Latin America, where regional tensions have risen sharply. The situation has been fueled by recent U.S. military strikes in Venezuela, warnings directed at Cuba by former President Donald Trump, and threats of military action against drug cartels operating in Mexico and Colombia.
A serious midair safety incident last month underscored these concerns. A JetBlue Airways passenger aircraft—Flight 1112—traveling from Curaçao to New York was forced to make an emergency course correction after encountering a U.S. Air Force tanker aircraft near Venezuelan airspace. The incident occurred approximately 64 kilometers (40 miles) off Venezuela’s coast, when the military jet, operating with its transponder switched off, came dangerously close to the Airbus aircraft.
Following a U.S. military operation in Venezuela on January 3—after which Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were reportedly seized—Donald Trump signaled the possibility of extending military action to other parts of the region, including Colombia. He also warned of launching operations against drug cartels in Mexico and Colombia, further heightening regional instability.
In the aftermath of the Venezuela strike, the FAA imposed flight restrictions across the entire Caribbean region, forcing major global airlines to cancel hundreds of flights.
Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday that her government has taken significant steps to combat drug cartels and curb irregular migration toward the U.S. border. Her remarks came in response to recent threats by Trump to carry out military strikes against cartel targets inside Mexico.
Sheinbaum has sought to de-escalate tensions with Washington while maintaining a strong bilateral relationship. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente held a phone conversation, after which a joint statement acknowledged that “much more needs to be done to address shared threats.”
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Sheinbaum highlighted what she described as notable progress, citing a decline in homicide rates, reduced fentanyl seizures by U.S. authorities at the border, and a decrease in migration flows.
She also renewed her call on Washington to take stronger action against the illegal flow of firearms from the United States into Mexico, arguing that widespread drug consumption in the U.S. remains a key driver of cartel violence south of the border.
“The responsibility is shared,” Sheinbaum said. “The drug-use crisis in the United States must be addressed through education and a public health–centered approach.”
It is worth noting that Sheinbaum and Trump spoke by phone last week, during which the Mexican president made it clear that U.S. military intervention in Mexico was neither necessary nor welcome.
Source: Reuters.