The FAA designated airspace over El Paso, Texas, as "National Defense Airspace" this week and authorized the use of deadly force against non-compliant aircraft — a response triggered by what Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called a "cartel drone incursion" across the southern border.

According to Breitbart, the restrictions went into effect on February 10, covering a 10-nautical-mile radius around El Paso up to 17,999 feet. A separate restriction over Santa Teresa, New Mexico, was issued simultaneously. Both were originally planned to last ten days.

The El Paso lockdown was lifted within hours. The Santa Teresa restriction remains in effect.

What the government said — and what it didn't

Secretary Duffy addressed the situation on social media:

"The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region."

That was the extent of the official explanation. Breitbart Texas reached out to the Department of Transportation, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other federal agencies. None responded.

It remains unclear who ordered the ten-day shutdown. It remains unclear what specific action was taken to neutralize the threat. Federal agencies have refused to explain why a restriction planned for ten days was lifted in hours. The nature of the drones themselves — whether weaponized, used for drug trafficking, or deployed for cartel surveillance — has not been disclosed.

The social media account OSINTdefender reported that several cartel-operated drones were observed breaching American airspace and that the Department of War used electronic-warfare measures to bring them down. No official source has confirmed those details.

The escalation no one wants to name

The FAA issued its NOTAMs pursuant to 49 USC 40103(B)(3), with special security instructions under 14 CFR 99.7. The enforcement provisions weren't subtle:

• Civil penalties, suspension, or revocation of airmen certificates
• Criminal charges under 49 USC Section 46307
• Use of deadly force against any airborne aircraft determined to pose an imminent security threat

That last item is the one that matters. Deadly force authorization over American soil because a Mexican cartel flew drones into U.S. airspace. This is the language of wartime defense applied to a border region that Washington spent years insisting was under control.

For years, the political class treated cartel drone activity as a footnote — an exotic problem for border agents to manage quietly. Cartels adapted. They weaponized drones, used them for surveillance of law enforcement operations, and flew narcotics payloads over barriers that billions of dollars were spent building. The technology is cheap, the operators are disposable, and the airspace is essentially undefended.

Now the FAA is locking down commercial aviation corridors, and the federal government is invoking national defense authorities. The gap between the rhetoric of "the border is secure" and the reality of deadly-force authorizations over American cities could not be wider.

What Santa Teresa tells us

The El Paso restrictions came and went within hours. The Santa Teresa, New Mexico, NOTAM, covering a defined polygon of airspace along the border, remains active through February 20. Same altitude ceiling. Same enforcement provisions. Same deadly-force authorization.

If the threat was truly "neutralized," as Secretary Duffy stated, the continued restriction over Santa Teresa raises an obvious question: neutralized where, or neutralized for how long? A ten-day airspace lockdown doesn't suggest a problem that's been solved. It suggests a problem that's been engaged.

The border is an active front

There was a time when the idea of Mexican cartels conducting aerial incursions into U.S. airspace would have dominated a news cycle for weeks. Congressional hearings would have been scheduled before lunch. Now it lands, gets a six-sentence statement from a cabinet secretary, and the agencies involved go dark.

The administration acted. The FAA moved quickly, the airspace was secured, and the immediate threat was addressed. That deserves recognition. But the broader reality this incident exposes — that transnational criminal organizations now operate drone fleets capable of triggering national defense protocols over American cities — demands more than a rapid response. It demands a sustained one.

Commercial flights are landing in El Paso again. The skies over Santa Teresa remain closed to unauthorized aircraft under threat of lethal engagement. Somewhere south of the border, cartel operators are studying what worked, what didn't, and what to try next.