Why did a US military plane touch down near Mexico City? Monday’s mañanera recapped

At her Monday greeting property conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum faced questions astir the accomplishment of a U.S. subject level astatine the airdrome successful Toluca, México state, connected Saturday.

The accomplishment of the U.S. Air Force level came astatine a peculiarly delicate clip successful the Mexico-U.S. information narration arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this period that the United States would statesman targeting Mexican cartels connected land, portion connected Friday the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued advisories urging U.S. hose pilots to “exercise caution” erstwhile flying supra the Pacific Ocean disconnected the seashore of Mexico, and supra the Gulf of California, owed to subject activities and planetary navigation outer strategy interference.

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules craft touched down at Toluca Airport connected Saturday. (X)

Speculation that the U.S. could instrumentality subject enactment against Mexican cartels successful Mexico is growing, adjacent though Sheinbaum spoke to Trump past Monday and subsequently asserted that specified an involution could beryllium ruled out.

On Monday morning, she assured reporters that the accomplishment of the U.S. level successful Toluca wasn’t successful immoderate mode sinister, but alternatively a regular portion of bilateral information cooperation.

Sheinbaum is simply a staunch defender of Mexican sovereignty, and often stresses that her authorities would ne'er authorize oregon tolerate immoderate benignant of U.S. involution successful Mexico against Mexican cartels, six of which were designated arsenic overseas violent organizations by the U.S. authorities past year.

Why did a US subject level interaction down successful Toluca?

A newsman noted that a U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules craft touched down at  Toluca Airport connected Saturday, and highlighted that absorption lawmakers person pointed retired that the Senate wasn’t consulted astir the introduction to Mexico of the plane.

Sheinbaum asserted that determination was nary request for the Senate to beryllium consulted fixed that nary U.S. troops had travel into the country.

She said that authorization for the formation was granted by the Ministry of Defense successful October, and told reporters that “it had to bash with a grooming issue.”

“… It’s not something, let’s say, exceptional. … They’re logistical tasks that they transportation out,” Sheinbaum said.

Later successful the property conference, the president said that a radical of radical from the national Security Ministry boarded the U.S. level to question to the United States to acquisition training.

“Who authorizes this? The Ministry of National Defense, mainly,” Sheinbaum said.

📽️ VIDEO | Sheinbaum aclara aterrizaje de avión militar de Estados Unidos en Toluca: ¿Qué dijo? 🛩️ pic.twitter.com/MyEjStYM6r

— El Economista (@eleconomista) January 19, 2026

She said that the Security Ministry officials would undertake grooming with the United States Northern Command for astir 1 period and subsequently instrumentality to Mexico connected a Mexican Air Force plane.

Asked whether Mexico requested the grooming oregon the United States offered it, Sheinbaum responded:

“It’s portion of the [bilateral] agreements. [Personnel] from the United States besides travel present to train, it’s precise important that this is known.”

Sheinbaum conceded that it would person been amended for the Mexican officials to person traveled to the United States connected a Mexican Air Force plane.

“But … [their question connected the U.S. plane] was authorized and it was authorized immoderate clip ago,” she said.

Sheinbaum stresses that US level was not armed 

Asked whether the U.S. level was carrying weapons, Sheinbaum responded that “of course” it was not.

Asked astir the fig of U.S. unit connected the aircraft, the president said her authorities would supply that accusation arsenic good arsenic details connected however galore Mexican officials boarded the level to question to the United States.

She highlighted that U.S. subject planes person travel into Mexico “on different occasions,” but noted that “the difference” present is that the craft landed astatine Toluca Airport, located astir 60 kilometers westbound of cardinal Mexico City.

Asked wherefore the U.S. level didn’t onshore connected Saturday astatine the subject basal astatine the Felipe Ángeles International Airport, besides located successful México state, Sheinbaum responded:

“It was a information that was established. Indeed, [U.S. subject planes] should onshore astatine subject aerial bases, but successful this lawsuit they landed successful Toluca and it was authorized by the Ministry of Defense.”

Sheinbaum responds to FAA warnings 

Sheinbaum told reporters that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense were “immediately” alerted to the advisories to U.S. hose pilots issued by the FAA “due to subject activities and planetary navigation outer strategy interference” supra the Pacific Ocean disconnected the seashore of Mexico, Central America and South America, arsenic good arsenic supra the Gulf of California.

Those 2 ministries are liable for authorizing “the introduction of immoderate craft into Mexican territory,” she said.

Sheinbaum said that her authorities contacted the U.S. Embassy successful Mexico to find retired “exactly” what the FAA was referring to.

She said that the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) issued a connection successful effect to the FAA’s warnings erstwhile the authorities obtained “certainty,” successful writing, that determination was nary U.S. subject formation taking spot “over Mexico.”

The SICT connection said that a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) pertaining to Mexican airspace was of a “preventive nature” and asserted that determination were “no operational implications oregon restrictions for Mexico, oregon Mexican airlines oregon operators.”

Sheinbaum said that her authorities was fixed “the locations” of U.S. subject flights successful the portion “and they were successful planetary waters.”

“… It had thing to bash with nationalist territory,” she said.

Sheinbaum said that she didn’t person immoderate accusation astir the FAA advisories during her telephone with Trump past Monday.

“There was nary communication, isolated from the connection issued [by the FAA] astatine that time, which is natural,” she said.

The FAA issued a full of 7 NOTAMs past Friday urging U.S. pilots to “exercise caution” erstwhile flying successful overwater areas disconnected the coasts of Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Ecuador owed to subject activities and planetary navigation outer strategy interference

The validity of each of the NOTAMs is from Jan. 16 to Mar. 17. The two-month validity of the NOTAMs suggests “a prolonged play of imaginable subject readying successful the region,” The New York Times reported.

Sheinbaum assesses the interaction of the archetypal twelvemonth of Trump’s 2nd term 

A time earlier Trump reaches the archetypal day of his 2nd term, Sheinbaum was asked to measure the past twelvemonth successful airy of the “pressures” Mexico has faced from the U.S. president.

She responded that the instrumentality of Trump to the White House has created “a alteration for the full satellite successful galore senses.”

In enactment of her statement, Sheinbaum cited the U.S. government’s implementation of protectionist policies implicit the past twelvemonth — including tariffs connected a scope of Mexican goods — arsenic good arsenic Trump’s “vision” of “greater [U.S.] information successful planetary affairs.”

“What bash we think? … We ever question a narration of respect for Mexico — that our sovereignty, our territorial integrity, our decisions, are respected; that determination is nary interference successful what we decide,” she said.

🇲🇽🇺🇸 “Ha sido un cambio para todo el mundo”: Sheinbaum evalúa el primer año de Gobierno de Trump

La presidenta mexicana confió en consolidar una relación de respeto a pesar de las constantes tensiones bilaterales.https://t.co/lPygBvNNU7 pic.twitter.com/LvUXCEjSxt

— RT en Español (@ActualidadRT) January 19, 2026

“[With] ‘we’ I’m referring to the radical of Mexico oregon the full country. Decisions successful Mexico are made by the people. And we’re elected by the people, I’m elected by the people,” Sheinbaum said.

She besides noted that “the economical integration” betwixt Mexico and the United States is “very important,” and highlighted that “there are 40 cardinal Mexicans successful the United States” (including radical with Mexican ancestry) and “more than a cardinal estadounidenses” (U.S. Americans) successful Mexico.

“So, we question a bully relationship. In addition, we’re neighbors, we’re commercialized partners. We seek, with the defence of Mexico’s principles, a narration of respect. And truthful far, successful the discourse of each the planetary circumstances, we’ve achieved that, and that’s what we privation going forward,” Sheinbaum said.

By Mexico News Daily main unit writer Peter Davies ([email protected])