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The top US aviation agency has lifted a surprise 10-day closure of airspace above the US-Mexico border town of El Paso<\/a>, Texas, just hours after it abruptly announced that it would close off the skies for \u201cspecial security reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n While some officials claimed that Mexican cartel drones invaded US airspace, in recent days a balloon was reportedly mistaken for a drone.<\/p>\n The initial, vague citation of security concerns prompted still more questions as conflicting narratives surrounding this surprising closure and its abrupt reversal have since emerged.<\/p>\n The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted the \u201ctemporary flight restriction\u201d notice<\/a> on its website late on Tuesday local time, stating that a 10-nautical-mile circle up to 18,000ft around the El Paso<\/a> international airport in Texas would be off limits for all commercial, cargo and general aviation flights.<\/p>\n \u201cNo pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered,\u201d the FAA said. It said the closure would remain in place until 20 February, and the notice warned that the government \u201cmay use deadly force\u201d against any pilot who did not comply with the instructions.<\/p>\n But by Wednesday morning, and after hours of mayhem in which both airlines, local politicians and tens of thousands of travelers were caught off-guard, the FAA wrote on X that the order had been lifted. \u201cThere is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal,\u201d it said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since then, officials have offered a range of narratives to explain the closure.<\/p>\n The US transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said<\/a> on Twitter\/X: \u201cThe FAA and DOW [\u201cdepartment of war\u201d] acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe threat has been neutralized,\u201d Duffy also said, \u201cand there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The New York Times, citing a source familiar with this shutdown, said<\/a> the airspace closure was due to testing of anti-drone technology.<\/p>\n Donald Trump signed an executive order<\/a> in June to develop anti-drone capacity, and said drug cartels were using drones to smuggle fentanyl.<\/p>\n CBS News later added<\/a> still more intriguing reporting that sources had said the closure was due to FAA and Pentagon disagreements over \u201cdrone-related tests\u201d involving a high-energy laser.<\/p>\n CBS News reported that this technology was deployed earlier this week to shoot down what were thought to be foreign drones. But the airborne object was just a party balloon, sources told the outlet, indicating that one balloon was brought down.<\/p>\n But a Democratic Texas<\/a> congresswoman for El Paso, Veronica Escobar, took issue with Trump officials\u2019 drone claim, saying it was \u201cnot the information that we in Congress have been told\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was not a threat, which is why the FAA lifted this restriction so quickly,\u201d the Times quoted Escobar as saying. \u201cThe information coming from the administration does not add up.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the allegations of cartel drone activity, Mexico\u2019s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said: \u201cThere is no information regarding drone use at the border. If the FAA or any other US government agency has any information, they can ask the Mexican government. \u201cLet\u2019s not speculate. We will get the information and maintain what we have always maintained: constant communication.<\/p>\n \u201cMexico\u2019s airspace wasn\u2019t closed \u2013 Texas\u2019s airspace was closed,\u201d Sheinbaum added. \u201cWe\u2019re going to find out exactly why.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/gu-island><\/p>\n El Paso\u2019s mayor, Renard Johnson, slammed the unexpected closure.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be very, very clear that this should\u2019ve never happened,\u201d the Times quoted him as saying. \u201cYou cannot restrict air space over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cThat failure to communicate is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the FAA reversed its decision, Escobar had called on the agency to lift what she said was a highly consequential and unprecedented decision that \u201cresulted in significant concern within the community\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom what my office and I have been able to gather overnight and early this morning there is no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas,\u201d she wrote on X<\/a>. \u201cThere was no advance notice provided to my office, the City of El Paso, or anyone involved in airport operations.\u201d<\/p>\n