Overview

• Mexico has reaffirmed CENAVI radar data showing the flight path was first detected 200 km south of San Salvador before authorities intercepted a plane carrying 427 kilograms of cocaine in Colima.
• El Salvador’s president insists the plane never entered his country’s airspace, asserts it originated in Costa Rica based on APAN alerts and a U.S. JIATFS report, and has summoned his ambassador back to San Salvador.
• Secretary Harfuch and President Sheinbaum have publicly stood by Mexico’s interdiction operation and urged regional security cooperation without revising their account.
• President Sheinbaum has called for the controversy to remain out of partisan debate, stating that the issue has already been clarified through official channels.
• The episode highlights Mexico’s reliance on military and national guard assets and international radar networks to intercept illicit trafficking and the diplomatic stakes when security operations touch on national reputations.