CBP’s Uncoordinated High‑Energy Laser Use Near El Paso Shut Airspace and Downed Party Balloon, Sources Say
Sources and an internal FBI document say Customs and Border Protection deployed a DoD high‑energy laser near El Paso without proper coordination, shooting down objects later identified as party/Valentine’s balloons and prompting the FAA to impose a 10‑day temporary flight restriction that was lifted within hours. The episode — publicly framed by some officials as a response to cartel drones — sparked an interagency clash, halted medical evacuations, alarmed local leaders, and underscored safety gaps and unclear rules for using powerful counter‑drone weapons in civilian airspace.
📌 Key Facts
- The FAA abruptly issued a 10‑day temporary flight restriction for roughly an 11‑mile radius around El Paso International Airport (excluding Mexican airspace) framed as for “special security reasons” and up to 18,000 feet; the closure was lifted within hours (about seven hours) and normal commercial flights resumed.
- The shutdown followed an interagency dispute: Pentagon and DoD officials were pressing to test or use high‑energy laser counter‑drone systems near Fort Bliss/El Paso, while FAA officials raised safety concerns and wanted more coordination; FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford unilaterally ordered the airspace closed without prior notice to the White House, Pentagon or DHS.
- Customs and Border Protection used a palletized, Defense Department high‑energy laser system near El Paso after U.S. military training, and internal FBI reporting says CBP employed the laser “without proper prior coordination.”
- At least one — and by one internal FBI account up to four — objects struck were party/“Happy Valentine’s” balloons misidentified as cartel drones; it remains unclear how many, if any, actual cartel drones were hit, and DoD has not provided a specific account backing the administration’s claim that a “cartel drone incursion” was neutralized.
- The misidentification and uncoordinated use of the laser led the FAA to pause flights (forcing some emergency medical evacuations to divert to Las Cruces) and prompted criticism from local and federal officials who said there was no advance notice and that the incident showed a dangerous lack of coordination.
- Reporting and experts note broader risks: U.S. counter‑drone arsenals include high‑power (e.g., 50‑kilowatt) lasers, microwave jammers and interceptor drones, and analysts warn lasers can travel beyond intended targets and jammers could interfere with civilian aircraft systems — yet there are still no clear, established procedures for using such weapons safely in crowded U.S. airspace.
- Mexican officials, including President Claudia Sheinbaum, said Mexico had no information indicating drone activity on its side of the border and that Mexican airspace was not closed; regional business leaders warned the disruption exposed cross‑border dependence on El Paso’s airport and urged strengthening Juárez’s airport capacity.
📰 Source Timeline (14)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 14, 2026
12:09 AM
Why is the U.S. government exploring using high-energy lasers near the border?
New information:
- Confirms CBP used a palletized high‑energy laser system near El Paso after U.S. military training, despite FAA’s unresolved safety concerns about such weapons in domestic airspace.
- Multiple sources say the laser brought down at least one party balloon that CBP initially believed was a foreign drone.
- Clarifies that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s statement that a 'cartel incursion' had been neutralized is not backed by any specific Pentagon account; DoD declined to say how or when any actual threat was eliminated.
- Details that the laser system has been used overseas but was only recently considered for regular domestic use, and that its instantaneous speed and precision are being weighed against aviation‑safety risks.
- Provides additional expert context from Tom Karako, Austin Doctor, and retired Gen. Glen VanHerck on the broader counter‑drone problem, the prevalence of cartel surveillance drones, and the need for clear rules on who defends what with which tools.
February 13, 2026
9:25 PM
WATCH: Laser incident that caused El Paso airspace closure was 'joint agency' mission, Noem says
New information:
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly described the El Paso laser incident as a 'joint agency task force mission.'
- Noem acknowledged the 'chaos' and said the government is 'continuing to work on communication' around the operation.
- She made the comments at an event in Arizona when questioned about Customs and Border Protection’s anti-drone laser use that triggered the FAA shutdown.
3:28 PM
FBI: CBP shot laser at Valentine’s balloons it thought were drones
New information:
- An internal FBI document says CBP officers used a high‑powered Defense Department laser to shoot down four 'Happy Valentine’s' balloons they mistakenly believed were cartel drones over El Paso.
- The FBI document states CBP employed the counter‑drone laser 'without proper prior coordination,' leading the FAA to abruptly close El Paso airspace for several hours before reopening it Wednesday morning.
- The piece confirms that earlier Trump‑administration explanations blaming Mexican cartel drones for the shutdown conflicted with what the FBI’s internal reporting describes actually happened.
2:12 AM
Closing of El Paso Airspace Adds to Tension Between F.A.A. and Pentagon
New information:
- The Defense Department had 'passed along new laser technology' to border officials specifically to interdict drones crossing from Mexico near El Paso.
- FAA officials had raised safety concerns about using lasers in airspace used by commercial traffic and 'wanted more information' before deployment.
- Border officials went ahead and used the laser technology despite FAA pleas, leading the FAA, feeling it had 'no further leverage,' to pull what it saw as its only card by abruptly closing El Paso’s airspace.
- The NYT frames this closure as the latest incident in an 'increasingly fractious' relationship between the FAA and Defense Department under the current administration, rather than a one‑off mishap.
February 11, 2026
11:16 PM
FAA-Pentagon dispute over drone-related tests led to El Paso airspace closure, sources say
New information:
- Confirms that the FAA’s abrupt 10‑day 'special security reasons' airspace closure over El Paso was lifted within hours after an inter‑agency dispute was addressed.
- Attributes the disruption to a disagreement between the FAA and the Pentagon over drone‑related testing activity in the area, per CBS’ federal sources.
- Reinforces that the public explanation of a generic 'security' closure masked a behind‑the‑scenes fight over how and where the Pentagon could run its counter‑drone testing under active civilian airspace.
10:26 PM
Pentagon-FAA dispute over lasers to thwart cartel drones led to airspace closure, AP sources say
New information:
- Three AP sources say the closure stemmed from Pentagon plans to test a high‑energy laser to shoot down Mexican cartel drones over El Paso, despite an FAA preference to wait for a later coordination meeting.
- One source told AP the laser was actually used during the incident, not merely staged for a test.
- AP reports the FAA shut the airspace specifically because the Pentagon insisted on going ahead with the laser test, clarifying that the FAA’s motive was commercial air‑safety, not simply reacting to a generic drone threat.
- Sen. Tammy Duckworth is quoted calling the episode another example of 'lack of coordination' between FAA and Pentagon under the Trump administration, tying it to an earlier deadly midair collision near Washington, D.C.
- Rep. Veronica Escobar says neither she nor local officials received any advance notice and that 'the information coming from the federal government does not add up,' demanding a clear FAA explanation.
10:10 PM
Weapons Used to Fight Drones Don’t Mix Well With Civilian Airspace
New information:
- Frames the El Paso airspace shutdown as part of a decade‑long U.S. race to field anti‑drone weapons, not just a one‑off incident.
- Details specific counter‑drone systems now in the U.S. arsenal: radar‑guided 50‑kilowatt lasers, rocket‑launched counter‑drones that can loiter and swarm, and high‑powered microwave 'zappers' to fry drone electronics.
- Quotes CNAS analyst Stacie Pettyjohn warning that lasers can travel far beyond their drone targets and that radio‑frequency jammers meant to disrupt drones could also interfere with civilian airliners’ GPS or communications.
- Highlights that most of these systems were developed for war zones and that there are still no clear rules or procedures for using them safely in crowded U.S. civilian airspace.
6:00 PM
US military shot down party balloon near El Paso after suspecting drone, official says
New information:
- A U.S. official now confirms the object the military shot down near El Paso was later determined to be a party balloon, not a hostile drone.
- The misidentification of the balloon as a possible foreign drone led directly to the FAA’s temporary shutdown of airspace around El Paso International Airport.
- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly stated Mexico has no information indicating drone activity along the border and said Mexican airspace was never closed, urging the U.S. to share any evidence.
4:59 PM
FAA reopens El Paso airspace after confusion with the Pentagon
New information:
- Confirms FAA formally reopened El Paso airspace early Wednesday after issuing a 10‑day closure the previous night.
- Reports that El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson says the city received no advance notice, calls the closure 'unnecessary,' and says 'this should have never happened.'
- Details that the closure lasted about seven hours, forced medical evacuation flights to divert to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and, in the mayor’s words, 'put lives at risk.'
- Two unnamed congressional officials say their briefing described only a planned DoD high‑energy laser test against drones, with no mention of any active cartel drone at the time FAA shut the airspace.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy publicly frames the episode as the FAA and DoD acting 'swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion' and says 'the threat has been neutralized.'
4:41 PM
Airspace closure followed FAA, Pentagon spat over drone-related tests, sources say
New information:
- Multiple sources say the Pentagon was testing high‑energy laser anti‑drone technology near Fort Bliss and wanted to move faster than the FAA was comfortable with.
- FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford unilaterally ordered the El Paso airspace closed up to 18,000 feet for 10 days without prior notice to the White House, Pentagon or DHS, triggering an internal clash.
- At least one object shot down by the system was later determined to be a party balloon, and it remains unclear how many cartel drones, if any, were actually hit.
- The closure also halted emergency medical evacuation flights until the FAA lifted the restrictions shortly after the issue was raised in a White House chief of staff Susie Wiles meeting.
- Airlines were told the pause was partly because the FAA could not predict where U.S. government drones and counter‑UAS systems would be operating, given poor information‑sharing from the Pentagon.
3:01 PM
The Latest: FAA lifts temporary closure of airspace over El Paso, Texas
New information:
- FAA has already lifted the temporary 10‑day airspace closure over El Paso International Airport, saying there is no threat to commercial aviation and flights are resuming.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated on X that FAA and the Defense Department 'acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion,' that the threat was neutralized, and there is 'no danger to commercial travel in the region.'
- A Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mexican cartel drones breached the airspace and that the Defense Department disabled them, though the official did not specify how many drones or the method used.
- Regional business leaders in Ciudad Juárez warned that even a brief shutdown exposed how dependent cross‑border manufacturing is on El Paso’s airport and called for Mexico to bolster Juárez’s airport to reduce reliance on U.S. airspace decisions.
1:21 PM
FAA halts flights to and from El Paso for 10 days for "special security reasons"
New information:
- CBS piece reiterates that the FAA is halting all flights to and from El Paso International Airport for 10 days, citing only 'special security reasons.'
- Confirms the airport typically handles around 50 flights per day, underscoring the operational scale of the shutdown.
- Adds no substantive explanation beyond what is already known about the temporary flight restriction and its duration.
9:48 AM
FAA Halts El Paso Flights for Unspecified Security Reasons
New information:
- Confirms the restriction is framed by FAA as for 'special security reasons' with no elaboration.
- Specifies the restricted airspace is a roughly 11‑mile radius around El Paso International Airport.
- Clarifies that the restriction explicitly excludes Mexican airspace.