Mexico denies US military plane permission to land, disrupting deportation plans

Mexico denied a US military plane permission to land, temporarily disrupting the Trump administration’s plans to deport immigrants to the country, according to US defence officials and a third source familiar with the situation.

US media reported that two US Air Force C-17s, each carrying approximately 80 deportees, successfully took off and headed for Guatemala on January 23 night, per Caliber.Az.

However, the third flight, scheduled to land in Mexico, was blocked from departing.

The reasons behind Mexico’s decision to prevent the flight from taking off remain unclear. However, tensions between the US and Mexico have been mounting, especially since President Donald Trump’s election. Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Mexico in retaliation for migrants crossing the shared border, though these tariffs have not been enacted.

A White House official downplayed the situation, calling the flight issue “an administrative matter” that was “quickly rectified.”

After this report surfaced, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took to Twitter, stating, "Yesterday, Mexico accepted a record 4 deportation flights in 1 day!" However, a White House official did not clarify whether these flights were military, commercial, or private.

The government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has consistently opposed President Trump's unilateral immigration policies, including the controversial "Remain in Mexico" policy, which requires migrants to stay in Mexico while awaiting asylum hearings. Such deportation flights require cooperation from the destination country, which has now become a point of friction between the two nations.

By Tamilla Hasanova