Washington [US], January 17: US aviation officials issued advisories on January 16 warning airlines to exercise "caution" while operating within airspace over Mexico and Central America.
AFP reported on January 17th that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning about "potentially dangerous situations," including the risk of interference with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) from military activities .
"The FAA has issued aviation advisories for pilots in specific areas of Mexico, Central America, Panama, Bogota, Guayaquil and the Mazatlan Ocean flight zones, and in the airspace of the eastern Pacific," an FAA spokesperson said.
The announcement comes amid the continuing repercussions of the US special forces operation in Venezuela on January 3rd, which resulted in the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and their extradition to the United States for trial.
US President Donald Trump also mentioned the possibility of launching ground attacks against drug cartels in Mexico. If implemented, this would mark a provocative military action against a neighboring country and major trading partner of the United States.
"We're going to start ground attacks against drug cartels. Cartels that are operating in Mexico," Trump told Fox News last week.
In another development, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency on January 16 advised airlines to avoid Iranian airspace amid the possibility of a US attack on the Islamic Republic. This has put Iranian air defenses on high alert, leading to an increased risk of misidentification of targets.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
