US air authority warns of 'military activities' over Mexico, Central America

NEW YORK: US aviation authorities issued notices Friday warning airlines to “exercise caution” in the airspace over Mexico and Central America due to “military activities.”

The Federal Aviation Administration posted a series of messages cautioning about a “potentially hazardous situation,” citing the chance for interference to the Global Navigation Satellite System.

“The FAA issued flight advisory Notices to Airmen for specified areas of Mexico, Central America, Panama, Bogota, Guayaquil and Mazatlan Oceanic Flight Regions, and in airspace within the eastern Pacific Ocean,” an FAA spokesperson said.

The advisory remains in effect for 60 days.

The announcement comes amid continued reverberations of a US special forces raid and airstrike on January 3 that captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores to face trial on drug-trafficking and other charges.

President Donald Trump has also suggested he is planning land strikes on drug cartels in Mexico, in what would mark a provocative military action against a US neighbor and major trading partner.

“We are going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico,” Trump told Fox News last week.