WASHINGTON – Mexico denied a U.S. military aircraft access to land Thursday, at least temporarily frustrating the Trump administration’s plans to deport immigrants to the country, according to two U.S. defense officials and a third person familiar with the situation.
Two Guatemala-bound Air Force C-17s, carrying about 80 people each, flew from the US on Thursday evening, the sources said. The third flight, guessing to Mexico, never left.
It was not immediately clear why Mexico blocked the flight, but tensions between the U.S. and Mexico, neighbors and longtime allies, have risen since President Donald Trump won the November election. Trump has threatened to slap 25% across the board on Mexico in retaliation for migrants crossing the border the countries share. But he hasn’t put them into effect yet.
A White House official said in a text message that “the flights thing was an administrative issue and was resolved quickly.”
Following the publication of this article, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tweeted, “Yesterday Mexico accepted a record 4 deportation flights in 1 day!”
However, a White House official did not clarify whether the flights were military, commercial or private.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration has said it opposes Trump taking “unilateral” action to implement restrictive immigration standards — including reinstating a “remain in Mexico” policy that forces migrants to remain in that country while they wait on the assessment of asylum claims. Flying deportees in a foreign country requires the cooperation of that nation’s government.
In a statement, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry did not go into detail about why the U.S. plane was not allowed to land in the country.
“Mexico has a very good relationship with the United States government and we work together with respect for our sovereignty on a wide range of issues, including migration,” the statement read. “When it comes to repatriations, we will always welcome the arrival of Mexicans to our territory with open arms. Mexico embraces you.”
On Friday, Guatemala received three flights from the US carrying Guatemalan nationals sent back to their home country. A spokesperson for the Guatemalan Migration Institute told NBC News that two of Friday’s flights were on military aircraft and the other was on a non-military plane. The total number of Guatemalans arriving in Guatemala City from the three flights was approximately 265.
The military deportation flights are part of a broader Trump administration crackdown on illegal immigration that was set in motion with executive orders signed in his first week in office. During his campaign, he pledged to stop illegal immigration into the US and pursue a campaign of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants already living in the country.
In addition to the flights, he has called in the army to strengthen his presence on the border with another 1,500 troops.
This article was originally published on nbcnews.com