{"id":1967972,"date":"2023-07-09T15:31:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-09T19:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mexico-city-airport-seized-by-armed-forces-military-planning-to-take-nearly-a-dozen-more\/"},"modified":"2023-07-09T15:35:43","modified_gmt":"2023-07-09T19:35:43","slug":"mexico-city-airport-seized-by-armed-forces-military-planning-to-take-nearly-a-dozen-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mexico-city-airport-seized-by-armed-forces-military-planning-to-take-nearly-a-dozen-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexico City Airport seized by armed forces, military planning to take more."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmexico-city-airport-seized-by-armed-forces-military-planning-to-take-nearly-a-dozen-more%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1967972&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Mexico City Airport Seized by Armed Forces, Military Planning to Take Nearly a Dozen More<\/h2>\n<p>Mexico\u2019s armed forces are taking control of the capital\u2019s main airport, and the government plans to give the military control of nearly a dozen more across the country as the president takes aim at corruption and mismanagement.<\/p>\n<p>President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador has been setting the armed forces to a wide range of nontraditional tasks since he was elected in 2018, creating concerns about the separation of the military from civilian life.<\/p>\n<p>A new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/airline-worker-dead-ingested-jet-engine-airport-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">airport<\/a> was built by the army outside Mexico City a year ago at a cost of $4.1 billion. It is run by the military but little used. L\u00f3pez Obrador says the old airport, the country\u2019s busiest, will be run by the navy.<\/p>\n<p>The navy took charge of security at Mexico City International Airport, or Benito Ju\u00e1rez, more than a year ago. It will soon have control of everything else, from customs and immigration to handling luggage and cleaning bathrooms, with the imminent publication of a presidential order to make that official.<\/p>\n<h3>Major Problems at Mexico City Airport<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Drug shipments and illegal migration<\/li>\n<li>Infrastructure in disrepair<\/li>\n<li>Close calls on runways<\/li>\n<li>Stolen luggage<\/li>\n<li>Mismanaged airline schedules<\/li>\n<li>Business without contracts<\/li>\n<li>Corruption<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Meanwhile, L\u00f3pez Obrador has gone to the armed forces for help throughout his term, giving them some immigration duties and control of ports and customs. They are also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mexico-city-airport-seized-by-armed-forces-military-planning-to-take-nearly-a-dozen-more\/\" title=\"Mexico City Airport seized by armed forces, military planning to take more.\">building major infrastructure projects<\/a> such as a tourist train through the Yucatan Peninsula and a new airport in the same area. They even run plant nurseries and tourist trips to a former penal colony.<\/p>\n<p>The airport, which is used by some 4 million travelers each month, will be \u201ca company within a naval military entity,\u201d Rear Adm. Carlos Vel\u00e1zquez Tiscare\u00f1o, the airport\u2019s 73-year-old director, said in a recent interview. But, he said, \u201cthis is not going to look like a military department.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the capital\u2019s other airport, Felipe Angeles, where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/stunning-border-footage-shows-texas-national-guard-taking-matters-hands-biden-wont\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Guard<\/a> troops take passenger tickets at the gate, at Benito Juarez the only uniformed military are the 1,500 marines deployed since February 2022 for security. The rest of the airport personnel will be civilians but \u201cwith clearer rules \u2026 that govern with more order and discipline,\u201d Vel\u00e1zquez Tiscare\u00f1o said.<\/p>\n<p>The navy will form a company called Casiopea to run the airport and six others that have \u201cdeficiencies\u201d and are \u201cin the hands of organized crime,\u201d Vel\u00e1zquez Tiscare\u00f1o said. Among them will be Matamoros, across the border from Texas, and Playa del Carmen on the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>L\u00f3pez Obrador has already said that he plans to have a dozen airports in the hands of the army or navy by the end of his administration in 2024. And by the end of this year, the military is scheduled to begin operating its own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/authorities-investigate-united-airlines-engine-explosion\/\" title=\"Authorities investigate United Airlines engine explosion\">commercial airline<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Mexico City takeover runs contrary to international aviation recommendations that clearly distinguish between military and civilian, said Rogelio Rodr\u00edguez Gardu\u00f1o, an aviation law expert at Mexico\u2019s National Autonomous University. But the legal consequences of the move remain unclear.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, Mexico\u2019s Supreme Court ruled that the transfer of the National Guard from civilian to military control was unconstitutional. L\u00f3pez Obrador left the guard under a civilian department but with a military operational chief.<\/p>\n<p>While navy operational control could help some security issues, experts don\u2019t believe it will resolve other problems. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration downgraded Mexico\u2019s aviation safety rating in 2021, preventing Mexican airlines from expanding flights to the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>FAA safety ratings of other countries are designed to measure those countries\u2019 oversight of their airlines but do not mean that the airlines are unsafe.<\/p>\n<p>In Mexico, corruption got to the point years ago that coded messages were sent using airport internal communications to hold up baggage inspections so <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/guatemalas-president-says-biden-is-letting-in-drugs-from-venezuela-to-negotiate-oil\/\" title=\"Guatemala's President Says Biden Is Letting in Drugs From Venezuela to \"Negotiate Oil\"\">drug shipments<\/a> could pass untouched, according to testimony during the U.S. trial of former Public Security Secretary Genaro Luna. He was convicted of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">drug trafficking<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n<p>Mexico City has the country\u2019s most important airport, and the navy is the branch of Mexican security forces in which the U.S. authorities have the most confidence, but the U.S. has not commented on the increasing power of the Mexican military.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are various airports in the country that have had big problems for many years, and they had to be fixed,\u201d said Vel\u00e1zquez Tiscare\u00f1o, himself a retired pilot.<\/p>\n<p>In the past year, the navy\u2019s security oversight has shut down some illegal business inside the airport, improved inspections and reduced stolen luggage, Vel\u00e1zquez Tiscare\u00f1o said. Some airport workers confirm that, but note too that complaints about flight delays continue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe navy has put things under greater control, but now we need to see how they\u2019re going to work,\u201d said Jos\u00e9 Beltr\u00e1n, 72, who picks up trash at the airport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s more peaceful,\u201d said Luis Martinez, who\u2019s been working at the airport for 25 years, helping passengers who need wheelchairs. But, he said, \u201cpeople have the same complaints: flight delays and problems with luggage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rodr\u00edguez Gardu\u00f1o said Mexican aviation needs more money, more training and inspection regimes, among other measures, to raise its competitiveness on the global stage.<\/p>\n<p>He said he was not sure if the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-tucker-carlson-torches-bidens-woke-top-military-brass-overweight-middle-aged-women\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">military<\/a> could help solve all those problems.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic\">The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-mexico-city-airport-seized-armed-forces-military-planning-take-nearly-dozen\/\">Mexico City Airport Seized by Armed Forces, Military Planning to Take Nearly a Dozen More<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mexico&#8217;s military is assuming control of the capital&#8217;s primary airport, with plans to extend their authority to around 11 additional airports nationwide. President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador aims to combat corruption and mismanagement by involving the armed forces in various unconventional duties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":1967973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1967972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1967972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1967973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1967972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1967972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1967972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}