Seeking to tamp down speculation that US bombs and drones could actually be flying south of the border to do cartel raids, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Washington has assured her there will be no American military flights over Mexico.

Sheinbaum said Monday she received "written" guarantees from the US that American military aircraft would not operate over Mexican territory or in its sovereign airspace, adding that Washington also pledged to notify Mexico City and seek approval in advance of any such potential military operations.

Her comments followed notifications from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warning civilian pilots to be alert for possible military flights over Mexico and parts of Central and South America.

For example, last Friday:

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued notices to airlines, urging them to “exercise caution” over Mexico and other Central American countries, as well as Ecuador and Colombia, due to “military activities”.

On Friday, the FAA released a series of advisories that come amid an ongoing US military buildup in the Latin America region, including US military attacks on Venezuela, and US President Donald Trump’s warning to Cuba and threats of strikes against drug cartels in Mexico and Colombia, leaving many in the region on edge.

The central American country has understandably been on edge going back to the January 3rd US military raid on Caracas to overthrow and apprehend Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro, and also amid the months-long major build-up of US naval forces in the Caribbean Sea.

Still, President Trump has been pressing Sheinbaum to greenlight US military action against drug cartels operating in Mexico, a demand she has repeatedly rejected in defense of Mexican sovereignty, which would also be immensely unpopular with her constituency. 

Various media reports have speculated that Trump could still move forward with authorizing strikes on suspected drug laboratories and raids targeting cartel leadership, given that during this administration Washington has designated several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. 

On the question of illegal drugs and weapons flowing into the United States, Sheinbaum has said, "The other side also has to do its part. This consumption crisis they have over there also has to be addressed from a public health perspective, through education campaigns."

Trump's own clear warnings have sparked fears of military incursions into Mexico...

Since Maduro's ouster by military force, the US drone attacks on alleged narco-trafficking boats have gone curiously silent - suggesting the series of actions were all about public signaling, or in other words propaganda and even just a distraction.