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gab13by13

(31,695 posts)
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 08:00 AM 22 hrs ago

How Many Here Fell For The Story Of Cartel Drones Over El Paso

We cannot believe not one single thing this administration says unless we have 2 valid sources of verification.

The US military shot down a party balloon and called it a cartel drone, they were planning on shutting down the El Paso airport for a week, until someone with a shred of common sense intervened.

Oh dear, shades of Roswell, New Mexico all over again.

We need to remove these idiots from power.

18 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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How Many Here Fell For The Story Of Cartel Drones Over El Paso (Original Post) gab13by13 22 hrs ago OP
More screwups WmChris 21 hrs ago #1
This is the first thing I thought... FalloutShelter 21 hrs ago #2
Pete Hegseth Dave Id 20 hrs ago #3
DEI Hegseth BlueWaveNeverEnd 13 hrs ago #18
I don't believe anything from this administration of liars, grifters, and cons. SamKnause 20 hrs ago #4
PBS! Mr.Bee 20 hrs ago #5
Cue the Benny Hill music ToxMarz 19 hrs ago #6
I was willing to believe a drone caused the shut-down at first. cab67 19 hrs ago #7
"Cartel" is their go-to scare word. yardwork 19 hrs ago #8
"Cartel" with a second place tie Conjuay 15 hrs ago #17
the FAA appears to have enacted the shutdown to expose the DHS/military recklessness with new technology. uncle ray 19 hrs ago #9
A lot of drones pose problems. LisaM 19 hrs ago #12
did your dog park deploy powerful secret military lasers to deal with the problem? uncle ray 16 hrs ago #14
Ha! I doubt it. LisaM 15 hrs ago #16
Imagine a military force swong19104 19 hrs ago #10
i definitely thought it meant barbtries 19 hrs ago #11
I don't believe any of their stories, including the latest version. Scruffy1 18 hrs ago #13
if the admin says the sun's up at noon... mike_c 15 hrs ago #15

FalloutShelter

(14,317 posts)
2. This is the first thing I thought...
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 08:10 AM
21 hrs ago

But I’m a writer and always reach for the most dramatic outcome for a mysterious happening.

Would an intelligent alien race choose to make first contact with these idiots?!

There’s, at least, a short story here.

Mr.Bee

(1,725 posts)
5. PBS!
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 09:58 AM
20 hrs ago

In 2021 Pati Jinich proved all trump's lies about the border in a four part special 'La Frontera'
Why do I bring this up?
Because one episode, was devoted to El Paso
A thriving commerce benefiting BOTH countries!

cab67

(3,668 posts)
7. I was willing to believe a drone caused the shut-down at first.
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 10:10 AM
19 hrs ago

It happens. I didn't buy that it would have been a "cartel" drone, though.

uncle ray

(3,323 posts)
9. the FAA appears to have enacted the shutdown to expose the DHS/military recklessness with new technology.
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 10:40 AM
19 hrs ago

the story, as we currently understand it, is that DHS has been testing this laser, which was "on loan" from the military, for some time in El Paso, DHS did this at risk. FAA recognized the risk to public safety and enacted the shutdown because of the recklessness of DHS, and (my speculation) as a CYA move to prevent being the scapegoat. "they", the military, took no action to protect civilian air traffic. the whole story was clear as mud, and readers made the best judgement they could of the situation given the information available.

it currently seems that someone in the FAA deserves a lot of credit.

that said, cartel drones are a real problem. is it a problem that justifies using dangerous new weapons over US cities without coordination of other federal agencies?

LisaM

(29,560 posts)
12. A lot of drones pose problems.
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 11:01 AM
19 hrs ago

A couple of years ago both a University of Washington game and a Seahawks game were halted on the same weekend because of private drones flying over the stadiums. We used to have an issue with them at the dog park, their horrible whining noise bothered all of us on what was supposed to be a fun outing.

Drone law is sticky and complicated but drones should definitely not be near crowds or airspace.

uncle ray

(3,323 posts)
14. did your dog park deploy powerful secret military lasers to deal with the problem?
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 01:47 PM
16 hrs ago

no disagreement from me that regulation and counter measures are necessary. this is about the latest deployment of military weaponry on our civilian population without our knowledge or consent, with potentially disastrous consequences. it should be very concerning that they shot down a party balloon with this laser, this means they did not properly ID the target before using this force. even in a war zone this is unacceptable, in a civilian area this should result in a congressional investigation.

LisaM

(29,560 posts)
16. Ha! I doubt it.
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 02:31 PM
15 hrs ago

It is at a retired Navy base, but pretty sure these were just obnoxious recreational drones and I didn't see any counter drone efforts.

swong19104

(595 posts)
10. Imagine a military force
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 10:41 AM
19 hrs ago

so on edge and trigger happy that it made residents of Grovers Mill, NJ seem restrained by comparison.

Scruffy1

(3,521 posts)
13. I don't believe any of their stories, including the latest version.
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 11:09 AM
18 hrs ago

I live within a hundred yards of the border in El Paso. It's a very secure place. Biggs field has been there a long, long time with no problems even though it is very close to El Paso International. I've seen the NASA PQ4 fly by house on it's way to the Gulf for hurricane season. There were quite a few combat aircraft flying east out of Biggs this past week so I suspect there was something from the pentagon causing an air safety issue. Anyway, with clowns in charge of everything we'll probably never know the truth.


mike_c

(36,962 posts)
15. if the admin says the sun's up at noon...
Thu Feb 12, 2026, 02:19 PM
15 hrs ago

...I'd need to look out the windows to confirm. They literally lie by reflex, about everything. Their lies are shamelessly transparent.

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