The United States has monitored Mexican airspace since the 1950s.

It has been a practice for seven decades.

Under the guise of communication and coordination, the United States monitors the airspace of Mexico and much of Latin America.

Since the 1950s, the country's Air Force launched the Regional Aerospace Initiative in Latin America, or RAIL.

And since then, he has done so with great freedom without major consequences, although he has had some skirmishes with certain countries.

The Mexican government is aware of this situation, and discussions about it have rarely arisen, at least not publicly.

One of them was in 1986.

Miguel de la Madrid visited the White House for an interview with his colleague Ronald Reagan , and one of the central topics discussed was the bilateral fight against drug trafficking.

In the subsequent briefing , Undersecretary of State Elliott Abrams reported an alleged agreement: US aircraft could pursue kingpins when they used aircraft and entered our country.

"Is it true?" I asked De la Madrid at the hotel where he was staying in Washington.

-No way. There is no such agreement.

The next day, at the National Press Club, he was asked the same question, he denied it, and spokesman Manuel Alonso told me as I left:

-You got the grade, Pepe .

"And very well done, " De la Madrid praised as he said goodbye.

THE DRONES

The theme is recurring.

It was put back in effect yesterday due to the presence of drones in the skies over Valle de Bravo, but Claudia Sheinbaum ruled out overflights in the country.

As was his speech, he promised not to jeopardize national sovereignty because it is manifested in the air, sea, and land.

He was seconded by the Secretary of Security and Civil Protection, Omar García Harfuch , who emphasized: it is not a military aircraft, but an unmanned unit, and he did so at the express request of the Mexican authorities.

The U.S. Department of Defense documents don't mention incursions—and even if they did, they would never admit to them—but they do emphasize the collaboration of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from Mexico to parts of South America.

This support is useful even in cases of natural disasters and is provided in both military and commercial and civil activities.

SHORTAGES

In addition to the shortage of jet fuel resulting from the fight against fuel theft , reported yesterday in this space, there are other worrying phenomena.

Many gas stations are experiencing a fuel shortage and are beginning to report closures due to their inability to supply diesel or premium and magna gasoline, also known as regular gasoline.

This problem exists even in Hidalgo, a state marked by daily pipeline extraction and where, at the beginning of Andrés Manuel López Obrador 's administration, 137 people died in Tlahuelilpan.

A former state attorney general and representative of several retailers warns of the risk of further shortages if multiple problems persist.

The transporters, he says, do not receive timely payments from Pemex and, since they operate with rented vehicles, "many have had to return their trucks."

"If they don't supply us regularly, the problem will become widespread and could become national... It's good that they're fighting fiscal fuel theft , but Pemex must step in to rescue the supply," he concludes.

@urenajose1