of the writing
Newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday February 21, 2023, p. 6
The united commissions of Communications and Second Legislative Studies of the Senate will rule today fast track the minutes of the Chamber of Deputies by which the law for the protection of Mexican airspace is issued.
After being sent by the deputies on February 10, the president of the Political Coordination Board, Ricardo Monreal, had stated that it should be carefully analyzed and not be approved by fast track. He even referred to the convenience of consulting experts.
However, on the Senate’s website it was reported yesterday that the aforementioned commissions will address the issue on Tuesday.
The agenda includes the analysis, discussion and eventual approval of the opinion on the minutes.
The document proposes granting the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) control, flight monitoring and aircraft interception when it detects organized crime operations.
Based on this norm, the surveillance and protection of Mexican airspace is considered a matter of national security and the policies in this area will be determined by a national council that will be chaired by the head of the Executive and, in his absence, the head of the Sedena.
It should be noted that even when the National Defense already participates in the interception of aircraft, the current legal framework makes it difficult to penalize the crew and owners of the aircraft.
It has also been pointed out that the risk to national security in air matters is such that every 36 hours a security alert is reported for flights related to organized crime activities, specifically drug trafficking.
