El Salvador recalls ambassador from Mexico, disputes origin of drug flight

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele recalled his ambassador to Mexico and demanded the country clarify its security chief's comments that an intercepted plane carrying cocaine had originated in El Salvador.

Bukele labelled the information from Mexico Security Secretary Omar Garca Harfuch as FALSE in a post on X, that went on to detail the plane's alleged flight path. Bukele also pointed out that the three men arrested with the plane were Mexican citizens.

El Salvador does not provide cover for criminals nor does it tolerate drug trafficking, Bukele wrote. We didn't do it before, we will not do it now.

 

It wasn't clear late Wednesday if Ambassador Rosa Delmy Canas had left Mexico yet.

On Tuesday, Garca Harfuch was summarising drug seizures during the president's daily news briefing when he spoke of a flight detected in the Pacific coast state of Colima that he said had come from El Salvador.

He said 428 kilograms of cocaine had been seized and three men arrested without providing more detail.

Bukele answered Wednesday that he had flight tracking data that showed the plane never entered Salvadoran air space. He demanded Mexico address Garcia Harfuch's comments.

Mexico's Foreign Affairs ministry said it was reviewing the case when asked for comment.