Overview
- Mexico’s Senate approved sending 1,073 Navy personnel to major drills in the United States and Panama.
- The authorizations cover Fleetex 250 and an international naval review in Virginia and New York, RIMPAC in Hawaii, and PANAMAX in Panama.
- Sailors will deploy on the ships Papaloapan, Usumacinta, Juárez, and Jalisco, with weapons allowed only for the RIMPAC mission.
- Separately, President Claudia Sheinbaum asked the Senate to admit 96 U.S. service members for the FÉNIX 2026 and “Evento SOF 4” trainings, and the Navy Commission is reviewing the requests after Senate leader Laura Itzel Castillo posted the filings.
- The filings state U.S. personnel would arrive by C-130 with equipment, train in Campeche and central states, stay inside military areas, and perform no public-security roles under Article 76 rules.