El Salvador recalls ambassador to Mexico after drug trafficking claims

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SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) -Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said on Wednesday he was recalling his country’s ambassador to Mexico for consultations after its security minister claimed a drug trafficking plane had come from the Central American nation, which Bukele denied.

In a post on X, Bukele said Mexico needed to clarify and rectify Tuesday’s comments by the minister, Omar Garcia Harfuch, that the plane flown by drug traffickers had come from El Salvador before it was intercepted in the Mexican state of Colima.

“We are summoning our ambassador in Mexico for consultations regarding this situation,” Bukele added.

Bukele provided a map of the plane’s alleged flight path in which it appeared off the coast of Costa Rica, to the south of El Salvador, before heading north across the Pacific.

“The plane flew over the Pacific Ocean and never touched Salvadoran territory,” he said.

Responding to Bukele on Wednesday, Garcia Harfuch said Mexican airspace authorities had first detected the plane about 200 km (120 miles) south of San Salvador. A map he posted on X also showed the plane’s flight path across the Pacific.

Mexican authorities said the three aboard were arrested and 427 kg (940 lb) of cocaine were seized after the plane landed.

Bukele said the men were all Mexican, a fact the Mexican government had not made public.

“El Salvador does not hide criminals or tolerate drug trafficking; we didn’t do that before, and we won’t do that now,” Bukele said. “Nor will we allow them to try to involve us in operations that are not our responsibility.”

Garcia Harfuch acknowledged the men were Mexican and said they were facing criminal charges.

“We reiterate our respect and appreciation for the people of El Salvador,” he said.

(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Additional reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Michael Perry and Clarence Fernandez)