The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday urged pilots to “exercise caution” when flying over parts of the Pacific Ocean next to Latin America, warning in a series of advisories that there was increased military activity in the region.
The seven notices to airmen — so-called NOTAMs — spanned areas of the Pacific Ocean abutting Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama. They were set to remain in place through March 17, suggesting a prolonged period of possible military planning in the region.
The notices were similar to advisories the F.A.A. issued last year for areas around Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea as the U.S. military stepped up a campaign of boat strikes targeting what it said were drug smugglers. The F.A.A. issued more urgent warnings earlier this year as the United States undertook an operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s leader.
It was not immediately clear what prompted the F.A.A. to issue Friday’s advisories.
There have been several boat strikes in the Eastern Pacific in recent weeks. Representatives of the U.S. Special Operations Command, which has been carrying out the strikes, and the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the region, indicated that they had not been aware of the F.A.A.’s warnings before they were issued.
The Defense Department referred questions to the F.A.A.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that the United States was stepping up a pressure campaign on Mexico to allow U.S. military forces to dismantle fentanyl labs inside the country, as President Trump angles for a larger U.S. role in taking down cartels that produce the drug and smuggle it across the border.
U.S. officials want American forces to accompany the Mexican military on raids on suspected fentanyl labs.
Mr. Trump said last week that more needed to be done.
“We’ve knocked out 97 percent of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels,” he told Fox News, referring to those in Mexico.
Jack Nicas contributed reporting from Mexico City, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.
Karoun Demirjian is a breaking news reporter for The Times.
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