'Staggering' Incompetence: Critics Rip Trump Admin After U.S. Shoots Down Its Own Drone

Critics are calling out President Donald Trump and his administration after what appears to have been a massive screw-up in the airspace around El Paso, Texas, for the second time in less than a month.

The U.S. military on Thursday reportedly used a laser weapon to shoot down a drone near the U.S.-Mexico border. It turned out the drone was operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, The Associated Press reported.

Earlier this month, the FAA shut down the El Paso airport and surrounding airspace after CBP used a laser to shoot down party balloons that it had mistakenly believed to be Mexican drug cartel drones. CBS News reported that the closure was also related to military tests of the laser weapon, as well as a dispute with the FAA over how to handle them.

In the latest case, the FAA closed off airspace, but not the airport. The move did not impact commercial flights, AP reported.

Cartel drones have been spotted with increased frequency near the border. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that they tend to be “crudely adapted” off-the-shelf models and are used for both surveillance and to drop drug packages.

However, critics slammed the Trump administration for deploying experimental weapons without even correctly identifying the target:

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