Two US Air Force (USAF) Boeing C-17 transport aircraft took off on the night of January 23 with a different mission than usual, transporting people who entered the country illegally to Guatemala.
The four-engine jets took off from Biggs Army Air Field, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, carrying the illegal immigrants, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.
A third C-17 was supposed to fly to Mexico, but authorities in the neighboring country denied it permission to land.
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The flights are part of a new stance adopted by the administration of Republican President Donald Trump, who took office on January 20.
According to him, there will be a stricter approach at the southern border of the United States, with increased military presence and more deportation flights in order to curb illegal immigration.
“Deportation flights have begun. President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a post on social media.
Civil aircraft
There are about 5,400 people detained by Customs and Border Protection who will be deported by two C-17s and two C-130 turboprops, the Pentagon said.
The government did not say how many people were loaded onto each plane, but images released show the aircraft with troop-transport seats.
The C-17 can carry 102 soldiers in this configuration, which suggests that there will be multiple flights to carry out the mission.
In previous situations, the government leased commercial aircraft to fly deportation flights, a practice that is still being used.
On Friday, an Airbus A320 from the company GlobalX, contracted by the US government, was carrying 88 deportees back to Brazil.
The aircraft had a breakdown and ended up landing in the Amazon region before reaching its final destination in the south of the country.
