Two Guatemala-bound Air Force C-17s, carrying about 80 people apiece, flew deportees out of the U.S. Thursday night, the sources said.
The third flight, slotted for Mexico, never took off.
It was not immediately clear why Mexico blocked the flight, but tensions between the U.S. and Mexico, neighbors and longtime allies, have risen since President Donald Trump won the November election.
Trump has threatened to slap 25% across-the-board tariffs on Mexico in retaliation for migrants crossing the border the countries share.
A White House official said in a text message that “the flights thing was an administrative issue and was quickly rectified.”.
After the publication of this article, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tweeted, "Yesterday, Mexico accepted a record 4 deportation flights in 1 day!".
During his campaign, he vowed to stop illegal immigration into the U.S. and pursue a campaign of mass deportation of undocumented immigrants already living in the country. »
