Barreales Airstrip

While no official government announcement is available for this specific airstrip, the evidence strongly points to forced closure by Mexican military or federal authorities. The method of disablement—digging trenches across the runway—was a common tactic employed by the Mexican Army (SEDENA) during the height of the Mexican Drug War (especially from 2008-2012) to destroy clandestine or unsecured airstrips. The location of Barreales Airstrip in the Juárez Valley, a strategic and heavily contested drug trafficking corridor, makes it highly probable that it was shut down to prevent its use by cartels for smuggling operations.

The site is completely abandoned and derelict. The faint outline of the dirt runway is still visible from satellite view, but it remains unusable due to the large, perpendicular trenches that were dug to disable it. The land has not been repurposed for any other use and is slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert scrubland. There is no remaining infrastructure, such as hangars, lighting, or buildings, on the site.

Barreales Airstrip was a private, unpaved runway. Its original intended purpose was most likely for agricultural aviation (crop dusting) to service the surrounding farms in the Juárez Valley, or for private general aviation. It had no scheduled commercial operations. Its primary historical significance, however, is not in its legitimate use but in its likely role as a liability during a period of intense regional conflict. Its remote nature and proximity to the U.S. border made it an ideal, and therefore targeted, piece of infrastructure for illicit activities, leading to its eventual destruction by state forces.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Barreales Airstrip. Given that it was forcibly closed for security reasons and lacks any significant infrastructure, there is no economic or logistical incentive for its restoration. Legitimate aviation needs in the region are served by the nearby, full-service Abraham González International Airport (MMCS) in Ciudad Juárez.