Mesa Arroyo Ancho Airport

While no official government reason has been published, the evidence strongly points to closure by military or federal law enforcement. The method used to disable the runway—digging a series of large, deep trenches perpendicular to the runway's length—is a standard tactic employed by the Mexican Army (SEDENA) to destroy clandestine airstrips ('pistas clandestinas'). These airstrips are frequently used by cartels for drug trafficking. The airport's remote location in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Chihuahua, a region with a heavy presence of organized crime, makes it highly probable that it was shut down as part of a counter-narcotics operation.

The airport is permanently closed, abandoned, and completely unusable. The runway remains heavily damaged with the trenches that were dug to disable it. The site is derelict and is not used for any other purpose. Natural vegetation is slowly beginning to reclaim the runway and surrounding area.

Mesa Arroyo Ancho Airport was a remote, high-elevation (approx. 6,800 ft) unpaved airstrip with no official infrastructure such as a terminal, hangars, or lighting. Its operations were limited to small, single-engine aircraft with Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capabilities, like Cessna 206s or similar utility planes. Its historical significance is twofold: it may have served legitimate general aviation purposes for local mining, logging, or ranching interests in an area with poor road access. However, its characteristics and the nature of its closure strongly suggest it was primarily significant as a strategic asset for illicit aviation, allowing for the transport of narcotics from the mountainous cultivation and production zones to other locations.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Mesa Arroyo Ancho Airport. Given that it was almost certainly disabled by government authorities for national security reasons, the likelihood of it ever being repaired and officially reactivated is virtually zero. Any attempt to repair it without authorization would be met with further action from authorities.