A Notorious Plane Is Now Sitting in a Museum Near El Paso

There are plenty of interesting pieces of Borderland history sitting in museums around El Paso, but I had NO idea one of the newest exhibits nearby was connected to a story that made international headlines.

Remember when two major Sinaloa cartel figures mysteriously landed at the Doña Ana County International Airport in Santa Teresa back in 2024? Well, the plane they arrived in never went very far.

In fact, you can now go see it for yourself just outside El Paso.

The Plane From a Major Cartel Arrest Is Now Near El Paso

On July 25, 2024, a 1976 Beechcraft King Air landed at the Doña Ana County International Airport carrying Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada García and Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Federal agents were waiting when it landed, bringing Zambada's decades of evading U.S. and Mexican authorities to an end.

The FBI held onto the plane as evidence following the arrests, and the investigation would reveal plenty of interesting details about the aircraft and its history.

But two years after that infamous landing, the plane ended up right back where its final flight came to an end.

This time, everyone can go check it out for themselves.

You Can See What Was Left Behind on the Plane

The King Air went on public display at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa in July 2026 and is expected to remain there on loan for two years.

And this isn't just a plane sitting behind ropes with a sign telling you what happened. Some surprisingly ordinary pieces of that extraordinary final flight are still there.

Mexican candy wrappers, cookies, chips and drinks left behind by the plane's famous passengers can still be seen inside the aircraft.

There's something fascinating about that detail. We've heard the names, watched the arrests make international headlines and read about the investigations that followed. But then you look inside the actual plane and see snack wrappers and drinks left behind by the people at the center of it all.

And you can see all of it just minutes from El Paso!

El Paso Should Be Talking More About This Museum

While the cartel plane may be what gets some people to make the drive to Santa Teresa, the War Eagles Air Museum has been giving us a reason to visit for decades!

Founded in 1989, the museum is home to one of the Southwest's largest collections of restored historic aircraft from the World War II through Vietnam eras.

Inside its massive hangar you'll find around 40 aircraft, including a P-51 Mustang, P-40 Warhawk and P-38 Lightning, along with nearly 60 vintage and classic automobiles dating from the early 1900s through the 1980s.

And it goes beyond planes and cars. There are exhibits dedicated to Women in Aviation, the Wright Brothers, military history and more.

The War Eagles Air Museum is located at 8012 Airport Road in Santa Teresa and is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with last admission at 3:30 p.m.

So if the cartel plane is what gets you there, great.

Just make sure you leave yourself enough time to see everything else, because it turns out we've had a pretty incredible aviation museum sitting in our backyard this whole time!