By KELIN DILLON

According to information derived from an investigation into millions of the Mexican Secretariat of Defense’s (Sedena) emails, which were leaked by hacktavist group Guacamaya to daily Mexican newspaper El Universal, the Sedena is working on plans to launch its own passenger and cargo airline under the umbrella of the secretariat’s recently created megaproject company, the Olmeca-Maya-Mexica Airport, Railway and Auxiliary Services Group (GAFSAOMM).

The emails reveal that the Sedena’s still publicly unannounced plans could potentially violate Mexican law, as current legislation stipulates that the GAFSAOMM can not have the contracts for both an airline and an airport – as it currently has with the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) – the same time. The hacked emails went on to detail the Sedena’s intentions to circumvent these legal hurdles through a reform to Mexico’s airport law, which would likewise bypass its need for legislative approval.

The correspondence, which includes the Sedena’s internal interactions and email communications with the Secretariat of Finance, the National Bank of the Army (Banjercito) and the Federal Civil Aviation Agency, shows the Sedena’s plans to create a new passenger and cargo airline consisting of a fleet of 10 leased aircraft, which could run annual operating and administrative costs between one billion and 1.8 billion pesos depending on the model of aircraft chosen.

Mexico’s presidential plane, which remains unsold after four years on the market, was also floated as an option for commercialization by the Sedena’s airline, but the idea was scrapped after further analysis revealed it would have to run a fee of 500,000 pesos per hour to be profitable.

Instead, the Sedena has proposed to integrate the presidential plane into military use for the purpose of diplomatic trips, humanitarian aid and other military-related tasks.

“That the plane is part of the fleet of the Mexican Air Force where it is to be given a military job, to be assigned to substantive activities of the Sedena and the federal government,” read the leaked analysis.

The emails also showed the Sedena’s intentions to open a tourism company that would oversee the management of hotels, museums and ecological parks across the country, known as Servicios Turísticos Itzamná, SA de CV. This would include the management of new hotels built at stops along the Tren Maya route, the development of the Nuevo Uxmal and Plan de San Luis hotels, the Tulum Mammoth museum, underwater museums and La Plancha and Jaguar national parks.

“To manage the company, it is proposed that each of its units be in charge of a military administrator, who will be responsible for control, operation and accounting,” revealed the emails surrounding Servicios Turísticos Itzamná.