Mexico’s Lavish Presidential Plane Arrives at Its New Home in Tajikistan
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Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president of Mexico, who had called the jet an example of excess, had spent years trying to find a suitor for it.
By Jesus Jiménez
May 15, 2023
A plane that Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president of Mexico, once described as an “insult to the people” arrived in Tajikistan on Monday, he said, completing the sale of the jet to that country’s government and delivering on a campaign promise to do away with it.
Since he was elected in 2018, Mr. López Obrador, known as AMLO, has struggled to find a buyer for the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was ordered by former president Felipe Calderón and used by his successor, Enrique Peña Nieto.
“I don’t know why they bought such a large plane,” Mr. López Obrador said in Spanish at a news conference on Monday.
Over the years, Mr. López Obrador said he had offered to sell it to former President Donald Trump, President Biden and Vice President Harris. At one point, Mr. López Obrador tried to raffle off the plane, which came with many amenities, including a treadmill.
“We couldn’t sell it because of the luxury of the plane,” Mr. López Obrador said.
Ultimately, the government of Tajikistan bought the jet for $92 million, or about $1.6 billion Mexican pesos. The sale was announced by the Mexican government last month. The plane then needed to be prepared for the government of Tajikistan. It’s unclear how much was spent on refurbishing it.
At the news conference, Mr. López Obrador showed images of the jet’s new design, which says “Tajikistan” in all capital letters along the side and has a tail painted to look like that of the Tajik flag.
The government of Tajikistan did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment about the plane on Monday.
The use of such a lavish jet is bound to draw criticism in Tajikistan. The country, which is in Central Asia and shares borders with Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, is among the poorest countries in the region and depends largely on remittances, according to the U.S. State Department.
The presidential jet, which was being stored in San Bernardino, Calif., took off from that state early Sunday morning and arrived in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, around 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday, according to information from FlightAware, a flight-tracking company.
Mr. López Obrador, who flies on commercial airlines when he travels, promised during his campaign that he would sell the plane, previously calling it “an example of the excesses” of Mexico’s former leaders.
Some of the money from the sale will be used to build two hospitals, one in the state of Guerrero and another in Oaxaca, Mr. López Obrador said on Monday.
“If I had used it, we would have spent a lot,” Mr. López Obrador said, citing examples of additional costs needed for the plane such as Wi-Fi.
The plane was designed for long-haul flights, Mr. López Obrador said, adding that it wasn’t practical for domestic flights in Mexico.
“It wasn’t just the cost of using it and the maintenance,” Mr. López Obrador said. “Technically, it wasn’t convenient.”
Natalie Kitroeff contributed reporting.
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