Mexico’s Lavish Presidential Plane Arrives at Its New Home in Tajikistan

A airplane that Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president of Mexico, as soon as described as an “insult to the people” arrived in Tajikistan on Monday, he mentioned, finishing the sale of the jet to that nation’s authorities and delivering on a marketing campaign promise to get rid of it.

Since he was elected in 2018, Mr. López Obrador, generally known as AMLO, has struggled to discover a purchaser for the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was ordered by former president Felipe Calderón and utilized by his successor, Enrique Peña Nieto.

“I don’t know why they bought such a large plane,” Mr. López Obrador mentioned in Spanish at a news convention on Monday.

Over the years, Mr. López Obrador mentioned he had supplied to promote it to former President Donald Trump, President Biden and Vice President Harris. At one level, Mr. López Obrador tried to raffle off the airplane, which got here with many facilities, together with a treadmill.

“We couldn’t sell it because of the luxury of the plane,” Mr. López Obrador mentioned.

Ultimately, the federal government of Tajikistan purchased the jet for $92 million, or about $1.6 billion Mexican pesos. The sale was introduced by the Mexican authorities final month. The airplane then wanted to be ready for the federal government of Tajikistan. It’s unclear how a lot was spent on refurbishing it.

At the news convention, Mr. López Obrador confirmed photos of the jet’s new design, which says “Tajikistan” in all capital letters alongside the facet and has a tail painted to appear like that of the Tajik flag.

The authorities of Tajikistan didn’t instantly reply to an electronic mail requesting remark concerning the airplane on Monday.

The use of such a lavish jet is certain to attract criticism in Tajikistan. The nation, which is in Central Asia and shares borders with Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, is among the many poorest nations within the area and relies upon largely on remittances, in accordance with the U.S. State Department.

The presidential jet, which was being saved in San Bernardino, Calif., took off from that state early Sunday morning and arrived in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, round 7:30 a.m. native time on Monday, in accordance with info from FlightAware, a flight-tracking firm.

Mr. López Obrador, who flies on business airways when he travels, promised throughout his marketing campaign that he would promote the airplane, beforehand calling it “an example of the excesses” of Mexico’s former leaders.

Some of the cash from the sale will likely be used to construct two hospitals, one within the state of Guerrero and one other in Oaxaca, Mr. López Obrador mentioned on Monday.

“If I had used it, we would have spent a lot,” Mr. López Obrador mentioned, citing examples of further prices wanted for the airplane equivalent to Wi-Fi.

The airplane was designed for long-haul flights, Mr. López Obrador mentioned, including that it wasn’t sensible for home flights in Mexico.

“It wasn’t just the cost of using it and the maintenance,” Mr. López Obrador mentioned. “Technically, it wasn’t convenient.”

Natalie Kitroeff contributed reporting.