A hijacked flight from Cancun to Mexico City ends peacefully

CNN reported that an Aeromexico 737 flight number 576, carrying 104 passengers out of Cancun was hijacked by eight suspects earlier today and flown to Mexico City, under the threat of explosives and a demand to speak to President Calderone.

Fortunately, the threats involving some type of box said to contain explosives, was a hoax. Mexican military/police stormed the plane after determining the there were no bombs or explosives on board. All the passengers and crew were removed safely from the plane in stages, and transferred by bus to an undisclosed area.

The suspects were herded off the plane and handcuffed, then loaded onto a police van for transport to be questioned by authorities. There was no mention of a motive for the bizarre hijacking by the eight suspects.

Initial reports indicated at least one of the suspects was a Bolivian national. However, according to Tom Fuentes, a former FBI negotiator, domestic flights within the country of Mexico do not require that passengers present a passport. It was a speculation reported possibly due to a manifest address.

According to early interviews with some of the passengers, they weren't even aware there was a problem on the flight. No overt action was taken to raise suspician.

There were an undisclosed number of Americans on board.

The security on International flights is handled differently than domestic flights in all countries, including the United States. There has not been a hijacking in the United States since the tragedy on 9/11, due to extensive increase in security procedures, air marshals, and passenger awareness.

Precautionary searches for possible explosives were expanded from the plane to the runway, with negative results.

CNN correspondent Rick Sanchez, who is fluent in Spanish, was able to translate a major part of the activity as it unfolded. MSNBC had translation help from news producer Maria Alcon. Fox News did not appear to cover the breaking news at all.