Mexico’s $200 million presidential Boeing 787-8 sold to Tajikistan for $92 million

Mexico’s former presidential aircraft, a Boeing 787, has been sold for $92 million after being on the market for over four years. The jet, which features a presidential suite with a private bath, was purchased by former President Enrique Peña Nieto for about US$200 million.

However, when President Andrés Manuel López Obrador came to office in 2018, he refused to use it, deeming it too ostentatious. Obrador attempted to sell the aircraft to various corporations and business executives, but no one showed interest. The aircraft is currently in the possession of the Mexican army and stored at a military base in Santa Lucia, north of Mexico City.

In a social media post on April 20, 2023, Obrador announced that the government of Tajikistan had deposited 1,658,684,400 pesos (US$92 million), in line with the official appraisal, to the account of the Institute to Return the Stolen to the People. He further stated that the money would be used to build two hospitals in Tlapa, Guerrero and Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, by military engineers and inaugurated before the end of his term. Obrador also shared a seven-minute video from inside the plane, claiming that it was important for everyone to know how authorities had acted in the past and how they thought before. The Mexican President is expected to release more information about the sale, including the aircraft’s excessive maintenance costs, in the coming days.