Border wall advocate makes offer on Mexico jet

Mexican president-elect begins to make good on campaign promise to sell presidential plane

MEXICO CITY — When Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised during his campaign to sell Mexico’s presidential plane, calling it a symbol of excess, many here took it as bluster.

But two months after winning the presidential election, López Obrador has announced the first serious offer for Mexico’s version of Air Force One — and it comes from a fierce defender of President Donald Trump, a staunch advocate of the border wall, a man already contemplating what he would do with the 787 known as the José María Morelos y Pavón.

“I’ve already talked to some sheikhs,” said Russell Dise, CEO of Palm Beach, Fla.-based JetLease, whose proposal López Obrador is now discussing publicly, even posting Dise’s letter on his website. “I asked them, ‘If I had a 787, would you be interested?’ ”

“I guess we’d have to paint over the [Mexican] flags,” Dise added.

In July, López Obrador dominated Mexico’s presidential election, riding a wave of anger directed at the current government, which has been plagued by corruption scandals. His message was simple: As president, he would usher in an era of austerity for public servants. He would turn the country’s presidential palace into a museum, he said. He would sell the entire fleet of presidential airplanes and helicopters, traveling instead on commercial flights.

The presidential Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner cost $218 million. It was commissioned in 2012 and delivered in 2016, and is big enough to seat 250 passengers, with an expansive presidential suite.

“We can’t have a rich government and a poor population,” he said again and again on the campaign trail, referring to the fleet as “luxury airplanes.”

Dise is an unlikely partner for the Mexican government. On JetLease’s Facebook page, he posted a music video titled “Build That Wall,” which refers to Mexico as the “land of weed and blow” and describes Mexican immigrants as “ignoring all your laws” and coming “in droves to your Home Depot.”

“Maybe I should take that down,” he said in an interview.

Late last month, López Obrador announced in a news conference that “I just received a proposal that consists of renting [the fleet] from a company that is dedicated to that in Florida.”

It was the first time he had mentioned such a deal — a deal that would allow Dise to lease the planes (and possibly also helicopters) while providing the Mexican government an undisclosed monthly payment. López Obrador explained that the offer was still in the early stages. The next day he tweeted about the offer.

Back in Palm Beach, Dise said he was amused to see his company’s name splashed all over Mexican media. He had little connection to the country. On his social media accounts, most of the references to Mexico involved the border wall.

Last January, he tweeted at Trump: “People on welfare should provide the labor for the wall construction !!! No Brainer.”

But a business partner in Mexico had told Dise about López Obrador’s plans to sell or lease the presidential plane, asking whether JetLease would be interested. Dise, a former competitive hockey player and co-pilot for an Ohio cheese company, started JetLease in 1983 and says it is now “the largest private aircraft leasing company in the world.”

He, however, has never offered to lease an airplane on behalf of a government. In an interview, he explained that his support for Trump, who is widely loathed in Mexico, should not cast doubt on the sincerity of his proposal.

“We would protect these airplanes for the Mexican government,” he said. “We love our Mexican friends.”

In Dise’s letter to López Obrador, he listed 35 presidential airplanes and helicopters that JetLease would be interested in leasing, asking for permission to inspect the aircraft. Since then, he said, talks have continued. It remains unclear how many aircraft the Mexican government is looking to lease or sell.

At several points during his campaign, López Obrador halfjoked that perhaps Trump would be interested in purchasing Mexico’s presidential plane.

“Donald Trump doesn’t have a plane like this,” he said in one video.

López Obrador will take office Dec. 1, and his focus through the transition has been on domestic concerns, holding “peace forums” with the families of victims of drug violence and encouraging them to forgive offenders.

His opponents have continued to fume about the prospect that he might sell the presidential planes, claiming in op-eds that it’s beyond his power as head of state.

So far, López Obrador has traveled mainly on commercial airplanes, providing a shock to travelers who see their president-elect in the airport departure terminal. One video last month showed a long line of people waiting to take selfies with López Obrador, who was waiting to board his flight.

What does Dise think about the man who might soon hand over his 787, a leader known for brash speeches and big, theatrical promises?

“To me, he seems kind of Trumpian,” Dise said.