( CNN ) -- Federal authorities were investigating Friday the circumstances of a drone that crashed in El Paso , Texas , this week , which U.S. officials said originated in Mexico . Mexican Attorney General spokeswoman Rocio Torres denied her country 's involvement with the drone Friday , but later in the day , another Mexican official said the drone was being operated by the Ministry of Public Security and was following a target at the time of the mechanical malfunction . The Mexican official did not know the nature of the surveillance but said `` we know they were following a target . '' He did not know how the malfunction affected that operation , if at all . Ricardo Alday , a spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in the United States , also said the drone belonged to Mexico and was part of an operation in coordination with the U.S. government . `` It was flying on the Mexican side of the border when it had a mechanical malfunction , '' Alday said . `` It is my understanding both Mexican and U.S. authorities were fully cognizant of what was going on in the area . '' Alday said the drone malfunctioned , entered U.S. airspace and landed in El Paso . U.S. Customs and Border Protection Special Operations Supervisor Ramiro Cordero said a resident called his agency Tuesday evening `` about something in front of his property . '' The agency picked up the device and consulted with officials in the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Consulate in Juarez , Mexico . `` We determined it was the property of the Mexican government , '' Cordero said . U.S. National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said he believed that the drone `` was owned by the government of Mexico , and I think they were the operators . '' `` We are collecting data , '' Holloway said . `` We are not sending anyone down to the scene . We are collecting information to see what occurred . '' A U.S. government official said authorities are `` 100 percent '' sure that the drone belonged to the Mexican government , which used it for law enforcement and homeland security . Operators lost control of the drone , and it crashed , the official said . Another U.S. official said the drone flew out of control . He described it as small , with a 6-foot wingspan . `` They are little . They are squirrelly . A gust of wind can wreak havoc on these things , '' the second official said . A parachute deployed before it hit the ground , and the drone was found intact , with no one hurt and no property damage , the official said . `` There is nothing to suggest that there was any kind of surveillance activity that was going on with anything used by the government of Mexico in U.S. airspace , '' the official said . `` There is nothing to support that they were spying on us , '' the official added . `` There is nothing to cause alarm or suspicion . '' A spokesman for NORAD , which is responsible for the aerial defense of the United States , said that it had real-time awareness of the situation but that it was not deemed to be a threat and did not require any NORAD response . NORAD said the Federal Aviation Administration and its Mexican counterpart are responsible for the civil airspace over their respective countries and coordinate cross-border air traffic . Officials with the Mexican military , which also uses drones , did n't respond immediately to calls for comment . The crash of an unmanned aerial vehicle from Mexico would be a first on U.S. soil , Cordero said . He said U.S . Homeland Security has turned the drone over to the Mexican Federal Secretariat of Public Safety in Juarez . Holloway said the craft was an Orbiter Mini UAV designed by Aeronautics Defense Systems , whose website describes it as `` a compact and lightweight system designed for use in military and homeland security operations '' and `` the ultimate solution for over-the-hill reconnaissance missions , low-intensity conflicts and urban warfare operations . '' Unmanned drones are routinely used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to look for illegal immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border . CNN 's Michael Martinez , Nick Valencia and Dave Alsup contributed to this report .
NEW : Mexico initially denies drone was theirs ; then Embassy spokesman claims craft . The U.S. State Department has denied that a small unmanned aircraft operated by the Mexican government crashed in Mexico, but it now appears to be true. Embassy says drone crashed during operation with U.S. government . U.S. authorities say they are looking into the incident . Drones are routinely used to patrol the border .