On Nov. 17, 2025, a group of men arrived in a boat in northeast Mexico and installed signs in both Spanish and English, declaring the area a “Restricted Area” of the Department of Defense. Shortly after, Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and Navy released a joint press release announcing that their navy personnel had removed six warning signs on Playa Bagdad in Tamaulipas, claiming the origin of the signs was unclear.

The Pentagon responded by saying the signs had been placed by contractors, and that they would work with the appropriate agencies in the future to avoid any confusion. The following day, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that these contractors were working for a U.S. entity when placing the signs.

Playa Bagdad is located close to the U.S.-Mexico border, near the meeting of the Rio Grande and the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico shared comments from the Pentagon explaining that “changes in water depth and topography altered the perception of the international boundary’s location”. Mexico’s foreign ministry has said it has contacted the U.S. Embassy in Mexico and the Mexican Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission to review the maps and other instruments that demarcate the border.

This incident, taken in the larger context, speaks to the delicate relationship between Mexico and the U.S. The day prior to the installation and removal of these signs, U.S. President Donald Trump said, “Would I launch strikes on Mexico to stop drugs? It’s OK with me”.. This idea was refused by Sheinbaum, who responded by welcoming intelligence sharing but drawing the line at any sort of military intervention. Mexico’s sovereignty was also intruded on earlier this year when Trump unilaterally renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America through an executive order.

Furthermore, Trump’s overall foreign policy in Latin America has generally been aggressively interventionist, which was most recently demonstrated by the strikes carried out against boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. The majority of these boats were Venezuelan, although several are believed to be from Colombia. It has been difficult to attain any information on these boats, as well as the victims of the strikes, although it is believed that around 83 individuals have been killed. It is also near impossible to confirm that these individuals were indeed drug traffickers, which remains the U.S.’s justification for these strikes.

Six signs on a beach may not appear to be a severe infringement of sovereignty, especially in comparison to the struggles faced by other Latin American countries. However, opening up the placement of the U.S.-Mexico border as a contentious or disputable topic has clear ramifications for citizens of both countries. Mexico’s diplomatic yet unyielding response has laid an important foundation for establishing its own sovereignty and independence should any future attack – whether a tweet, a contractor placing a sign, or more grave military actions – begin to emerge.