‘Restricted’: Did US troops try to cordon off a Mexican beach?

As United States President Donald Trump promises to ace down connected the amerciable cause commercialized from Latin America, US troops appeared to get this week connected a formation successful northeast Mexico wherever they installed signs declaring the country “restricted” by the US Department of Defense.

Trump and his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum, person been engaged successful a back-and-forth warfare of words implicit the menace of US strikes connected what it says are cause cartels successful Mexico.

Here is simply a person look astatine what has happened and what it each means.

What happened?

On Monday, unidentified men arrived via vessel astatine a formation successful northeast Mexico, wherever they planted signs successful the sand reading: “Warning: Restricted Area” successful English and Spanish.

The precise determination of the formation has not been confirmed by either side, but a video circulating connected societal media and section quality purports to amusement Mexican marines removing the signs. The video is described arsenic footage from a formation frequented by locals and fishermen, known arsenic Playa Bagdad, successful an country wherever the Rio Grande, a stream which originates successful south-central Colorado successful the US, flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Al Jazeera has not been capable to verify this video.

🚨 Incidente en Playa Bagdad, Matamoros

Pescadores denunciaron que presuntos militares o idiosyncratic de EE.UU. cruzaron el Río Bravo en lancha y colocaron 6 letreros de “Área Restringida del Departamento de Defensa”.
La Marina mexicana los retiró de inmediato y restableció el… pic.twitter.com/v8ai7eKNCO

— Azteca (@MORRIS80766176) November 18, 2025

The signs stated that the country was Department of Defense spot and had been declared restricted by “the commander”. They besides stated that “unauthorized introduction is prohibited” and “if you are recovered here, you whitethorn beryllium detained and searched”. They additionally prohibited photography oregon drawings.

The Gulf of Mexico is bound by Cuba; eastbound states of Mexico, including Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo; and states connected the Gulf Coast of the US: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

In January, Trump signed an enforcement bid changing the sanction of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which was rejected by Mexico. The alteration has been reflected connected Google Maps for users successful the US.

How has Mexico responded?

Late connected Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the navy had removed the signs due to the fact that they were connected Mexican territory.

On Tuesday, Sheinbaum said the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) would get progressive to resoluteness the dispute. “The stream changes its course, it breaks loose, and according to the treaty, you person to intelligibly demarcate the nationalist border,” she said during her regular quality briefing.

What is the IBWC?

Established successful 1889, the IBWC is simply a binational bureau which oversees the border and h2o treaties betwixt the US and Mexico.

It comprises a US conception which operates nether the overseas argumentation guidance of the Department of State, and a Mexican section, supervised by its Foreign Ministry.

The assemblage is liable for sharing and regulating the Rio Grande and Colorado River waters; gathering and operating dams and reservoirs; flood control; addressing borderline sanitation and h2o prime issues; and maintaining and marking the planetary boundary.

The IBWC has resolved borderline disputes betwixt the US and Mexico successful the past by overseeing treaties demarcating boundaries.

In 1963, the 100-year-old Chamizal quality implicit a 600‑acre (243-hectare) tract adjacent El Paso and Ciudad Juarez successful the US was resolved by the Chamizal Convention. The disputed onshore was returned to Mexico, and it was agreed that the Rio Grande would beryllium rechannelled to make a fixed, unchangeable bound betwixt the 2 countries.

The astir caller pact the IBWC oversaw was signed successful Mexico successful 1970 to resoluteness bound disputes and support the Rio Grande and the Colorado arsenic the planetary boundary.

What has the US said astir this incident?

On Tuesday, the US Embassy successful Mexico shared a remark from the Pentagon, stating that US “contractors” had placed signs beside the Rio Grande, marking “National Defense Area III”.

“Changes successful h2o extent and topography altered the cognition of the planetary boundary’s location,” the connection said. “Government of Mexico unit removed 6 signs based connected their cognition of the planetary boundary’s location.”

The Pentagon added that the contractors would enactment with “appropriate agencies to debar disorder successful the future”.

National Defense Areas (NDAs) are US subject zones on the US-Mexico border, managed by the Defense Department.

On May 1 this year, the US Northern Command announced that a caller 260-mile (418km) NDA had been established on the confederate borderline of Texas with Mexico.

“The constitution of a National Defense Area increases our operational scope and effectiveness successful denying amerciable enactment on the confederate border,” the merchandise quoted General Gregory Guillot, the commandant of the Northern Command.

An American worker successful an armoured conveyance astatine the US-Mexico borderline pursuing the constitution of a 260-mile-long subject portion on the Mexican border, successful El Paso, Texas, May 22, 2025 [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]

Where are the NDAs positioned?

The NDAs were established nether a statesmanlike memorandum Trump signed successful April this year, titled “Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions”.

The bid directs the Defense Department to instrumentality a much nonstop relation successful securing the US-Mexico border. The memorandum straight authorises the section to found NDAs.

The US Northern Command website states that the Defense Department enforces a “controller perimeter” successful the NDAs to “repel unlawful wide migration, narcotics trafficking, migrant smuggling, quality trafficking, and different cross-border transgression activities”. Suspected trespassers tin beryllium detained successful NDAs, but past indispensable beryllium passed to the custody of section instrumentality enforcement.

According to the website, determination are presently 3 operational NDAs too the caller 1 successful Texas. One of these spans the Cameron and Hidalgo Counties successful Texas. Others are successful New Mexico and Yuma, adjacent to the borders with California and Mexico.

What is the wider context?

The US has deployed a large subject force, including B‑52 bombers and elite peculiar operations troops, to the Caribbean successful caller months, citing information concerns and the menace of an “invasion” by Venezuelan cause gangs. Trump is besides considering onshore attacks successful Venezuela to curb the travel of amerciable drugs and has authorised CIA covert operations successful Venezuela for the aforesaid purpose.

Since September 2, the US has conducted astatine slightest 21 subject strikes connected alleged Venezuelan cause boats successful the Caribbean and the eastbound Pacific, sidesplitting astir 80 people. Now, Trump seems to person turned his attraction to Mexico.

On Monday, Trump threatened to motorboat strikes connected cause cartels successful Mexico.

“Would I privation strikes successful Mexico to halt drugs? OK with me, immoderate we person to bash to halt drugs,” Trump told a newsman during an Oval Office gathering betwixt Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“I looked astatine Mexico City implicit the weekend. There’s immoderate large problems implicit there.”

During her regular property briefing connected Tuesday morning, Sheinbaum responded to Trump’s comments connected Sunday astir imaginable US involution successful Mexico. “It’s not going to happen,” she said.

Sheinbaum said she had told Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio aggregate times during telephone conversations that Mexico does not privation US involution connected Mexican soil.

“He has suggested connected respective occasions oregon has said, ‘We connection you a United States subject involution successful Mexico oregon immoderate you request to combat transgression groups’,” she explained.

Sheinbaum said she would judge collaboration and quality sharing with the US military, but she reiterated that nary extracurricular involution would beryllium permitted successful the country.

“We bash not judge an involution by immoderate overseas government,” Sheinbaum continued. “I’ve told him connected the phone. I’ve said it with the State Department, with Marco Rubio.”