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After Donald Trump believed he’d win a Nobel Peace Prize this year, it would be a bizarre shift in foreign policy to invade Mexico.
But that’s exactly what beachgoers thought was happening when American ‘contractors’ landed by boat in Playa Bagdad, near the US–Mexico border, and began driving signs into the sand.
Alarmed witnesses quickly alerted officials, with heavily armed Mexican troops scrambling to the scene with machine guns.
The Pentagon was forced to apologise for the incident, saying the US contractors were mistaken when they landed on the beach.
Mexican personnel watched as the Americans drove six signs into the ground, which read: ‘Warning: restricted area.’
Written in English and Spanish, the signs said the beach was property of the US Department of Defense.
The signs read: ‘This Department of Defense property has been declared a restricted area by authority of the commander in accordance with the provisions of the directive issued by the Secretary of Defense, pursuant to the provisions of Section 21, Internal Security Act of 1950.
‘Unauthorized entry is prohibited. All persons and vehicles entering herein may be detained and searched.
‘Photographing or making notes, drawings, maps or graphic representations of the area of its activities are prohibited unless specifically authorized by the commander.
‘Any such material found in the possession of unauthorized persons will be confiscated.’
The signs were removed by Mexican personnel.
It came after a dramatic escalation in tensions between the two nations when Trump threatened to bomb the country.
Mexico’s foreign affairs ministry said its navy removed the signs from the beach, which it believed were on Mexican territory.
The US Embassy in Mexico shared a statement from the Pentagon on Tuesday which confirmed that personnel had been sent to mark ‘National Defense Area III’.
It said: ‘Changes in water depth and topography altered the perception of the international boundary’s location.
‘Government of Mexico personnel removed six signs based on their perception of the international boundary’s location.’
The Pentagon added that contractors would ‘coordinate with appropriate agencies to avoid confusion in the future.’
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