“This Department of Defense property has been designated a restricted zone (…) Unauthorized entry is prohibited.” This is part of the text in Spanish and English that could be read on six signs positioned Monday morning on the beach of Baghdad, located in the municipality of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, about 30 kilometers from the border with the United States. Members of the environmental organization Conibio Global informed the authorities and documented with photographs the moment several men put up the signs warning that they were part of the US government. President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed Tuesday that consultations are underway to clarify the incident and review what current border and water treaties establish.
“One of our field technicians detected the presence of a group of people from the United States, who entered Mexican territory by crossing the Rio Grande on board a boat. These people set up several metal poles with ‘Restricted Area’ signs, presumably belonging to the Department of Defense,” Conibio Global reported through its social networks.
Following the complaint, the Secretary of the Navy (Semar) staff removed the signs and reported, through a statement, that during the initial consultations carried out by the Mexican consulate in Brownsville they had not had confirmation that the signs had been placed by any US authority. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has established communication regarding this incident with the United States Embassy in Mexico. Likewise, the Mexican Section of the International Commission on Boundaries and Water (CILA) will initiate the necessary technical consultations to fully clarify the incident, as well as carry out the review established by current border and water treaties of the maps and instruments that delimit the border between the two countries.”
The signs explained that the area had been declared restricted “by the authority of the commander” and in accordance with a directive from the US Secretary of Defense and provisions of the Internal Security Act of 1950, which prohibit unauthorized entry. “However, the poles were installed in Mexican territory, specifically at the mouth of the Rio Grande, including six signals, some of which were even placed in the sea,” the environmentalists explained.
The Conibio Global organization warned that the area is part of an “ecologically sensitive” space where the presence of manatees entering the Rio Grande, crocodiles, migratory and resident birds – some classified as at risk or in danger of extinction – and sea turtles have been monitored and documented. “This area is essential for monitoring wildlife in the coastal corridor of the Gulf of Mexico, so the installation of these signs by the Americans within the national territory raises concern due to the environmental and jurisdictional implications it represents.”
Already on November 13, the group of environmentalists had filed an official complaint with the Federal Prosecutor for Environmental Protection (Profepa) “for the unauthorized incursion” of the foreign platform LB JILL and for the illegal removal of space debris in Mexican maritime territory. “During our scientific expeditions, the presence of Starship fragments, engines and propellant remnants, as well as structural damage on the seabed more than 20 kilometers from Baghdad beach were documented,” they said.
Sheinbaum, who read the statement from Semar and the SRE on Tuesday morning, confirmed that “one area of the U.S. government said they hired a company to install them,” but that this needed to be reviewed: “This is what we are doing so that, through the institutions of the United States and Mexico, we can clearly demarcate exactly the line in that area of Tamaulipas with more information and tools,” he said.
