MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Flag Day ceremony in Mexico has gone awry, with troops flying the country's red, white and green "tri-color" upside down.

Local media show images of the giant flag fluttering over Mexico City's Campo Marte parade ground Saturday with its iconic eagle inverted.

President Enrique Pena Nieto acknowledged the gaffe, but he added that, "Upside down or right side up, backward or forward, the flag is a symbol that gives us a sense of identity, of belonging, of pride in being Mexicans."

In some countries flying a flag upside down can be considered a desecration, a distress signal or a form of protest. Some Mexicans took to social media to mock it as emblematic of Pena Nieto's unpopular government.