Jan 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation

Administration warned airlines on Friday to exercise caution

when flying over Mexico, Central America and parts of South

America, citing the risks of potential military activities and

GPS interference.

The FAA ‌said it had issued Notices to Airmen covering Mexico

and Central American countries, as well as ​Ecuador, Colombia and

portions of airspace within the eastern Pacific Ocean. The

warnings ‍began on Friday and will last 60 days, ⁠it said.

Tensions between ⁠the U.S. and regional leaders have ramped

up since the Trump administration mounted a large-scale military

buildup ‌in the southern Caribbean, attacked Venezuela ​and seized

the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, in a military

operation. President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of

other military actions ⁠in the area, including against Colombia.

Trump ‍said last ​week that drug cartels were running Mexico

and suggested the U.S. could strike land targets to combat them,

in one of a series ‍of threats to deploy U.S. military force

against cartels.

Mexico responded to the FAA's advisory, saying it is only a

precaution and does not restrict Mexican airspace or airlines.

The notice applies solely to U.S. operators, and aviation

operations in Mexico remain unaffected, the ministry said in a

statement.

After the attack ​on ‍Venezuela, the FAA curbed flights

throughout the Caribbean, forcing the cancellation of hundreds

of flights by major airlines. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford

told ​Reuters this week there had been good coordination between

the agency and U.S. military before the Venezuela operation.

Last month, a JetBlue ( JBLU ) passenger jet bound for New

York took evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision with a

U.S. Air Force tanker plane near Venezuela. JetBlue Flight 1112

had departed the Caribbean nation of Curacao and ​was flying

about 40 miles (60 km) off the coast of Venezuela when the

Airbus plane reported encountering the Air Force jet,

which did not have its transponder activated.