Activist Searching for Missing Brother Sentenced to 80 Years for Cancún Kidnapping

Cancún, Quintana Roo — A woman who once marched alongside families demanding answers about workers who vanished from a hotel construction site on the outskirts of Cancún has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for a kidnapping in the resort city.

Hilda de la Cruz Hernández was convicted in the abduction of a mother and her son in Cancún, authorities said. Two other defendants, José Pablo de la Cruz Hernández and Eduardo Álvarez Duarte, received the same 80-year sentence and were each ordered to pay a fine of 1,074.40 pesos.

A Brother Among the Missing

Hilda de la Cruz Hernández was a familiar face at protests held by relatives of workers who disappeared in 2020 from the mainland section of Isla Mujeres, where the Planet Hollywood hotel was under construction. Among the missing was her brother, Carlos Alfredo de la Cruz Hernández, who was 28 at the time.

He and more than 10 other workers were reported missing from the site. Months later, human remains belonging to four people were found in a clandestine grave. One of the victims was identified as 20-year-old William Ariel, and two suspects were arrested in connection with the case.

The 2021 Kidnapping

According to investigators, the kidnapping that led to Hilda de la Cruz Hernández’s conviction took place on Feb. 23, 2021. A woman and her son went to a home in the Niños Héroes subdivision of Cancún for a hair treatment appointment, where Hilda de la Cruz Hernández and José Pablo de la Cruz Hernández were waiting.

Minutes later, four armed individuals arrived, seized the mother and son and took them to a house in Supermanzana 100, where they were held for two days. During that time, the captors demanded 50,000 pesos from the family in exchange for their release.

When no payment was made, the abductors killed the son. The mother managed to scream for help as they moved to kill her as well, prompting the assailants to flee the property.

The three suspects were later arrested and sentenced in September 2026.