Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Nearly 20 officers from Chetumal’s traffic police department have been transferred to Cancun for two months to manage traffic around the Nichupte Bridge construction project, leaving the state capital with a skeleton crew and sparking outrage among residents.
According to information obtained by local media, the redeployment has left Chetumal with just four officers on one shift — two of whom are on sick leave or vacation — and only two patrol cars to handle all traffic incidents. The opposite shift has six officers and two vehicles, a force residents say is woefully inadequate for a growing city and its surrounding communities.
The shortage has hit rural areas especially hard. Strategic towns such as Calderitas, Subteniente Lopez, and Huay Pix, which see heavy vehicle traffic particularly on weekends, are now effectively without traffic enforcement. Officials warn that the reduced capacity to respond to accidents, roadblocks, or infractions puts drivers and pedestrians at risk.
Critics accuse the government of prioritizing high-profile projects in Cancun over the safety of southern Quintana Roo. “They are robbing Peter to pay Paul,” one resident said, referring to the decision to strip Chetumal of its traffic enforcement to support work in the north.
As of Monday, the Public Security Department had not announced any plan to compensate for the shortfall or outlined measures for handling simultaneous emergencies in the capital.
