Tulum Teen’s Death Reveals Forced Recruitment Network

Tulum, Mexico — Authorities in Quintana Roo have confirmed that the body found lifeless in Tulum corresponds to Joel Lizandro López Collí, a 15-year-old adolescent from Tekax, Yucatán.

The young man had disappeared on October 27 after accepting, along with four other adolescents, a fake job offer as construction helpers in Tulum. His family members reported the disappearance, and the Yucatán Prosecutor’s Office activated an Amber Alert on November 19, but the search concluded with the worst news.

So far, authorities have not clarified where or how Joel died. Unofficial versions disseminated by some media indicate that he was executed at the exclusive Rosa Negra restaurant in Tulum by a foreign hitman, but these versions have not been confirmed by the Prosecutor’s Office.

Chronology of Terror: From a Dream of Work to an Assassination

Joel Lizandro left Tekax on October 27 with four other young people after being contacted by an unknown person who promised them work in Tulum. Once at the tourist destination, their phones turned off, and the families lost all contact.

The Amber Alert issued by the Prosecutor’s Office described the adolescent with a scar on his left eyebrow and a tattoo on his wrist.

A month later, on November 22, his parents were informed that the young man had been found dead, without specifying the location or circumstances.

The other victims of the trip remain missing. Various local media and search groups have denounced that this tragedy is part of a forced recruitment network that lures adolescents with job promises and forces them to sell drugs or serve as “hawks” for criminal groups.

Parallel Violence in Tulum

In parallel, on November 9, a man was killed by gunshots inside the Rosa Negra restaurant in Tulum’s hotel zone. Witnesses said the aggressor was dressed in black and fired at point-blank range before fleeing.

Authorities identified him as an alleged drug distributor around 35 years old.

The murder was attributed to a Colombian hitman from a cell linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG); according to the investigation, the attack would have cost only 5,000 pesos.

Unofficial sources not confirmed by the Prosecutor’s Office have linked this crime to the case of Joel Lizandro and maintain that the adolescent victim was one of the two people shot that day; however, public evidence shows that the man executed at Rosa Negra was an adult around 35 years old.

Authorities in Yucatán and Quintana Roo are investigating the possible involvement of a group of at least six people detained on November 17 in Tulum, among them the Colombian Juan Carlos “N,” who allegedly participated in the execution on November 9 for a payment of 5,000 pesos.

The investigations are also searching for the other three young people who disappeared along with Joel and who might have escaped forced recruitment.

Broader Security Context

The tragedy of Joel Lizandro occurs in a context of rampant violence in Tulum and accusations against the local government. In 2025 alone, Tulum had already recorded 48 murders and 223 homicides since Diego Castañón assumed the municipal presidency.

The murder on November 9 at the Rosa Negra restaurant, a place frequented by tourists, highlighted that violence reaches exclusive areas and that the municipal government “lacks territorial control.”

Noticaribe points out that the mayor’s inability to contain the crime wave has left residents and visitors at the mercy of criminal cells that operate with total impunity.

The case also exposes the absence of policies to protect youth in Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

Legislators and mayors have requested an investigation into an alleged recruitment network that hooks minors with job promises and forces them to participate in illicit activities.

Search organizations warn that forced recruitment has become a common practice of criminal groups in the region.

The death of Joel Lizandro symbolizes how drug violence crosses tourist destinations. While authorities do not clarify the circumstances of the crime or find the other missing young people, Tulum will continue to be the scene of a tragedy that mixes luxury tourism with the exploitation and murder of children. The citizenry demands answers.

Joel Lizandro’s body arrived in his native Tekax shortly after midnight, received in silence by dozens of relatives and friends who are keeping vigil at the home where he grew up.

Amid prayers, tears, and the disbelief of an entire community, the adolescent will be accompanied today to the local cemetery, in a farewell that hurts because it should never have happened—a Yucatecan child who went out to work and ended up trapped in the criminal machinery that overflows Tulum.