Expired, Damaged Medications Found in Quintana Roo Warehouse Amid Shortage

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Health workers in Quintana Roo have reported that an audit by the state’s Anti-Corruption and Good Governance Secretariat at the central medication warehouse in Subteniente Lopez uncovered hundreds of expired, water-damaged, and moldy medications and medical supplies.

The anonymous complaint, shared with local media along with photographs, alleges that while medications rot in storage, IMSS Bienestar health centers across the state have been suffering from severe shortages for the past month.

Images show boxes warped by moisture, some covered in mold, containing antibiotics, oral rehydration salts, and medications for chronic degenerative diseases — the same drugs that are currently scarce or unavailable at clinic pharmacies.

According to the complaint, warehouse staff and the procurement office attempted to minimize the irregularities and prevent the true condition of the medications from becoming public. The workers accused Administrative Director Alvaro Arturo Cruz Mena, warehouse manager Luis Enrique Velazquez, and a procurement official identified only as Malio of trying to manipulate the audit process.

The complaint also alleges that officials tried to deceive auditors by moving batches and swapping supplies to make inventory records match, even requesting medications from hospitals and health centers that are already facing shortages.

Health workers are calling on authorities to investigate the matter and determine responsibility, demanding transparency in the management of public health resources.

The situation has drawn criticism of Health Secretary Flavio Carlos Rosado, who is reportedly focused on his early campaign for the Morena candidacy for municipal president of Isla Mujeres rather than addressing the health system’s failures.