Tribunal: Tren Maya Project Guilty of Ecocide

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Following a field inspection, the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature has ratified its ruling that the Tren Maya project has caused environmental devastation and etnocidio, or ethnocide, in southeastern Mexico.

The resolution, issued in late September 2025 and directed to Alicia Bárcena, head of the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), concludes that the Mexican State is responsible for the systematic violation of the rights of nature and the Mayan peoples of the peninsula.

After an observation visit conducted this year to sections 5, 6, and 7 of the project, the Tribunal, composed of international defenders of the environment and collective rights, documented large-scale and in many cases irreversible environmental impacts. These impacts had been warned about since 2023 by civil society organizations and local researchers.

Documented Environmental Damage

Among the damages cited are the fragmentation of the territory, which interrupts ecological connectivity; massive deforestation; the destruction of natural habitats; and serious alterations to hydrological flows that have already caused flooding in urban and agricultural areas of the municipalities of Othón P. Blanco and Bacalar. The ruling also notes the direct impact on mangroves and other sensitive ecosystems.

One of the most critical findings relates to the cave system in section 5, where the use of heavy machinery and the installation of pilings more than 40 meters deep are reported to have caused irreversible damage to the underground geological formations, which are considered a natural heritage of the region.

Social and Legal Context

In its resolution, the Tribunal denounces not only the environmental damage but also the context in which the project has advanced. This context includes an absence of the rule of law, legal loopholes, institutional violence, and a policy of depriving the indigenous Mayan communities of their rights, communities affected by the territorial expansion of the project and the increasing militarization of the region.

The ruling also warns of the cumulative impact that the development of mass tourism and the freight rail business will have. According to the Tribunal, these factors will intensify environmental degradation and deepen territorial inequality in the southeastern part of the country.

The sentence was presented during Climate Week in New York and represents an urgent international call to review the viability of the Tren Maya, its ecological and social consequences, and the role of the Mexican State in protecting its ecosystems and native peoples.