Organized Crime Using Relatives for Highway Blockades in Quintana Roo, Prosecutor Says

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Organized crime groups in Quintana Roo are using relatives and friends to carry out highway blockades to pressure authorities and protect criminal interests, the State Prosecutor’s Office (FGE) announced.

State Prosecutor Raciel López Salazar made the statement during a weekly security cabinet conference, referring to a recent blockade on the Limones–Felipe Carrillo Puerto stretch of Federal Highway 307. Authorities arrested 20 people, seized eight vehicles, and one police investigator suffered injuries during the incident.

López Salazar said he has requested the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (FGR) to open investigations into federal crimes including extortion, resisting arrest, and damage to federal communication routes. These legal actions target those detained during last weekend’s blockade, which disrupted traffic on one of the main highways in southern Quintana Roo.

The prosecutor also indicated authorities are seeking to open another investigation for assault after an FGE police investigator suffered a fracture while helping clear the highway. “We will not allow small groups to block federal highways,” López Salazar said. “These actions constitute crimes and affect thousands of citizens who depend on these roads for their daily lives.”

López Salazar explained these blockades appear connected to recent operations in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, where authorities conducted 15 raids and arrested eight people last week. Among those detained was the sister of a man who died in a confrontation with the Mexican Navy in Limones. The federal highway near this community has been blocked twice in recent weeks—incidents that appeared to be citizen protests but are now being described as actions manipulated by organized crime.