Owner of Animalandia Maya Seeks Release From Jail After Arrest

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Félix Sandoval Jaime, the owner of Animalandia Maya, a business that exploited wild animals, has filed a federal injunction against his arrest by the State Prosecutor’s Office on May 1.

Sandoval Jaime, who previously served as an alternate councilor in the municipal government, was taken to the Playa del Carmen Municipal Detention Center on Sunday at noon and placed at the disposal of a control judge.

The Ninth District Court received and admitted the indirect amparo petition filed by his defense attorney on behalf of César Oswaldo Ake Pech. The defense specifically alleges acts of incommunicado detention, forced disappearance, mistreatment, and torture.

So far, the federal judge has only ordered verification that the suspect receives due process following the formal charges filed by the Quintana Roo State Prosecutor’s Office.

According to documents obtained by Sol Quintana Roo, the controversial business, which was dismantled last Friday, operated with the approval of former mayor Lili Campos through an operating permit that expired in September 2025. The permit, numbered UNyEIA/PAO/C/300/2022-3, authorized the taking of photographs with animals at the establishment called Animalandia Maya. It was signed by José Luis Pérez Dolores, then director of Normativity and Environmental Impact Assessment, and granted for a fee of just 1,629 pesos.

The delay in action by the current municipal government is attributed to the lack of legal grounds to move against the business while the permit was still valid.