Playa del Carmen Begins Voluntary Gun Surrender Drive

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Playa del Carmen has kicked off a weeklong voluntary gun surrender drive that lets residents turn in weapons and other dangerous items anonymously in exchange for cash.

The Peace and Voluntary Disarmament Fair, running through Thursday, allows people to hand over firearms, military-grade objects and even toy weapons without providing personal information or answering questions, said Cristina Torres, Quintana Roo’s secretary of government.

Collected items are rendered unusable, and participants receive payment according to an official schedule. Toy weapons can be exchanged for conventional toys.

Torres said the goal is to make it easy for families to dispose of these objects without fear of paperwork or legal procedures that might discourage them from participating.

Collection stations opened Monday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chedraui parking lot in the Villas del Sol subdivision. The drive continues Tuesday at Lázaro Cárdenas park in the Colosio neighborhood, moves to the domo in the Guadalupana neighborhood on Wednesday, and ends Thursday at the multipurpose domo in Puerto Aventuras.

State officials urged residents to use the program to voluntarily remove weapons and other hazardous items from their homes, describing it as part of broader prevention efforts to reduce risks in households and community spaces.