Playa del Carmen Council Members Unaware of Status of 334 Patrol Cars

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — City council members in Playa del Carmen say they have no information on the current status of 334 patrol cars delivered in April 2025 by the municipal government led by Mayor Estefanía Mercado, after questions arose over an apparent decrease in the number of units on the streets.

Orlando Muñoz Gómez, the second councilor and head of the Public Safety, Transit and Civil Protection Commission, said he lacks data on the vehicles, noting that such information is handled directly by the Mayor’s Office.

Muñoz stated that details about the operation and management of the public safety fleet are considered confidential and only the executive branch can provide updates.

Similarly, councilor Juan Novelo Zapata acknowledged he has no information on the condition of the patrol cars, despite the nearly 1.2 billion pesos (about $60 million) investment for their purchase.

The vehicles were presented as part of a strategy to strengthen police presence and improve response times in Playa del Carmen and Puerto Aventuras. However, the effectiveness of that deployment has been questioned following recent violent incidents, including the kidnapping and death of Luis Esteban Castillo, the economic development coordinator of Puerto Aventuras, who was allegedly abducted from municipal offices and found dead last Friday night.

As of now, the city government has not released official information on how many patrol cars remain operational or the current state of the public safety fleet.