Playa del Carmen Launches 2026 Peace and Voluntary Disarmament Fair

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The 2026 Peace and Voluntary Disarmament Fair kicked off Monday in Playa del Carmen, where Mexican Army personnel will accept firearms in exchange for cash payments over four days at various points across the city.

Linabel Cortés Santín, head of the Center for Crime Prevention and Citizen Participation for the state Executive Secretariat, said five municipalities in Quintana Roo are taking part in the program. Othón P. Blanco launched its edition on July 27, and after Playa del Carmen, the fair will move to Benito Juárez, Felipe Carrillo Puerto and José María Morelos.

Cortés Santín said the initiative is aimed at protecting families. In 2025, the program collected 609 weapons, with 305 women and 304 men turning in firearms to the Mexican Army.

Army personnel inspect the weapons and provide cash payments based on a fixed schedule. The exchange is anonymous, and participants do not need to provide personal information.

Monday’s collection point was the esplanade of the Chedraui shopping plaza in the Villas del Sol neighborhood. Tuesday, the fair moves to Lázaro Cárdenas Park in Colonia Colosio; Wednesday, to the Domo community center in La Guadalupana; and Thursday, to the Domo in Puerto Aventuras.

The weapons handed in will be destroyed by the military, according to Cortés Santín.