Tulum Mayor’s Bodyguards Accused of Assault

Playa del Carmen, Mexico — A new scandal involves Diego Castañón Trejo, the municipal president of Tulum, after a Playa del Carmen citizen reported being assaulted by the mayor's bodyguards. The incident, which occurred on November 1, also involved the bodyguards allegedly forcing the man's wife to delete photos and videos of the event.

According to reports from some media outlets, the events transpired when bodyguards, traveling in Suburban trucks and other vehicles, cut off a driver of a red vehicle on Playa del Carmen Boulevard near Centro Maya.

The citizen, identified as Marcos Antonio López, who is the president of the Asociación de Vecinos Unidos (United Neighbors Association), confronted the bodyguards for cutting him off. Following this, the bodyguards exited their vehicles and, according to the victim, the armed individuals threatened him and forced him to get out of his car.

He recounts that they told him if he did not get out of his vehicle, they would give him a "plomazo," a slang term for a gunshot. He also asserts that municipal police officers approached the scene of the incident, but only to support Diego Castañón's bodyguards. He claims that these officers also pressured them to delete the evidence of what happened.

Citizen Holds Mayor Responsible for His Safety

The citizen stated in a press conference that following the events of November 1 of this year, he holds Diego Castañón and his bodyguards directly responsible for anything that might happen to him and his family.

"They threatened me with a gunshot if I reported or shared the videos. I hold the president and his bodyguards responsible for whatever may happen to me. They told me: 'Delete it so you don't face consequences or so things don't go badly for you, because that's how many who think they are social activists end up, with a gunshot to the head,'" the citizen reported.

He lamented that people with public positions and badges act with arrogance and abuse their authority against citizens.

With a complaint filed before the Fiscalía General del Estado de Quintana Roo (Attorney General's Office of the State of Quintana Roo), it remains to be seen if the case will advance, particularly because the accused are the bodyguards of Diego Castañón, a politician from Morena, the 4T political movement, and the municipal president of Tulum.

This is a new scandal surrounding the mayor of Quintana Roo's ninth municipality, who has been criticized for alarming levels of insecurity in Tulum, in addition to the crisis caused by a decrease in visitors and the closure of beach access points.