Cancún Protests Demand Capture of Ex-Governor’s Guard

Cancún, Mexico — A group of individuals, led by lawyer and activist Fabiola Cortés, demonstrated this afternoon in front of the "El Ceviche" traffic circle in Cancún to demand the capture of Roberto Pérez López, a former bodyguard of ex-governor Carlos Joaquín González. Pérez López is wanted for his alleged involvement in several criminal activities, including enforced disappearance.

Holding signs, flyers, and banners, the protesters asserted that the State Attorney General's Office (Fiscalía General del Estado) knows the whereabouts of the individual but has not detained him because he was a close employee of the former governor. As recently as last May, the Attorney General's Office offered a reward of 500,000 pesos for information leading to his whereabouts.

Pérez López, in addition to having been a bodyguard for the ex-governor, was also part of the Benito Juárez Municipal Police and the Investigative Police of the Attorney General's Office itself.

In this regard, Fabiola Cortés stated that this individual is linked, among other illicit activities, to the enforced disappearance of Diana García Rivera and Jorge Armando Kiau, who were last seen on February 22, 2020, at the Imperio nightclub, located in Plaza Infinity on Avenida Nichupté.

She highlighted that the mother of one of the missing youths has provided the Attorney General's Office with all the data to locate this individual, but this agency, she said, "continues to protect this character." The lawyer emphasized that this man currently lives a "normal life" in the city of Tulum, where he is also presumed to be engaged in criminal activities.

She indicated that a few weeks ago, the Attorney General's Office conducted a raid on a residence where this individual is presumed to live; however, the activist described this operation as a "simulation."

Furthermore, Fabiola Cortés reported that, after holding this demonstration, they will dedicate themselves to carrying out other acts of protest as a pressure measure for the Attorney General's Office to act swiftly against this individual.

"Why are they protecting him?" Cortés asked. "Are they protecting him because he was the bodyguard of this governor, who has been one of the most nefarious, Carlos Manjel Joaquín González, and they have him protected? Because he knows a lot of things or because he's a big fish? We don't know. But we are going to continue leafleting. We are going to leaflet in Tulum, where this individual is presumed to live. We will be leafleting for a while, informing [the public] if the Attorney General's Office does its job," she concluded.