Puerto Morelos Officials and Civil Groups Meet to Tackle Extortion and Impunity

Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo — Municipal officials and civil-society representatives met in Puerto Morelos to review efforts against extortion and impunity, including an assessment of the protection-payment schemes reported in the coastal municipality.

The working table was held at the municipal government building under the Program for the Reduction of Impunity in Quintana Roo in the Crime of Extortion. Participants assessed the authorities’ response capacity and examined the different forms of cobro de piso — extortionate fees charged to businesses and residents — detected locally.

The session follows an earlier professionalization phase that brought together police departments from Playa del Carmen, Benito Juárez — the municipality that includes Cancún — and Puerto Morelos.

Municipal Public Security Secretary Navy Lt. Alejandro Nava García led the municipality’s delegation, accompanied by the directors of its operational, technical and administrative units:

• Joaquín Poot Acosta, Public Security Police
• Candelario Prado Virgen, Traffic and Roads
• Daniela Pérez, GEAVIG, the unit handling gender-based violence cases
• Areli Mejía, Internal Affairs
• Luz Galeana, Professionalization
• Mario Santiago, Legal Affairs
• Adrián Koyoc, Administration and Institutional Support

Officials said the sessions allowed them to take stock of the human, legal and operational resources available to the department.

Coordinating local and national strategy

Program coordinator Rommel Moreno Monjarrez directed the work, stressing the need to align local strategies with the federal National Security Strategy to make progress against impunity. The meeting also produced lines of action tailored to the region’s needs, with the aim of strengthening channels for reporting and receiving information.

Civil-society participants included members of the Mesa SOS group — Patricia González, Leticia Aguilar, José Reséndiz and Fernando Negrete — along with businesswomen and local residents. Organizers said input from the private sector allowed their operating experience to be folded into the diagnosis of extortion in the municipality as part of the ongoing actions agreed by Puerto Morelos authorities.