Royal Caribbean Faces $4 Million Fines for Violating Environmental Closure Orders in Mahahual

Cancún, Quintana Roo — The Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) announced that fines for violating closure seals at Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day project in Mahahual could reach 4 million pesos (approximately $4 million).

Profepa said it will conduct a new inspection this week at properties linked to the tourist development to verify environmental damage and determine the final penalty.

The agency explained that when it places closure seals—as it recently did at Royal Caribbean properties in Mahahual—it is implementing a security measure to stop activities that damage ecosystems or lack legal permits such as Environmental Impact Assessments.

“Violating these seals means those responsible ignored the order to stop activities or continued with construction, demolition, or landfilling illegally,” the agency stated when asked about the procedure.

This follows Profepa’s early February closure of works that had already affected more than 17,000 square meters of jungle and mangrove areas without prior environmental permits on lands associated with the Perfect Day project.

Legal Proceedings

Separately, the groups Salvemos Mahahual and Defendiendo el Derecho a un Medio Ambiente Sano (DMAS) reported that Judge Eugenia Maritza Valencia Hernández of the First District Court in Chetumal rejected injunctions filed by eight Mahahual residents seeking federal protection against actions affecting their territory, environmental surroundings, and community rights.

The organizations explained that in her first ruling, the judge considered the modification to the Urban Development Program (PDU) to constitute an administrative act. Under this criterion, the Amparo Law establishes a 15-day deadline, counted from when affected parties become aware of the act.

However, in the second and third injunctions, the same judge changed the legal criterion applied to the same fact. This time, she treated the PDU modification as if it were a law, implying a different deadline: 30 days counted from its official publication.

The groups consider this situation represents an evident legal contradiction, since the same act was first classified as an administrative act and subsequently as a law, applying different deadlines for challenge.