10 Arrested for Land Invasion in Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Mexico — Ten individuals have been formally charged following their detention on October 7 for invading communal ejidal lands and subsequently setting fire to a local police bus in this municipality, according to Raciel López Salazar, head of the Quintana Roo Attorney General's Office.

The police operation was conducted at the end of Juárez Avenue, in an area of ejidal lands, where the suspects, armed with machetes, assaulted officers who were attempting to protect properties of the Playa del Carmen Ejido that were threatened by illegal occupation and deforestation.

López Salazar detailed that security personnel notified the aggressors that the intervention was being carried out due to the land invasion and environmental damage, which prompted a violent response from the group and led to the arrest of the ten subjects. A backhoe loader used in the events was also confiscated.

The State Attorney General's Office (FGE) initiated the corresponding investigation files, and all the detainees now face charges for invasion of lands, assault on authority, and damages. The conflict over ejidal lands in the area has been recurrent, affecting both private individuals and the communal organization of the ejido.