Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — State authorities say threatening calls received by members of the Playa del Carmen City Council appear to have been part of a broader telephone-extortion attempt originating from Mexico City, rather than a targeted order from an organized crime group operating locally.
Councilman José Luis Toledo Medina initially reported that seven members of the council, including the municipal trustee, received intimidating calls or messages on Friday, July 24. According to Toledo, the contacts occurred within approximately four hours and came from the same telephone number.
Toledo said callers claimed to possess information about the officials and allegedly told them to “fall in line.” He identified council members Orlando Muñoz Gómez and Javier Renán Santos Morales, along with Municipal Trustee José Agustín Aguilar Méndez, among those contacted. Other accounts also named Councilman Juan Humberto Novelo Zapata.
The positions and names of those officials correspond with Playa del Carmen’s official City Council directory.
Toledo said the officials discussed the calls in a City Council WhatsApp group that includes Mayor Estefanía Mercado. He initially complained that more than 72 hours had passed without a clear decision on protection or other security measures and said he intended to file a formal complaint with the Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office.
However, information released the following day presented a less alarming assessment of the calls.
Quintana Roo Government Secretary Cristina Torres Gómez said the Cyber Police and state prosecutors had examined the telephone number and traced it to the Plaza de la Tecnología in Mexico City, a large electronics and cellphone marketplace.
Torres said similar calls or messages had reached public officials in other municipalities and were not limited to Playa del Carmen. State authorities consequently warned municipal governments across Quintana Roo about the number.
She also disputed the claim that the callers had specifically demanded that council members align themselves with a criminal organization. According to Torres, the messages relied on personal and professional information already available through government directories and social media profiles, a common tactic in telephone extortion.
Public officials are particularly easy to research because municipal websites list their names, positions, office numbers and email addresses. Criminals can combine that information with details taken from social media to make a threat appear more personal or credible.
Torres said authorities had found no evidence that the calls were connected to the council members’ official duties or to matters under consideration by the City Council. She described the incident as an extortion attempt rather than evidence of a direct local threat.
The state’s assessment does not establish the identity of the caller, and locating a telephone line or device in Mexico City does not by itself identify who placed the calls. No arrests have been announced.
Municipal Government Secretary Luis Herrera Quiam said officials met with council members after the threats became public. Those who received the calls were advised that they could submit complaints to prosecutors so the communications could be formally documented and investigated.
It also remains unclear exactly how many officials received direct threats. Toledo initially reported seven council members, while subsequent accounts referred to six council members and the municipal trustee. Torres later said “a couple” of officials had received intimidating messages. Authorities have not released a definitive list.
The incident drew additional attention because Toledo referred to the July 22 killing of Valentín Lavín Romero, mayor of Temoac, Morelos. Lavín was shot inside the municipal palace, prompting a major state and federal investigation. Morelos authorities confirmed the killing and deployed additional security in the municipality, according to an official state government statement.
That case is unrelated to the Playa del Carmen calls. Its proximity in time, however, contributed to concern among the local officials.
The original report also connected the threats to the June 14 shooting at El Camarón Guasaveño, a recently opened seafood restaurant at Avenida CTM and Federal Highway 307. One employee was killed and three others were wounded in that attack.
Federal Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed that federal and state authorities were jointly investigating the restaurant shooting. Video reviewed by investigators reportedly showed gunmen passing the establishment with a rapid-fire weapon, and between 15 and 20 spent cartridges were recovered.
No public evidence has connected that shooting with the calls received by the council members.
The restaurant has also been repeatedly described as belonging to former NBA player Eduardo Nájera, Mayor Mercado’s husband. That ownership claim has not been substantiated. Both the restaurant’s management and the municipal government denied that Nájera owns or administers the Playa del Carmen location. He had reportedly been associated publicly with the franchise’s arrival in the city, but that is not proof of ownership.
The investigation into the restaurant attack remains open, and authorities have not publicly announced a motive or arrests.
For the council members, the immediate recommendation is to preserve call logs, messages, screenshots and voice recordings and provide them to prosecutors rather than engage with the caller. Residents who receive similar threats can report extortion anonymously through 089 or call 911 if they believe they face an immediate danger.
