Three Men Sentenced to Up to 48 Years for Murder of Four Playa del Carmen Inspectors

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A court in Playa del Carmen has sentenced three men to prison terms of up to 48 years for the 2023 murders of four municipal inspection officers who were beaten and then killed while carrying out an inspection for the local government.

Manuel Edmundo Muñoz Vázquez received 48 years in prison, Néstor Enrique Aguilar was sentenced to 27 years and José Osvaldo Pech Jiménez to 25 years, according to the Quintana Roo State Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities said the evidence presented at trial established the guilt of all three.

Ambush during a routine inspection

Prosecutors said the four victims — inspectors with the municipal audit and inspection department — traveled in a Chevrolet Silverado pickup owned by the Playa del Carmen municipal government to carry out inspection work at a business on Feb. 11, 2023.

When they arrived, the inspectors were intercepted by the men who were later convicted, who were armed with firearms. According to the investigation, employees of the establishment had earlier been stripped of their mobile phones and locked inside the changing rooms.

The inspectors were subdued and beaten with wooden objects, including boards fitted with nails, until they lost consciousness. The attackers then used knives to kill them, investigators said.

Bodies found in an official vehicle

The four bodies were later found in the bed of an official pickup truck in the Ejidal neighborhood on the western side of Playa del Carmen, in the municipality of Solidaridad. Police reports at the time said the bodies showed signs of torture and had their throats cut.

Officers from all three levels of government responded to the scene to recover the bodies and gather evidence. The case drew widespread attention as one of the most serious crimes committed in the past decade against a Playa del Carmen municipal government.

Days after the killings, the Quintana Roo State Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrest of 10 people in connection with the murders of the four municipal employees. The three men sentenced this week were among those detained.