Woman Alleges Irregular Payment in Cozumel Land Regularization Process

Cozumel, Quintana Roo — A woman identified as Dulce Cervantes Morales has publicly denounced an alleged improper payment she says was made to the delegate of the Quintana Roo State Strategic Projects Agency (Agepro) in Cozumel, Marco Antonio Mendoza Quijano, related to the regularization of a property in the area known as “La Botella.”

The complainant said she approached various agencies over several years to formalize the legal status of her land, which she acquired through transfer about two decades ago and for which she has paid property taxes for at least seven or eight years.

Cervantes Morales explained that in June 2024 she went to the then-Secretariat of Sustainable Urban Territorial Development (Sedetus), where she was told that procedures related to “La Botella” properties now fell under Agepro.

When she went to that agency, she said the delegate informed her she needed to process a “regularization certificate,” which he described as “the land’s birth certificate,” and that it would cost 5,000 pesos.

The woman said that, not having the full amount, she gave 3,000 pesos in cash to the official, who she claimed issued her the corresponding document.

She later returned on several occasions to request surveyors to demarcate her property, as a neighbor allegedly invaded part of her land, but she said the measurement never took place.

“He promised to send the surveyors, but he never sent them. I went around many times and they didn’t give me a solution,” she stated.

After exposing the case on social media, the citizen said she received advice to go to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and file a formal complaint.

Although she initially encountered resistance in getting her statement taken, she said the procedure was recorded and that she also sent official letters to various state agencies.

The complainant said she later learned that the regularization certificate should have been free, leading her to believe the charge was improper.

“I didn’t know it was free. If I had known, I wouldn’t have given that money,” she expressed.

According to her testimony, the land measures approximately 10 by 18 meters and was acquired through transfer for about 70,000 pesos, without notarial deed.

She said she has possession documents and an occupancy order, but not a formal property title.

She also indicated that Agepro informed her that, without an original purchase receipt from the Cadastre, she would need to pay 137,000 pesos to regularize the land, with a 60,000-peso down payment and subsequent payments.