Business owners and tourists say local officials, not cartels, now drive extortion in Tulum

Business owners and tourists describe extortion in Tulum carried out not by drug cartels but by local authorities, including municipal police and health inspectors, according to interviews published by Milenio.

The accounts matter because they arrive as Tulum absorbs a record sargassum season, a wave of business closures, and a reputation problem that residents say is pushing both tourists and investors toward other Caribbean destinations.

How extortion in Tulum shifted from cartels to officials

Merchants told Milenio that years of collective pressure had almost eliminated the protection payments once demanded by organized crime. That relief was short lived. In their account, municipal, state, and federal officials moved into the space the cartels left behind.

A business leader who spoke on the condition of anonymity described a layered system of pressure. Tulum is practically being killed, the person said, arguing that owners now have to guard themselves against every level of authority. The publication reported that fear of retaliation keeps most from filing formal complaints.

A British couple and a 21,000 peso checkpoint

Steve and Claudia, a British couple, said they were stopped at a police checkpoint during a November visit after riding a rented motorcycle to dinner near the Parque del Jaguar. They had ordered two beers before eating and walking, according to their account.

Steve said he passed a breath test at a level below 0.2 milligrams per liter, under the 0.4 legal threshold, yet officers told him he faced 48 hours in detention. The couple said the officers then demanded 21,000 pesos, roughly 1,100 US dollars, and offered a discount for immediate payment.

When the card terminal failed, Steve said, the officers put the couple on a speakerphone call with a man who had an American accent and instructed them to send the money by Revolut transfer. They complied. No receipt, no paperwork, just you can go, Steve recounted, adding that the officers warned them not to cancel the transfer if they wanted to reach the airport.

The couple said the episode ended their trip and their interest in returning. Under Tulum's traffic rules, the legal limits are 0.8 grams per liter in blood and 0.4 milligrams per liter in breath, with penalties set at 30 days of minimum wage and referral to the public prosecutor. None of those steps were followed, the couple said.

Inspectors, water samples, and fines that turn into bribes

Owners described a parallel pattern in inspections. Over recent months, visits tied to sanitary rules, including checks the owners attribute to Cofepris, the federal sanitary risk commission, have intensified at hotels, restaurants, and smaller operations. Business people told Milenio that inspectors appear to search for any pretext to impose fines that can then be settled off the books.

Reported fines run from 20,000 to 50,000 pesos. One tactic centers on water testing. Because the state supplies water that often fails chlorination standards, an inspector can arrive already holding a failed result, the business leader alleged, describing a case in which the paperwork preceded the test.

Small vendors say they are not spared. Israel, who runs a vegan taco stand, said inspectors get on their knees with a flashlight to look under the stove for a violation. He described the choice put to him in blunt terms, 50,000 pesos for the legal route or 5,000 pesos a month.

What Mayor Castañón said on June 23

Mayor Diego Castañón addressed the complaints directly at a June 23, 2026 press conference, acknowledging reports of extortion and announcing the first dismissals.

We have been hearing on social media that many inspectors have been extorting people. For now, we already have two who are the first to go because of it. We will do the same in traffic. I will not allow this anymore.

According to municipal announcements reported by several outlets, two inspectors from the Fiscalización department were removed over extortion allegations, and the mayor said the review would extend to municipal traffic officers, an area that continues to draw complaints. The dismissed inspectors have not been charged in the accounts published so far, and the municipality has framed the removals as administrative action while internal investigations continue.

Complaints have persisted since the announcement, according to Milenio, which reported continued cases despite the mayor's pledge.

Sargassum, closures, and a thinning economy

The extortion accounts land during one of the hardest stretches Tulum's tourism economy has faced. The municipality has collected close to 2,500 tons of sargassum so far this year, compared with about 1,300 tons over the same period in 2025, according to figures cited by Milenio.

David Bucana, who heads the local Zofemat coastal agency, said the season broke from the usual pattern, with the seaweed arriving in January rather than late March or April. Restaurants, hotels, and shops have closed, and a Milenio survey of the area found streets lined with for sale and for rent signs.

For now, the picture in Tulum is a set of overlapping pressures, seaweed on the beaches, closures along the commercial strips, and accounts of authorities treating fines as leverage. Whether the mayor's dismissals mark a turn or a single gesture will depend on what the traffic review produces, and on whether businesses and visitors regain enough confidence to file the complaints that most still avoid.

Have you or someone you know run into a checkpoint or inspection in Tulum that did not follow the rules? Join the conversation and share your perspective with us on Instagram and Facebook at @thetulumtimes.