Construction in Tulum National Park halted due to biodiversity damage
A construction site located in Tulum National Park was closed down by federal authorities, who also arrested one of the two people allegedly responsible for the construction for the crimes of damage to biodiversity and the environment.
Elements of the National Guard, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), the State Police of Quintana Roo, as well as the Federal Attorney General’s Office for Environmental Protection (Profepa) conducted investigations and went to the property called Santa Fe Beach Club.
A Control Judge issued search warrants, and on the night of Thursday, February 16, after the operation, closure seals were placed, as damage was found, among other things, on the coastal dune:
- 14 platforms for cabins
- four excavations for a cistern
- three artificial water collectors
- a construction with a foundation base
- two industrial electric power transformers
- three railcars
- 14 cubic meters of wood
“The above implies damage to biodiversity and the environment, due to the removal of vegetation, as well as the use of non-forest land, for which reason the property was placed under the custody of the National Guard,” the company said in a press release.
Two alleged perpetrators identified
Testimonies were obtained from 22 workers, which led to the identification of two alleged perpetrators, one of whom has already been presented to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) as a detainee.
Federal authorities assured that they will maintain vigilance in this protected natural area to prevent the construction of infrastructure that is intended to be carried out illegally.
In addition, agents from the MPF, the Federal Ministerial Police (PFM), official experts in architecture, biodiversity, photography and field forensics, and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas) also participated.
