The Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) conducted 17 inspections between August 15 and 31 and closed properties covering more than 3,700 hectares of devastated rainforest on the Yucatán Peninsula. The actions were supported by the National Guard, the Ministry of National Defense (Defensa), and state security forces, the environmental authority reported.
The inspections focused on the southern states of the country, where teams detected clearings and land-use changes carried out without authorization from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat). Personnel located pockets of agro-industrial monoculture plantations following the destruction of the rainforest, especially in areas under the influence of Mennonite communities.
In the municipality of Hopelchén, Campeche, two properties located in the Xmaben and Francisco J. Mújica ejidos were closed, where the damage reached 247,085 hectares. In addition, the authorities seized heavy track-type machinery, according to Profepa (Profepa).
In Quintana Roo, operations were deployed in the municipalities of José María Morelos and Bacalar, as well as in the Bala’an K’aax Flora and Fauna Protection Area. The damage totaled 2,531.12 hectares, and a tractor with a sprayer was seized.
In the state of Yucatán, inspections focused on the municipality of Tekax, covering the Nohalal, Emiliano Zapata, and Poccheil ejidos. The impacted area was 968.62 hectares, where authorities seized machinery such as a Caterpillar D8, a backhoe, a well drill, and three agricultural tractors, according to Profepa.
Official figures indicate that during the 17 recent operations, properties were closed, resulting in a total damage of 3,747.59 hectares of forest: 247.85 in Campeche, 2,531.12 in Quintana Roo, and 968.62 in Yucatán.
According to Profepa, from May to August 2025, 25 operations were carried out on the Yucatán Peninsula, resulting in 6,325.60 hectares of forest affected. Environmental authorities also called for the creation of an inter-institutional committee to combat illegal logging and deforestation in the state of Quintana Roo, in coordination with the three levels of government, to curb irregular land-use changes in the forests.
The federal environmental protection attorney general, Mariana Boy Tamborrell, stated that “in addition to the closures, we have opened administrative proceedings in all of these cases and, to date, have filed 13 criminal complaints.” The official emphasized: “We are committed to working in coordination with institutions at all three levels to curb these illegal clearings and move toward obtaining exemplary sanctions for those who destroy the forests and to establish processes for restoring native vegetation.”
Source: infobae
