The state of Oaxaca ranks among the top in the country for environmental crimes and environmental management violations. According to data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP), from 2023 to the first two months of 2026, Oaxaca has already accumulated 240 investigations for these federal crimes, reports journalist Lisbeth Mejía.
The SESNSP indicates that Oaxaca, along with Tlaxcala, Baja California Sur, Michoacán, Veracruz, Jalisco, and the State of Mexico, has one of the highest rates of these crimes. In 2023, the state registered 68 open investigations, placing it fourth nationally, while the State of Mexico registered 78, followed by Tlaxcala with 77, and Jalisco in third place with 72.
In 2024, Oaxaca ranked third nationally, with 84 crimes against the environment and environmental management; in 2025, the state ranked fifth nationally, with 75 cases investigated; and between January and February 2026, 180 crimes were reported nationwide, of which 18 were in Jalisco, 15 in Michoacán, 13 in Baja California Sur, 13 in Veracruz, 12 in Tlaxcala, and 11 in Oaxaca.
“In recent months, the state has come under public scrutiny for the display of a toucan for sale at the Central de Abasto market in Oaxaca City, for the theft and sale of turtle eggs, the transport of iguanas for commercial purposes, and also for various closures related to land-use changes and deforestation in areas such as Huatulco National Park, as well as the extraction of natural resources without the corresponding permits,” writes the journalist on the El Imparcial website.
It is worth noting that these crimes are punishable by various penalties stipulated in the Federal Penal Code. For example, Article 420 states that “a prison sentence of one to nine years and a fine equivalent to three hundred to three thousand days’ wages will be imposed on anyone who unlawfully captures, harms, or kills any specimen of turtle or marine mammal, or collects or stores in any way their products or byproducts.”
Likewise, “a prison sentence of one to four years and a fine of three hundred to three thousand days will be imposed on anyone who transports or consents to, authorizes or orders the transport of any waste considered hazardous due to its corrosive, reactive, explosive, toxic, flammable, biological infectious or radioactive characteristics, to a destination for which there is no authorization to receive, store, dispose of or abandon it.”
Source: dialogosoaxaca
