Tulum is currently enduring one of its worst periods in terms of its economy and tourism—a downturn that began last year and from which the municipality has yet to recover. All of this, compounded by the abysmal administration of Diego Castañón and Hermelinda Lezama regarding tourism management—and further exacerbated by the farce surrounding the infamous “Jaguar Park”—has ultimately served to bury this municipality.
Furthermore, the security crisis currently plaguing the region has also had a significant impact on the dire situation being experienced today. And to all this, we must add yet another grievance: the abuses of authority committed by both the Municipal and State Police against local citizens and the few tourists who still make their way to this destination.
Our newsroom has received various videos in which citizens have captured police officers conducting what they claim are “routine checks,” or simply seeking any pretext to detain individuals. Through threats and inhumane treatment, officers coerce people into complying with their orders—often positioning themselves in completely unlit stretches of road or in spots where they are barely visible, clearly intent on carrying out their “hunt.”
One such report specifically implicates officers from the State Police’s “Jaguar Group.” Since last week, this unit has been conducting a “hunt” for citizens traveling along the Cobá-Tulum corridor; acting under the guise of traffic enforcement, they order people to stop and threaten them with unlawful detention.
Another incident was captured along Kukulkán Avenue—in the municipal seat itself—where municipal police officers were caught “picking the pockets” of a pair of tourists traveling along the roadway; the entire incident was caught on camera.
Citizens and locals alike have become targets of these abuses of authority and threats from police officers. Those who are supposed to be protecting the city are, in fact, the very ones causing further harm—all while crime continues to spiral out of control.
Yet Diego Castañón and Julio César Gómez Torres insist that their “little angels” would never do such a thing.
Source: mexicodailypost
