Riviera Maya, Q.R. — The state’s Secretariat of Ecology and Environment (SEMA) says they are working to evict Mennonites off local land. Groups of Mennonites have been blamed for the destruction of hundreds of hectares of jungle around Quintana Roo.
Óscar Rébora Aguiler, the Secretariat of Ecology and Environment (SEMA), says they have begun the process to have the Mennonite communities removed from those lands. According to Rébora Aguilera, internal talks have begun to develop a strategy to evict them.
“We are working on a strategy to evict them and restore these properties. Agricultural experts have told us that many of the pesticides they use are very aggressive to the land, so we need to review how much of it can be restored.
“Once all this is established we will take the appropriate action based on what the experts tell us,” he explained.
Rébora Aguilera said that throughout the municipality of Bacalar alone, more than 30,000 hectares of trees have been illegally cut down over the years. He says Profepa (Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente) has intensified operations to enforce closures after years of ignored reports that large areas of jungle were being cleared without permits.
“The bad practices and decisions of other governments are already being worked on today in a technical roundtable. Talks are being had with the Federal Attorney General’s Office for Environmental Protection, the State Attorney General’s office, the Legal Counsel, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and other stakeholders.
“The first closure seals have already been placed to protect one of the properties and work is also being done on the legal strategy related to the Mennonites,” he said.
In June, the Federal Attorney’s Office for Environmental Protection (Profepa) reported locating seven cleared areas by Mennonites around the Yucatan Peninsula. Their finding was from May 28 to June 14, 2025 totaling more than 2,600 hectares. Of those 2,600 hectares of illegally cleared land, 400 hectares were located in south Quintana Roo.
