Isla Mujeres, Q.R. — Four employees of an Isla Mujeres hotel are in custody for extorting a business owner who worked at the beach in front of the hotel they worked at. According to authorities, the hotel employees had been extorting the Costa Mujeres business since November 2025.
Two of those in custody are now-former hotel security guards. The other two were lifeguards. All worked at the same Costa Mujeres hotel on the mainland which authorities have not named.
The four hotel employees were arrested Thursday along with a fifth person identified as José Alfredo “N”. Police say José Alfredo “N” is a member of a criminal group and was responsible for collecting the extortion payments.
All five were arrested on the mainland of Isla Mujeres by members of the FGE and the Centurion Group. “The operation also involved members of the National Defense Secretariat and the Navy Secretariat,” police said in a statement.
“The captured individuals are identified as José Alfredo “N”, who was in charge of collecting extortion fees for “protection money” in the Costa Mujeres beach area.”
He was arrested along with “Jorge “N” and Antonio “N”, security guards of the hotel adjacent to the victim’s business, in addition to Margarito “N” and Guillermo “N”, lifeguards of the same hotel.” Police said at the time of their arrests, “doses of alleged narcotics were seized from them.”
“Initial investigations suggest that these four individuals facilitated José Alfredo “N”’s criminal activities in the aforementioned area.
The arrest stems from the complaint made by the victim when in November 2025, José Alfredo “N” went to the establishment where the victim provided aquatic activities to tourists on the beach in front of the hotel.
There, police say he demanded $350 USD weekly, informing the victim that he was a member of a violent criminal group.
It was the second time the same business owner had been extorted. According to the FGE, the man was extorted by a criminal group from August of 2023 until April 2025 when those responsible were arrested.
Police said José Alfredo “N” has been previously arrested and jailed in the Social Reintegration Center of Chetuma, where he shared a cell with a man named Andrés “N”, sentenced for robbery and aggravated injuries. While jailed, Andrés “N” invited him to work collecting the money from extortions in Costa Mujeres.
In November of 2025, the extortion started again, this time with José Alfredo “N” collecting the money, claiming he was the new person in charge of collecting “protection money” in that area.
February 19, 2026.
During his arrest Thursday, he was found in possession of $450 USD in cash, two cell phones, and bags containing dried herbs with the characteristics of marijuana.
