For 19 years, I’ve called Cancun home. I know the rules and respect the critical role customs and security play in protecting our community. However, my experience upon landing at the Cancun International Airport (CUN) this week was not security—it was an abusive display of power that left my children frightened and me feeling like a criminal.
This hostility is a stain on a destination that prides itself on hospitality. My recent arrival was uneventful until I was selected for a secondary agricultural inspection. I carried nothing prohibited: my carry on bag held only dirty laundry, and my personal bag contained a tuna sandwich. Tuna, of course, is allowed, but the sandwich included a small piece of lettuce.
The agent, later confirmed to be the supervisor, immediately focused on the sandwich. Before I could even offer to remove the lettuce—a simple, permissible action—he grabbed the sandwich, held it dramatically between his hands, and violently crushed it while declaring, “You cannot bring this in.”
When I offered to remove the offending lettuce, he screamed “No!” and threw the smashed food into the garbage. The ordeal immediately escalated. My children, fearful of the nearby service dogs, ran ahead, leaving me alone to deal with his aggressive demands. He insisted on checking my luggage—which, again, was literally just dirty laundry.
Upset, I took a picture of him and told him if he wanted to check the bag, he could open it himself, and I went to look for his supervisor.
The most disturbing part came when I tried to document the incident. While I waited for the supervisor (the agent himself) to file a complaint, another agent said she could help. We walked back, and I allowed them to inspect my carry-on so I could proceed with the complaint. The second agent asked to see the sandwich. I quickly snapped a photo of the discarded food as evidence.
In response, they demanded my passport. When I declined, stating I was leaving the airport, the two agents grabbed my suitcase and began yanking it away. I was suddenly in a tug-of-war with two adult agriculture
employees over a bag of dirty clothes, all because of a piece of lettuce and a photograph.
The standoff ended only when one agent demanded the bag tag, which the supervisor suddenly remembered was inside my suitcase. He reopened the bag, mid-tug-of-war, to retrieve it before finally letting me go.
This is more than a personal bad experience. This kind of heavy-handed, bullying, and frankly terrifying behavior is not an isolated incident at CUN. It is a recurring theme of negative, aggressive interactions that both residents and tourists endure when arriving in the Mexican Caribbean, an economic engine that welcomes millions of visitors each year.
Our airport should be the first friendly face they see, the gateway to a relaxing vacation. Instead, it is frequently a gauntlet of intimidation. If a 19-year resident who understands the rules is treated with this level of disdain—with food smashed, screamed at, physically detained over a photograph, and treated like a smuggler—how must a first-time tourist feel?
The officials at the Cancun International Airport need a severe overhaul of their training and conduct. Their job is to enforce rules with professionalism and respect, not to act as unchecked tyrants.
Until that happens, the Cancun airport will continue to provide a hostile welcome that undermines the hospitality industry we rely on and risks driving visitors away. This behavior is not just rude; it is a direct threat to the reputation and economy of the Mexican Caribbean
A frustrated longtime Cancun Resident
