Tulum, Q.R. — A group of squatters used burning tires to shut a section of Tulum highway Thursday in response to an eviction attempt. Police were at the scene with riot gear after dozens of angry settlers confronted them.
The group blocked the federal highway approximately six kilometers south of the town of Tulum Thursday in response the eviction. They were met by state officers with shields who had bottles, sticks and rocks hurled at them.
State police were sent Thursday morning in another attempt to remove the illegal settlers from a plot of land that is in litigation. The attempted eviction and subsequent road block took place around 10:00 a.m. Thursday.
Several tire fires were set, not only on the highway, but also on the land around the settlement where they are living. At least six plumes of thick black smoke could be seen from a distance.
Protestors kept the highway closed for nearly two hours, generating a lengthy line of backed up traffic in the process.
Bernabé Pech Ramírez, the General Secretary of the Tulum City Council, said that the protest was due to an eviction carried out by military bodies headed by agents of the Prosecutor’s Office.
He said authorities talked to the protesters in order to clear the area.
“We call on citizens to be patient with us. We are addressing the issue. The issue regarding the blockade that is currently taking place will be resolved very soon,” he said late Thursday morning regarding the road block.
It was the second eviction attempt this month of the illegal settlement the squatters have self-named Tren Maya. Two weeks ago, police arrived for the first eviction attempt, however, the squatters gathered in numbers and refused to leave.