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Reminiscent of an operation to fight delinquency and organized crime, officers from the Federal Investigations Agency and Federal Public Ministry appointed by the Attorney General are launching an offensive against two hotels: Diamante K, owned by Roberto Palazuelos and John Kendall’s Mezzanine. They state that the purpose of their actions is to corroborate that the Profepa’s decision to close down the hotels is not being ignored.

By Veronica Alfonso…The protection order filed by the firm AL&A, Asesoría Legal y Asociados S.C, headed by Virgilio Octavio Gutierrez Arreguin, is intended to make Profepa comply with the resolution signed in the agreement of July 15th, so that business may continue as it was before the hotel was closed down. Gutierrez Arreguin, the hotel’s legal representative, said that six days have already passed and Profepa has still not complied with the order remove the closure notice…el Quintanarroense.

By Maria Cristina de la Cruz. Unofficial sources revealed that the protection orders are being studied, and there will soon be new rulings that might favor the petitioner, and therefore disfavor the Profepa. The Profepa closed down seven hotels and warned that it would sue those hotels that ignored their actions, while the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced the demolition of three lodgings for violation of the Decree that created Tulum’s National Park and, among other things, for not having made the necessary land and environmental impact studies…Quequi.

By Victor Flores. After a federal judge’s ruling against the Profepa’s decision to close down two hotels in Tulum, the president of Cancun’s Hotels Association, Jesus Almaguer Salazar, stated that the Profepa’s exaggerated actions in a vulnerable context like that of the tourism industry, only hurt the country and don’t solve anything, stating that it’s a shame that situations like these cannot be resolved through dialogue, but rather depend on a judge and an excess of public force. In that respect he also added that we’ve asked the Secretary of Tourism Rodolfo Elizondo to intervene. Almaguer Salazar assured “we’re not asking for immunity, but rather investment security and that the destination’s image not be tainted, since here is where 41% of the country’s tourism capital are generated…” Quequi.

By Angel Euan. After the Profepa’s recent accusations against two hotels that had been closed down and yet continued operations, officers from the Federal Public Ministry, accompanied by two experts and three secretaries, initiated an investigation. Just days after the Profepa’s Luis Jorge Morales Arjona announced that a report had been filed at the Attorney General’s office against the owners or representatives of hotels Diamante K, owned by the actor Roberto Palazuelos, and Mezzanine, owned by the American John Kendall, who continued business despite having been closed down…Por Esto.

By Veronica Alfonso…The inspection was carried out at approximately 12:30 pm, when seven employees from the Attorney General’s Office began touring the premises, first Diamante K, owned by Roberto Palazuelos, where they introduced themselves as officers from the Public Ministry instructed to comply with a judicial order, and provided no further information to the managers of the 30-room hotel. They later headed to the hotel Mezzanine, owned by American John Kendall, where they proceeded in the same fashion, making sure that the 15 closure notices posted the month before would remain in place, (13 of them for environmental impact reasons and 2 for land use reasons), which the businessmen allegedly lacked…el Quintanarroense.

First the government shut down a series of ecohotels in Tulum, now they’re considering what to do about the consequences of all the bad press they’ve received.

Plan launched to offset Tulum’s bad image. By Veronica Alfonso. The Sub-secretary for Tourism Promotion stated that in order to counter Tulum’s bad press, they are contacting tour operators and travel agencies, so that tourism, especially European, is not affected…The agency said that the main concern from visitors is armed forces, as well as if the archeological area is still open. El Quintanarroense.

Here’s another good one for Tulum…while Profepa is considering demolishing a series of small ecohotels along the coast, the nearby biosphere reserve is being wiped out. What can be done here?!

Sian Ka’an’s destruction goes unpunished. While the Reserve is being destroyed, Profepa continues its crusade in Tulum. Constructions within the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, continue unpunished due to Profepa’s ineffectiveness. Areas of mangrove forest and protected species like the chit palm tree have been wiped out in order to raise concrete masses, with the consent of environmental authorities. Mansions like Casa Palancar, once Casa Rubi, owned by Hollywood actress Yvette Mimieux Montemayor, or Casa David were projects allowed in the protected area. Por Esto.

Two more hotels closed down. By Romana Mora. The Profepa has already closed down eight buildings and two more have been summoned and will be sanctioned accordingly. At approximately 10 am on Thursday Profepa officers arrived at the National Park for the third consecutive day, after Tuesday’s inspection of the premises Zazil kin, La Vita e Bella and La Condesa to corroborate environmental impact, federal zones, and soil use in forest areas. The investigation ended at 11 pm that same day. La Vita e Bella and la Condesa both had 80% occupancy at the time of the event. The manager of La Condesa was not informed that he should ask his guests to leave, and he was willing to reimburse all guests, for fear that he would receive further sanctions from federal authorities for continuing business. Por Esto.