Mexico’s environment ministry confirms illegal forest clearing in Chetumal as Semarnat blocks Sedena project, setting a rare precedent for Army works.
The Mexican Environment Ministry has denied an environmental permit for a nearly completed Army complex on the edge of Chetumal, ruling that the project advanced after illegal forest clearing and without proper payment of fees. Environmental groups say the decision marks the first time the federal authority has refused authorization to a Sedena project in Quintana Roo that was already almost built.
The complex sits at the main entrance to Chetumal, in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, next to the new international airport operated by the Army-run Grupo Mundo Maya. According to a recent investigation by Animal Político, the project was already around 75 percent complete when the Defense Ministry formally sought environmental authorization.
Officially, the project is designed to house a Military Police unit and two National Guard companies of 120 troops each, along with support and maintenance infrastructure. It covers more than 74,000 square meters and requires a change of land use on 45,531 square meters of medium sub-evergreen jungle. Local press reports cited in the case describe a residential complex of 28 homes and seven four-storey buildings, with an investment of about 79 million pesos.
Semarnat’s own inspectors confirmed that 4.55 hectares of forest had already been cleared on the site before any environmental process began. By the time the Army filed its paperwork, the main buildings were “almost completely” constructed, according to the resolution issued on 13 August.
Semarnat blocks Sedena project
In its ruling, the Environment Ministry, known as Semarnat, applies Article 35 of Mexico’s General Law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection. The article allows the agency to deny a permit when a project violates legal requirements, including the basic rule that authorization must be obtained before work begins.
A lawyer with the organization Territorios Diversos para la Vida (Terravida) told Animal Político that the case sends an “encouraging” message to communities that defend their territory. The group argues that the Army has followed a “build first, legalize later” pattern across the Yucatán Peninsula, from quarries that supply the Tren Maya to new military hotels and airports, and that this is the first time Semarnat has drawn a clear line.
The same pattern has been documented in the Tren Maya works, the Mundo Maya hotels and the Tulum airport, where environmental permits arrived after large parts of the projects were already underway. In those cases, the federal government eventually regularized the works. In Chetumal, Semarnat instead chose to deny authorization and point directly to violations of environmental law and missing payments for the full evaluation of the project’s impact statement.
For Terravida and other groups, what happens in Chetumal goes beyond one Army base. They want the decision to guide how Semarnat evaluates Puerta al Mar. This Sedena mega project cuts across the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve and has already drawn complaints over mangrove clearing and works without permits.
What happens next in Chetumal
Semarnat’s resolution not only refuses the permit. It also orders Sedena to turn to the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection, Profepa, the agency that can investigate and sanction works built without authorization. The document notes that vegetation has already been removed and that there is “a major advance” in construction, which means any remedy will have to include both sanctions and restoration measures.
Profepa is the federal watchdog in charge of enforcing environmental law, including inspections and sanctions when projects damage forests, protected areas or wildlife. The agency, which operates under Semarnat but has technical autonomy, can impose fines, order the suspension or closure of works and demand actions to repair damaged ecosystems, according to its official mandate.
Environmental lawyers consulted by Animal Político say Profepa now faces a key test. One of them, Irma Morales Cruz, from the group Defendiendo el Derecho a un Medio Ambiente Sano (DMAS), argued that the agency must not only punish the illegal clearing but also spell out concrete steps for restoring the affected jungle and monitoring the site over time. Activists have promised to keep watching the case, warning that public attention will be crucial to ensure that the ruling does not remain on paper.
For communities in Quintana Roo, the decision has a double meaning. On the one hand, it confirms that the Army advanced a project without respecting environmental rules in a state that has already seen intense pressure from tourism and infrastructure development. On the other hand, it opens the possibility that military mega projects can no longer count on automatic approval once they are already built.
Whether this becomes a real turning point will depend on what Profepa does next and how Semarnat handles future applications from Sedena, including Puerta al Mar. For now, the nearly finished complex at the entrance to Chetumal stands as a concrete example of what can happen when a powerful federal actor moves ahead without permits—and when environmental authorities choose, for once, to say no.
