Violent Raid in Paradise

Dec. 7, 2009 - PRLog -- The agents then proceeded to oversee the removal of all furniture and fittings from, what were just minutes earlier, a stunning 22-room hotel. Barbed wire was erected in addition to wire fences and barricades along the beach and road.  To the owner, Ken Wolfe an American expatriate, this sudden invasion by state police came without warning and without any legal papers or other basis for action.

Wolfe, left stunned, speaks of the incident as if it was a nightmare. “Imagine a hotel full of guests being told to get out onto the street after dark by armed police,” he said. “No legal process, no notification, just a raid at night without warning.”

The raid on Wolfe’s property is just another warning flag with regards to ownership of real estate in Mexico, and especially along its beautiful coastline: news that has proven to be hazardous for foreign investors. Another local hotel owner, Juan Torres from Jade Hotel, says a pattern may seem to be emerging. “You may remember the government attempts to close Hotel Mezzanine and Diamante K using armed military in July last year, Torres says. The combatants in this action involved one of Mexico's wealthiest families, the Garze Ponce clan from Monterrey who own, among other assets, the massive Superior Beer brewing company. Examples like these show that wealth and power in Mexico still tend to overshadow legal possession and ownership rights of property.

Mexico still condones the use of shotgun and Uzi-toting police in kevlar vests to do the bidding of the rich and powerful. Such ploys have not only terrified tourists and American investors out of their hotels and private properties. They have also contributed poorly to the world view of Mexico as a country that is out of control.

John Kendall, a hotelier with many years experience in Tulum claims “enough is enough. It is just not right for the government of Mexico to allow this type of clandestine, military action to occur when someone fabricates a legal pretext to take someone's property. It will ruin investment and tourism in Tulum, not to mention the rest of Mexico."

Mexico’s President Calderon has attempted to counter the stigma of Mexico as a state of anarchy, however the nation’s own police, in illegal raids such as these, are counteracting such progress. Legal processes and the rights of owners and investors seem to have fallen by the wayside. “We have owned the land legally for five years and this is the first time we ever heard anything of a title dispute,” said Wolfe. “Mexico really needs to lift its game and protect legitimate foreign investors from this type of bullying.”

In an attempt to emerge proudly from third world status, Mexico’s ownership and title laws – those which are supposed to provide safety and security to both investors and Mexican nationals alike – seem to be standing dangerously in the way.

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