Mexico's INAH officials accused of destroying Maya monuments in Balam Tun park

Archaeologists and researchers from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) filed a criminal complaint with the Federal Prosecutor's Office (FGR) in Quintana Roo, demanding an investigation into the alleged destruction of at least 47 Maya archaeological monuments during the construction of the Parque de la Memoria Balam Tun. The complaint names 26 INAH officials, including former director Diego Prieto Hernández and Tren Maya salvage project director Manuel Pérez Rivas, and lists six possible crimes: destruction of monuments, falsification and fraud of archaeological assets, malpractice, illicit exercise of public service, collusion among public servants, and misuse of authority.

The investigators presented extensive evidence—technical inspections, photographs, maps, and expert testimony—and called for an independent, transparent probe. The park is not yet open to the public, and the accused stress that the action is not against public infrastructure per se but seeks to determine whether national and international heritage protection laws were violated.