The Mexican Police stop illegal works in the archaeological zone of Teotihuacán

By: MRT Desk

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La Policía mexicana detiene obras ilegales en la zona arqueológica de Teotihuacán

Mexican police authorities detained an individual for his alleged responsibility in the illegal construction of works that would have caused damage in the archaeological zone of Teotihuacán, site where the most visited pyramids in that nation are located.

Through an anonymous complaint, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) learned that in a property located in the municipality of Teotihuacán, in the State of Mexico, which is part of a protected area of ​​monuments declared World Heritage by UNESCO, there were people who carried out “excavation and removal of soil, subsoil and grotto-cave, with heavy machinery“.

There, a citizen identified as René ‘M’ claimed to be the owner of that land, but could not show the INAH officials no authorization to carry out excavation and soil removal works.

The Federal Law on Monuments and Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Zones establishes in article 52, a prison sentence of three to ten years for those who “damage, alter or destroy an archaeological, artistic or historical monument“.

For this reason, a district judge, based in Nezahualcóyotl, issued an arrest warrant against Rene ‘M’, as reported on Wednesday by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) in a press release.

It was this Monday, October 11, that agents of the Federal Ministerial Police (PFM) detained the subject in Teotihuacán and transferred him to the Federal Criminal Justice Center in Nezahualcóyotl.

During the hearing, the judge imposed as preventive measures that René ‘M’ provide an economic guarantee and an address where he can be located while the trial is taking place. Equally, prohibited him from leaving the country and imposed the obligation to appear periodically before the Precautionary Measures Unit.

World Heritage

A presidential decree signed in 1988 ordered the protection and care of 3,381 hectares, 71 areas and eight centiareas of the State of Mexico that include the Teotihuacán Archaeological Monuments Zone, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, as it is the site where one of the largest cities in Mesoamerica settled during pre-Hispanic times.

Teotihuacán is the most visited archaeological zone in Mexico. In a perimeter of 264 hectares, they are open to the public the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and the Quetzalpapálotl Palace, among other monuments.

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