Members of the Kumiai indigenous community gathered at the base of Cerro Cuchumá in Tecate on Sunday, April 12, to protest dynamite blasting by the U.S. government on the sacred mountain. The blasting, part of ongoing border wall construction, is destroying a conservation area that holds archaeological sites, endemic species, and a watershed that feeds Tecate’s water supply. The protest drew activists, citizens, and members of other indigenous groups, including the Nahua, to the foot of the mountain where Avenida México ends and the border wall begins.
“Imagine that mountain is a church for us,” said Norma Alicia Meza, a Kumiai community member. “Imagine they destroy the Guadalupe church. That is what is happening to us.”
Cerro Cuchumá: Sacred Site, Conservation Area, and Water Source
Cerro Cuchumá rises directly over the city of Tecate, straddling the international border. About 70% of the mountain sits on the Mexican side. Mexico’s federal government has designated the site as Intangible Cultural Heritage (Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial), a recognition of its deep spiritual importance to the Kumiai people, whose ancestral territory spans both sides of the border from Baja California into what is now San Diego County.
The Kumiai have used Cuchumá’s summit for ceremonial purposes for centuries. Shamanic ceremonies performed there are believed to maintain spiritual balance between nature and people. The mountain also hosts spring equinox celebrations and coming-of-age initiation rites for Kumiai youth. Fabián Xiuhcuautli, a member of the Nahua community who joined Sunday’s protest, called the site one of five sacred mountains in the world.
Beyond its spiritual role, Cuchumá is an ecological linchpin. The mountain’s 510-hectare system of chaparral and rocky terrain supports at least 58 bird species on its slopes, with more than 120 species in the surrounding area. These include raptors, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, hawks, owls, swallows, and thrushes. Many are migratory species that depend on binational wildlife corridors running north and south across the border.
The mountain also plays a critical role in Tecate’s water supply. The Tecate River Special Committee, a binational body focused on the shared watershed, has warned that physical barriers in streambeds and critical wetlands degrade the ecosystem’s ability to filter and regulate water flow into the Tecate River. Wall construction in these zones, the committee says, compromises the health of the entire binational watershed and will increase long-term costs for water management and sanitation on both sides.
1990s Mobilization Stopped Previous Destruction
This is not the first time Cuchumá has faced demolition for border infrastructure. Meza recalled that in the 1990s, U.S. authorities attempted to blast rock from the mountain to extend the border line through the area. The Kumiai community mobilized and, with support from Tecate’s municipal government, succeeded in halting the destruction.
That precedent looms large over the current protest. But the political landscape has shifted. Environmental groups began documenting the new blasting about a week before the April 12 demonstration. When pressed about the situation during her daily press conference on April 10, President Claudia Sheinbaum offered a brief response: the Foreign Ministry (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores) and the Culture Ministry (Secretaría de Cultura) are “reviewing the case.” She provided no timeline and announced no diplomatic action.
The contrast with the 1990s is stark. In that decade, local government actively backed the indigenous community’s resistance. Today, the Kumiai are asking for the same kind of support but have so far received only a vague federal acknowledgment.
Tecate’s Water Supply and Wildlife Corridors at Risk
If you live in or visit Tecate, the practical stakes go beyond cultural preservation. The Tecate River watershed is the city’s primary water source. Tecate already faces water stress common across Baja California’s northern border cities. Disrupting the natural filtration capacity of the Cuchumá watershed could worsen supply problems and drive up treatment costs.
The wall construction also severs wildlife corridors that conservation biologists on both sides of the border have spent decades trying to protect. Chaparral ecosystems in this region are globally rare, found only in a handful of Mediterranean-climate zones. The species that move through Cuchumá’s corridors, including protected raptors and pollinators, depend on uninterrupted habitat that the wall would permanently fragment.
Hikers and outdoor visitors who know Cuchumá as a popular trail destination near downtown Tecate should be aware that active blasting is occurring on the U.S. side of the mountain. Access to trails on the Mexican side may be affected by proximity to construction zones.
The Kumiai community has asked that if the U.S. proceeds with wall construction, it find an alternative method that does not destroy the mountain. No such alternative has been proposed. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry and Culture Ministry have given no public update since Sheinbaum’s April 10 comments. This story was first reported by Punto Norte.