Municipal environmental inspectors in Los Cabos shut down a property in El Romerillal, near the town of Miraflores, on Tuesday after residents reported unauthorized land clearing and helicopter flights carrying construction materials toward the Sierra de la Laguna biosphere reserve.
Inspectors from the Dirección de Ecología (Municipal Ecology Department) found evidence of illegal clearing and earth movement on forested land. The property lacked environmental permits, and no species relocation plan or rescue nursery was in place, both of which are required under Mexican environmental law. The site was formally closed pending further investigation.
Helicopters Spotted Ferrying Materials Toward the Reserve
The closure was triggered by citizen complaints about helicopter operations at the site, roughly 3.8 kilometers from the reserve boundary. Residents reported seeing helicopters ferry construction materials in the direction of the Sierra de la Laguna, a federally protected biosphere reserve that serves as the primary watershed for the Los Cabos municipality.
El Romerillal sits in the rural interior between Miraflores and the Sierra de la Laguna, an area that has drawn growing scrutiny as development pressure expands beyond the coastal corridor. The reserve covers more than 112,000 hectares and is home to endemic species found nowhere else on the peninsula.
Mayor Agúndez Takes Public Stand Against Reserve Development
The enforcement action follows a week of escalating public tension over development near the reserve. On Saturday, May 9, community groups and Los Cabos residents staged a peaceful protest outside the Palacio Municipal, demanding stronger protections for the Sierra de la Laguna ecosystem.
On Monday, May 11, Los Cabos Mayor Christian Agúndez Gómez used a flag ceremony to publicly oppose any development inside the reserve. He confirmed that the municipality had received no construction license applications for the San Miguelito area or any other point within the biosphere reserve. Separate inspections by the Ecology and Urban Development departments also detected removal of native vegetation, earth movement, and illegal construction activity near San Miguelito, according to reporting by El Sudcaliforniano.
What Comes Next
The property in El Romerillal remains sealed. Municipal authorities have not publicly identified the property owner or the intended project. The closure carries potential administrative and criminal penalties under both municipal and federal environmental law.
The Sierra de la Laguna is classified as a biosphere reserve under Mexico’s CONANP (National Commission of Natural Protected Areas), meaning any construction or land modification inside or adjacent to its boundaries requires federal environmental impact authorization in addition to local permits.
This story was first reported by the Los Cabos municipal government and El Sudcaliforniano.