Three months ago, citizens documented that helicopters were carrying construction materials inside La Sierra La Laguna, in Baja California Sur, a protected area and the main water recharge area for the municipalities of La Paz and Los Cabos. Now, the case has reached the Attorney General's Office (FGR) with a criminal complaint for alleged environmental crimes.
Attorney Arturo Rubio Ruiz filed a complaint with the FGR considering that the facts could constitute crimes provided for in articles 414, 415, 418 and 420 of the Federal Criminal Code, related to environmental damage, illegal logging, damage to protected species and management of potentially dangerous substances within a Protected Natural Area.
According to the letter, during the first days of May 2026, between 10 and 20 daily helicopter flights were carried out to transport around 80 steel beams and various construction materials into the reserve. Later, on May 15, a citizen inspection documented steel beams, approximately 200 wooden poles, cement bags, an electric generator, fuel, as well as evidence of dismantling, felling and excavation for foundations.
The complaint alleges that these activities occurred within one of the most important natural areas in the country, a water recharge area, in addition to being an Area of Importance for Bird Conservation (AICA), a Ramsar Site and a habitat for species protected by NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, such as the Xantus hummingbird.
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As part of the evidence, the complainant points out that the representation of the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) in Baja California Sur reported that a legal person acknowledged through a letter that he had carried out the transfer of the material to the site.
Therefore, it requests that the FGR officially require this document, in addition to ordering specialized expertise, securing the property and initiating a research kit to determine if there were criminal liabilities.
The Brotherhood in Harmony A.C. association has promoted various procedures on the Nuestra Señora del Rosario property (Segundo Valle), for the “Sanctuary of Tío Checo”, a controversial conservation project that has been questioned by civil organizations such as the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA), because it would jeopardize the ecological stability of the Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve.
Meanwhile, the Citizens Front for the Defense of Water and Life warned of possible risks to the main source of water supply in southern Baja California Sur.
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In fact, the Environmental Impact Manifestation of the “Sanctuary of Tío Checo” was discarded by Semarnat, considering that the information presented was insufficient to evaluate its environmental impacts.
Meanwhile, Brotherhood in Harmony publicly acknowledged that it was a “mistake” to introduce the materials and attributed that decision to “poor advice”, and committed to removing the metal structures from the Sierra La Laguna.
Now, the FGR will be the body responsible for determining if the transfer of materials and the works reported within the Biosphere Reserve constitute environmental crimes.
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