Accompanied by the collective and feminists, they completely blocked access, leaving the two lanes open, which hindered traffic in the area, affecting more than 160 public transport units.
Members of the “Searching Mothers” collective blocked one of the access lanes to the tourist area of Cancún for 18 hours, demanding the arrest of a man accused of sexually abusing his daughter.
The demand includes the dismissal of the head of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Sexual Crimes of Quintana Roo, Nathaly Robertos, who is accused of allegedly conspiring with aggressors and people posing as activists to negotiate matters in exchange for money.
The protest began last night for the case of Melissa, a Colombian citizen and mother of a child victim of abuse. The father of the child, an Italian named Maurizzio N., is accused as the probable perpetrator.
Accompanied by the collective and feminists, they completely blocked access to the tourist area, leaving the two lanes open, which hindered traffic in the area, affecting more than 160 public transport units and more than 30,000 people from last night to today.
Yesterday, after intense negotiations by the Benito Juárez city council, the girl was returned to her mother, but now Melissa feels that her daughter and she are still in danger, as her aggressor is free.
Therefore, they demand that the procedure to issue an arrest warrant against Maurizzio be initiated and that he will be detained, or the blockade will not be lifted.
Two other cases related to matters handled by the same prosecutor, Nathaly Robertos, were added to Melissa’s case.
One involves another girl, also a victim of sexual abuse, allegedly by her father, Rolando S, who was granted custody in February of this year.
Rolando faced accusations of family and psychological violence, to the detriment of Alejandra G, a woman from Argentina and mother of the minor, who also reported him for sexually assaulting her daughter.
Alejandra, who has been living here since 2019, recounted that the prosecutor granted a protection order in her and her daughter’s favor, upon verification of the abuses they suffered.
However, unexpectedly, the official ended up leaving the girl in the hands of the father—identified as the aggressor—under the argument that the family court granted him custody of the minor.
The third case is that of Jair Zoel, father of a four-year-old girl, whose custody is being fought over by the mother of the child, who accuses him of exercising vicarious violence, which he denies.
Jair claims that his ex-partner allegedly takes advantage of advances that allow greater protection for women to tip the scales in her favor.
The roadblock extended today, throughout the morning, affecting traffic in the area and the streets and avenues of the city center that lead to the hotel zone.
Business owners condemned the measure, which damages the image and economy of Cancún, and pressured the authorities to act. Several employees commuting to their workplaces lashed out at the women, insulting them.
The general secretary of the city council, Antonio Riveroll, remained at the site, calling for dialogue and trying to convince the searching mothers to lift the blockade.
Finally, he informed them that he had been notified by the General Prosecutor’s Office of Quintana Roo (FGE) that the arrest warrant against Maurizzio N. had been issued and that the prosecutor Nathaly Robertos had been relieved of the three cases, but not of her position.
He then asked them to leave, but María Patrón, founder of Searching Mothers, clarified, after discussing it with Melissa, Alejandra, and Jair, that they would not do so until Maurizzio is detained and the prosecutor is removed from her position, as even if she does not directly oversee the three cases, she could act similarly in others.
The agreement was to partially open the access lane to the hotel zone and place a fence with police and another with barriers around the sit-in—for the women’s safety—but not to withdraw entirely.
After 14 hours, part of the lane was opened, which improved traffic in the area.
Source: El Universal
