Mexico has expropriated more than 50,000 hectares of land owned by Vulcan Materials near Playa del Carmen, Mexico, home to the company’s Punta Venado Port and Sac Tun Quarry.
To support the confiscation of the property, the Mexican government claimed it was invoking constitutional article 27, which states that, “The nation will always have the right to impose on private property the modalities dictated by the public interest.and that the State will dictate the measures necessary to regulate human settlements and establish adequate provisions, uses, reserves and destinations of lands, waters and forests (…) to preserve and restore the ecological balance as well as to prevent the destruction of natural elements and the damage that property may suffer to the detriment of society.”
In a statement, Vulcan Materials declared, “We are aware of President Andres Manuel López Obrador’s expropriation of the Punta Venado Port and our Sac Tun Quarry near Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The most recent action – formally declaring our land and port a Natural Protected Area – follows a series of threats and actions by his administration against our permitted and lawful operations in Mexico.
“The expropriation of our company owned land and port is yet another escalation and is a new violation of Mexico’s commitments under North American trade agreements, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and other applicable investment treaties. This unlawful measure will have a chilling and long-term effect on U.S.- Mexico trade and investment relations. This action robs us of our land use and we intend to defend ourselves using all available legal avenues.”
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) released the following statement regarding the illegal action:
“President López Obrador’s seizure of Vulcan’s deep-water port represents a flagrant expropriation of a lawfully permitted, U.S.-owned operation, and his administration’s assault on the rule of law is putting America’s economic and national security interests in jeopardy. We have repeatedly warned him that there would be substantial ramifications if his administration crossed this line. As he attempts to execute this lame duck scheme, he will now quickly learn that we keep our promises. The incoming Mexican administration will not want to pay the crushing consequences for President López Obrador’s illegal actions, which violate both Mexican and international law, and we encourage them to intervene with all due haste in the mutually beneficial interest of both the Mexican and American people.”
Recently a bipartisan group of senators introduced the “Defending American Property Abroad Act,” which would impose retaliatory prohibitions against the government of Mexico if it attempts to profit from the seizure of Vulcan Materials’ property and port facility in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
The proposed legislation would prohibit any vessel using infrastructure or ports seized from a U.S. company in the Western Hemisphere from entering U.S. ports. Additionally, the bill mandates that the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identify and ban such ports from U.S. trade. It also requires the U.S. Trade Representative to address such expropriations during the 2026 review of the USMCA.