Agencies coordinate transfer and administrative procedures
The Navy's Secretariat (Semar) participated alongside the INM, the Attorney General's Office (FGR), the National Guard (GN), the State Investigation Police (PEI) and Yucatán's Secretariat of Public Safety (SSPY). Navy personnel guarded the site while the other agencies carried out their duties under established protocols.
Officials said both people reached the INM's regional offices safely and that their administrative cases were being handled in accordance with Mexican migration law and human rights standards. Authorities characterized the joint operation as part of federal and state cooperation to maintain regional order and provide humanitarian assistance regardless of nationality.
The Mérida office handles an average of 350 people daily, Luis Felipe Esperón Villanueva, head of the INM delegation in Yucatán, said in May 2026. Cuban, Venezuelan and Colombian nationals were among its largest groups of users, according to Yucatán Independiente.
A recurring inspection site on the Mérida-Cancún highway
The checkpoint is beneath the Teya bridge in Kanasín, Yucatán, on Federal Highway 180, which connects Mérida and Cancún. CiberCuba describes it as one of the state's busiest migration control points, where the INM periodically conducts operations supported by the Navy, National Guard and other federal and state agencies.
Several similar operations have taken place there in 2026. Two Colombian men, ages 33 and 48, were taken into custody on August 18, according to El Universal. On August 22, authorities detained three Cuban citizens: two men and a woman.
More recently, vehicle inspections on October 16 and 17 identified a 55-year-old Colombian man and a 17-year-old Cuban girl who lacked documents establishing their regular immigration status, PorEsto reported.
Federal agencies also continue routine patrols and checkpoint inspections along major transportation routes elsewhere on the Yucatán Peninsula, authorities said.
Migration figures for Yucatán
Mexico's Secretariat of the Interior (Segob) reported that authorities took 54 migrants into custody in Yucatán during the first quarter of 2026, most of them Venezuelan or Cuban. The state's 2025 total was 231, representing 0.24% of the national figure and placing Yucatán 18th among states, according to El Universal.
In its regional reporting, CiberCuba identifies Yucatán as a major corridor for irregular Cuban migration into Mexico. Those routes include overland travel and sea crossings by rafters through the Yucatán Channel.
The same outlet cited a Human Rights Watch report published in May 2026 that said the United States deported 4,353 Cubans to Mexico from January 2025 through March 2026. Cubans were the largest nationality group among the 12,977 third-country deportation cases recorded during that period.
