A dozen or so Jalisco state police officers have been assigned to Tenacatita to ensure no one enters any of the deserted properties in the zone and that visitors do not stray from the sandy beach.
These same auxiliares manned a gate blocking the access road (referred to by some locals as “Checkpoint Charlie”) for almost three years, stopping tourists wanting to visit the beach and often searching their vehicles. Now the checkpoint has been removed, one presumes the “official” state cops are there for two reasons: to ensure locals do not try and reclaim their properties or return to their former labors catering to tourists, and, secondly, ensure that the private guards do not abuse their authority, as they have been accused of in the past.
According to Melaque resident John Jankovsky, who visited the beach a day after the checkpoint was removed, visitors are being “herded to a parking spot on the sand where the highway meets the beach road (which is still closed off).”
He adds: “The two small armies on the beach make for a strange visit. However, the locals visiting the area were catching fish with nets, diving for lobsters and octopus, walking hand-in-hand, and seemed deliriously happy.”