Tenacatita Bay Beach gate is gone, but Rodenas guards remain

TENACATITA, Jalisco, Mexico - The Tenacatita Bay Beach - once the site of restaurants, shops and various commercial concessions is now open to the public after nearly three years of being closed off.

August 2010 eviction of Tenacatita residents

But the dispute over the properties seized in an armed takeover August 4, 2010 remains. In that morning surprise attack, nearly 800 Mexican citizens and handful of gringos were rousted from homes by police and forced to leave at gunpoint.

Visitors to the beach report that a contingent of heavily armed guards are patrolling the area behind the beach and other adjacent areas where wealthy developer Guadalajara Jose Villalobos claims ownership.

The tearing down of the guard shack and reopening of the public highway to the beach was a cause for great celebration June 2, drawing hundreds of people.

Villalobos

But as jubilant as the crowds were, it's only a first step towards regaining what was once one of the most popular tourist destinations along the Costalegre. The public access is limited to the Federal Zone beach area.

And for now there are no announced plans for rebuilding any restaurants or recreating any of the infrastructure that was destroyed by Villalobos.

Villalobos maintains that he is the legal owner of all the properties his security forced seized in 2010. Some of the property owners are still fighting in court to regain their lands.

Tenacatita Bay Beach in its glory days - before the August 2010 seizure

Gates down, beach access reportedly restored at Tenacatita

TENACATITA, Jalisco, Mexico - The message board in La Manzanilla is reporting that the Checkpoint Charlie bottleneck that kept the public from the Tenacatita Beach has been removed.

Here is the link to the La Manzanilla Board: La Manz Board - Tenacatita Fence is Down

Reports say this gate and the thug guards have been removed

 The land was seized by the Rodenas Corporation (and its politically well-connected owner Jose Villalobos of Guadalajara) in a  violent takeover August 4, 2010.

In the surprise attack and armed takeover, nearly 800 Mexican citizens - and few gringos - were rousted from homes by 200 police and forced to leave at gunpoint.

Their possessions were seized, stores looted. A few household items were returned later.

A number of unarmed people were hurt in the assault, though none of the armed men who assaulted the property owners were arrested or convicted.

What the opening of the beach means for people whose property was seized has yet to be determined.

Tenacatita Beach and the loss of a Mexican community

TENACATITA, Jalisco, Mexico - The very dateline on this story raises a question. Is there even a village called Tenacatita anymore?

The nearby village of Rebalsito survived the armed onslaught that swallowed Tenacatita Beach nearly three years ago. But what of the actual community, named for the bay and residing on the tiny slip of land now occupied by armed invaders hired by the Rodenas Corporation?

Welcome to the Tenacatita Beach "access"

Rereading posts of the Tenacatita Bay Bugle in the months leading up to the seizure by the forces paid by Jose Villalobos of Guadalajara, you can see there is optimism for a Tenacatita that would have most likely continued on its prosperous course.

The restaurants and commercial activity had never been as evident or growing as fast. There was lots of new paint, new buildings, small markets, new plantings of trees and lots and lots of tourists.

And then poof, thanks to greed, power and a lot of guns, Tenacatita (the village, the community) disappeared almost overnight.

There is continued talk that the Mexican judicial system will eventually oust Villalobos and the aggressive armed guards who keep Mexicans and gringos alike from having anything remotely resembling normal free access to the public beach and land that once held a community.

Perhaps.

But in the meantime, the question remains: Is there still a Tenacatita community or did Villalobos manage to destroy it along with all the businesses and homes his bulldozers turned to rubble?

Happy times, before Tenacatita Beach was seized by a Guadalajara developer

Tenacatita lawsuits over illegal land seizures likely over for most plaintiffs

TENACATITA, Jalisco, Mexico - The stalag-like gates, barbed wire, surly unshaven guards with machine guns and the barking attack dogs will likely remain in place now, keeping the public (and legitimate landowners) from going back to the beautiful beaches here, once enjoyed by thousands.

Many of the people who sued the Rodenas Corporation (and its politically well-connected owner Jose Villalobos of Guadalajara) for its illegal - and violent - takeover of land August 4, 2010 learned this week their lawsuits have been heard and legal arguments turned down by the courts.

Three legal cases (of many filed) might be able to move forward.

In the surprise attack and armed takeover, nearly 800 Mexican citizens - and few gringos - were rousted from homes by 200 police and forced to leave at gunpoint.

Their possessions were seized, stores looted. A few household items were returned later.

A number of unarmed people were hurt in the assault, though none of the armed men who assaulted the property owners were arrested or convicted.

The bad news for the plaintiffs - whose property was taken - came after nearly two years of litigation. They learned that their amparo cases have been thrown out and attorneys say there really doesn't seem to be any further avenues for appeal. Many non-Mexicans had purchased properties along the ocean. A few had built houses and in one case a small RV park. One of those houses is being used as a headquarters for the guards.

In Mexico, guns, money and political influence seems to have overruled good public policy and potentially good relations with future investors.

Villalobos has indicated he wants to build a golf course and resort along the scenic beach, but investors apparently are shy about contributing to his dream. Perhaps it's having their cars searched on the way in to look at the property, lunging guard dogs or the guards themselves.

Below is a photo of the armed gunmen evicting some of residents of Tenacatita in 2010. Many of the evictees hold titles on their land, signed by the President of Mexico.

Courts make rulings, but the gates at Tenacatita stay up

TENACATITA, Jalisco, Mexico - Although Mexican courts have been ruling against Jose Villalobos and his forced takeover of Tenacatita, the gates, the guards, the fences and the attack dogs remain.

In that takeover August 4, 2010, nearly 800 Mexican citizens were roused from homes by 200 police and forced to leave at gunpoint. Their possessions were seized, stores looted. A few household items were returned later.

A number of unarmed people were hurt in the assault.

Most recently, people are the area were heartened by Villalobos' loss of the federal concession to the beach. There was a great deal of speculation that he would have to open the beach by Semana Santa, then the speculation said maybe April 30.

But since then, everything remains status quo. Anyone trying to get to the beach still has to pass through an ugly chain link checkpoint, where unpleasant guards carrying automatic weapons demand to search cars, require that identification be left at the guard shack and generally act as though anyone headed to the beach is a suspect.

Here is a brief report posted on the People's Guide to Mexico:
People's Guide to Mexico

In the meantime, some individual lawsuits, brought by American and Canadian landowners (whose oceanfront properties were seized by hundreds of armed guards in the employ of Villalobos) have had hearings in Guadalajara courts.

Rulings on their requests for amparos (injunctions) are pending.

Here is a photo of what Tenacatita Bay Beach looked like before Villalobos seized it and bulldozed the many restaurants and concessionaire facilities there.

Happier days, before the illegal seizure by Jose Villalobos