This handout picture released by the Mexican Federal Environmental Attorney’s office shows hatchlings of hicotea turtles (Trachemys venusta) rescued in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas state, Mexico on June 19, 2025. Authorities rescued 3,427 turtle hatchlings and arrested a man accused of illegal wildlife trafficking in the Mexican state of Chiapas
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican authorities said Friday they had rescued over 3,400 protected baby turtles stuffed into cardboard boxes set to be trafficked.
During a roadblock in the southern state of Chiapas, agents found the critters “in overcrowded conditions” in boxes in a vehicle whose driver was arrested on wildlife trafficking charges, the environmental protection prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The baby animals were freshwater Meso-American sliders, native to Mexico, Central America and Colombia.
“The specimens were transported without documentation proving their legal origin, which constitutes a violation of environmental regulations,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The turtles were taken to a specialised unit for rehabilitation and to determine whether they can be released back into the wild.
