Mexico raids building project next to Teotihuacán pyramids

FILE – In this March 19, 2020 file photo, the Pyramid of the Moon, left, and the Pyramid of the Sun, back right, are seen along with smaller structures lining the Avenue of the Dead, in Teotihuacan, Mexico. The Mexican government said Tuesday, May 25, 2021, that a private building project is destroying part of the outskirts of the pre-Hispanic ruin site of Teotihuacan, just north of Mexico City. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has sent in 250 National Guard troops and 60 police officers to seize a plot of land next to the pre-Hispanic ruins of Teotihuacan where authorities say bulldozers were destroying outlying parts of the archeological site.

Archaeological officials reported last week that they had been trying since March to halt the private construction project, but work continued.

Local media say the landowners were trying to build some sort of amusement park.

On Monday, the National Guard helped authorities put up seizure notices.

That allows prosecutors to take control of the plot while those responsible for the work are investigated for criminal charges of “irreparably damaging” the national heritage.