| Despite months of speculation locally that US developer Donald Trump plans a 'mega- development' on Cozumel's east coast, the Trump Organization was silent this week, refusing to respond to enquiries. |  |
Local Mexican media claim Trump was invited by Cozumel Mayor, Gustavo Ortega Joaquín, to create a development including some 4,000 hotel rooms, condos, a golf course and landing strip on land that has - until now - been protected for environmental reasons.
Ortega Joaquín said the Trump family is "very interested" in the project but that nothing has yet been signed.
Unconfirmed rumors have suggested that Trump himself flew to Cozumel to visit Ortega Joaquín and scope out plans. Some even say that he contributed to a recent highway widening program so he will have better access for his heavy construction machinery.
This week, the Trump Organization refused to respond, let alone confirm whether they are considering a development in Cozumel. One real estate professional in Cozumel said this could lead people to believe the story is speculation to drive up island property prices.
Sources close to the matter have told This is Cozumel that it may not be Donald Trump himself fronting the project, but his ex-wife Ivana and son Donald Jr. Either way, many locals and tourists to the island are concerned at the prospect of a major real estate development in a supposedly environmentally-protected part of the island.
 Unspoilt East Coast beaches. |
As well as endangered vegetation and fauna, the beaches near the alleged development are the nesting ground of protected turtles.
These endangered species have been coming to Cozumel to lay their eggs since well before Trump was even a twinkle in his parents' eyes. |
Trump is no stranger to controversy and has developed projects in environmentally sensitive areas before, always seeking to persuade the local population that economic and employment advantages will outweigh environmental damage.
In Cozumel, it seems he has Ortega Joaquín to champion his cause too. Ortega Joaquín hasn't been afraid of upsetting environmentalists in his mission to develop the island's economy since Hurricane Wilma. He has personally supported ecologically-controversial projects such as the destruction of virgin mangrove and jungle to build new highways and the extraction of sand from the seabed to rebuild hotel beaches.
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