Data obtained through transparency requests from Caminos y Puentes Federales (CAPUFE) reveals that between January 1, 2020, and June 20, 2026, a total of 8,541 toll booth takeovers were documented across Mexico under the guise of social protest.
Among all states, Sonora stands out as the most affected, accumulating 3,856 takeovers—equivalent to 45 percent of the national total over the six-year period.
Key highlights from the report include:
The Most Affected Plazas: The five plazas de cobro with the highest number of takeovers nationwide are all located in Sonora along the Estación Don–Nogales highway:
Esperanza (8.2%)
Fundación
Estación Don-La Jaula
Hermosillo (7.3%)
Guaymas (7.2%)
National Ranking: Following Sonora, the highway connecting Cuernavaca to Acapulco ranks second with 13% of the events, while the México–Querétaro highway accounts for 7.4%.
Evolution of the Phenomenon: The highest volumes of takeovers occurred in 2020 (5,329 events) and 2021 (2,233 events), driven largely by movements such as Libre Tránsito and community groups in northern Mexico. Incidents experienced a sharp decline starting in 2022.
The recurring seizures have resulted in multi-million-peso losses for federal infrastructure revenues, prompting ongoing debates regarding institutional responses and security along major federal transportation corridors.
This video provides additional details regarding the transparency data and the investigation into the toll booth takeovers across the country.
Source: https://www.milenio.com
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