The Mexican plant of a construction company in Alabama was attacked by troops

A US construction company’s plant in Mexico was raided by Mexican security forces and taken over by a competitor, marking a new low in a year-long string of operations in the country.

Vulcan Materials Co, the billionaire company based in Birmingham, Alabama, said its port terminal in Playa del Carmen, southern Mexico, was taken over by military units and workers from Cemex, a Mexican cement company.

Footage from surveillance cameras at the site showed armed troops entering through a wire gate before a convoy of police, military officials and Cemex plants poured in.

Cemex then unloaded a cargo of cement from a ship in the port. The cargo was unloaded on Friday and Mexican authorities have since maintained control of the site — with no indication of when they will leave, Vulcan said.

Vulcan CEO J. Thomas Hill has written to Mexico’s Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, urging the government to “immediately order its armed forces and officials to vacate our private property.”

Vulcan Chairman and CEO J. Thomas Hill (left) has written to Mexico’s Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, urging the government to “immediately order its armed forces and officials to vacate our private property.”

Surveillance footage captured the moment a large group of Mexican troops, armed police and Cemex workers gathered outside the compound before breaking in to receive a delivery of cement

Armed police officers were trucked into Vulcan’s port terminal in Playa del Carmen, southern Mexico

The incident follows a five-year struggle with the government over Vulcan’s concessions, which was punctuated last year by harsh criticism from the country’s president.

The company has been unable to mine and ship construction materials since the Mexican government suspended operations last May over concerns about the harmful effects of underwater limestone mining on the local environment and water tables.

Mr Hill’s letter, sent on Thursday, added: “The government’s involvement in this gross violation of our property rights is another example of the government’s arbitrary and unlawful treatment of Vulcan and its investments in Mexico. This occupation must be hired immediately.’

A statement from Vulcan, which distributes crushed stone as well as asphalt and ready-mixed concrete, added: “We are shocked by Cemex and the Mexican government agencies who have facilitated this reckless and reprehensible armed seizure of our private property.”

Cemex defended its actions on Monday, saying it was backed by a local court and a recent prosecutor’s order. The company cited a two-decade-old contract with a local Vulcan entity that allows it to use the terminal.

The company added that an order from prosecutors granted it access to the port terminal premises and that authorities enforced it on March 14. This, Cemex said, followed what the company described as months of failed negotiations with the Vulcan entity.

Mexico’s security ministry has not commented.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has previously claimed the impact of Vulcan’s activities in Mexico is an “ecological disaster.”

Vulcan has not said how last week’s action was illegal or who currently controls the terminal. The company also alleges that a government decision last year to halt its operations was unlawful.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said she raised the dispute with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard during an official trip to the country last month.

“This forcible confiscation of private property is unlawful and unacceptable. It’s shameful that this Mexican presidential administration would rather confiscate American assets than the fentanyl that kills hundreds of Americans a day,” she told Fox News.

Senator Katie Britt, R-Ala. and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe were among those who criticized the raid

The raid is the latest development in the long-running dispute over Vulcan’s operations in Mexico, which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has described as an “ecological disaster.”

“President Biden needs to raise this directly with President López Obrador and reassure the American people that this will not be tolerated.

“The effects of this illegal confiscation extend into the United States, disrupting vital American infrastructure, energy and other construction projects that currently depend on Vulcan’s operations in Mexico for materials.

“My office and I will continue to monitor this situation and ensure this is not swept under the rug.”

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said: “We’ve gotten pretty used to the Biden government kicking sand in our faces for China and Russia (Covid and fentanyl deaths, spy balloons, US MQ-9 downs Reaper) – but now also Mexico?

“The Biden administration must step in immediately to defend a US company and protect US interests. This is the only deep-water port on the Yucatán Peninsula. Significant geopolitical and economic implications.’

Former Trump administration official Cliff Sims said the raid was “insane.”