Ancient Mayan ruins in Mexico are currently inaccessible due to drug cartel violence and land disputes, the government has admitted. 

In a blow to the country’s tourism industry, multiple structures built by the vibrant Maya civilization are too dangerous to visit or not possible to reach at the moment.

The explosion of drug cartel violence in the Chiapas region since last year has left the Yaxchilan ruin site completely cut off, the Mexican government has said.

Located on the bank of the Usumacinta River, Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states and the site is well known for its hieroglyphic texts and stone structures.

But two tour guides told the Associated Press that two other sites the government claims remain open can only be reached by passing through checkpoints run by drug gangs.

The guides, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that gunmen and checkpoints are often seen on the road to another site, Bonampak, famous for its murals.

They say that to get to yet another archaeological site, Lagartero, travellers are forced to hand over identification and mobile phones at cartel checkpoints.

The two cartels warring over the area’s lucrative drug and migrant smuggling routes set up the checkpoints to detect any movement by their rivals.

Though no tourist has been harmed so far, and the government claims the sites are safe, many guides no longer take tour groups there.

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“It’s as if you told me to go to the Gaza Strip, right?” said one of the guides.

“They demand your identification, to see if you’re a local resident,” he said, describing an almost permanent gang checkpoint on the road to Lagartero, a Mayan pyramid complex that is surrounded by pristine, turquoise jungle lagoons.

“They take your cellphone and demand your sign-in code, and then they look through your conversations to see if you belong to some other gang,” he said. “At any given time, a rival group could show up and start a gunbattle.”

Meanwhile, the towering pyramids at Tonina are inaccessible because a landowner has shut off his land while seeking payment from the government for granting the right of way, officials say.

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