A 46-year-old man suffered severe burns over most of his body early Saturday after being tied up, doused with gasoline, and set on fire at a vacation property in Chelem, a beach community in the municipality of Progreso.
Yucatán’s Public Security Secretariat, known as the SSP, said one person has been detained in connection with the attack.
Authorities identified the victim only by the initials G.A.E.C. Locally he is known as “Jerry.” He worked as a night watchman at the property, according to Diario de Yucatán. The house is on Calle 17 near Calle 143.
Police found him lying in a hallway with his hands and feet bound and burns covering nearly his entire body. A container of fuel sat nearby.
Despite his injuries, he was able to name his alleged attacker, a man known as “Chucho el Coquero.” Coquero is Mexican slang for a cocaine user.
Hospital transfer, conflicting reports
SSP paramedics gave him first aid and rushed him to Hospital General Agustín O’Horán in Mérida, the largest public hospital in southeast Mexico.
Diario de Yucatán reported Saturday that he was in grave condition. Two local news sites, Marcrix Noticias and ProgresoHoy, later reported that he had died. ProgresoHoy noted that the death had not been officially confirmed. Yucatán Daily News could not independently confirm it.
The SSP said the arrest came from a joint operation with the state Attorney General’s Office and Progreso’s municipal police, Heraldo de México reported. Local outlets reported that the man in custody is the one Jerry named. The SSP has not released his identity. A judge is expected to rule on his legal status.
Possible hate crime
People who knew the victim told ProgresoHoy that he was a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Neighbors told the news site Yucatán Ahora that he and the suspect had a romantic relationship.
Authorities have not confirmed either account. They have not released a motive or said whether they are investigating the attack as a hate crime. Prosecutors say they are examining whether the two men had a prior conflict.
Mexico has no official system for tracking hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people, so advocacy groups fill the gap. Letra Ese, a Mexico City nonprofit, documented 60 killings of LGBTQ+ people in 2025, down from 80 in 2024. It counted at least 24 more in the first months of 2026. The group builds its count from news reports and says the real figure is likely higher.
Accounts of the location also differ. Diario de Yucatán described Jerry as a watchman at the summer home. The SSP said he was found in an unoccupied property he regularly visited.
Rare violence in Mexico’s safest state
Chelem — a small beach town just west of the port of Progreso — is lined with vacation homes, many of which sit empty outside the summer season.
Attacks like this are uncommon in Yucatán. The state recorded the fewest homicide victims of any Mexican state through the first nine months of 2026, according to the federal Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System. Yucatán logged 17 intentional homicides from January to August. Neighboring Quintana Roo had 87 in the same period, and Campeche had 71.
Yucatán closed 2025 with 33 intentional homicides, the fewest in the country.
Fast Facts
• What happened: A 46-year-old man was bound, doused with gasoline, and set on fire early Saturday, Oct. 24
• Where: A property on Calle 17 near Calle 143 in Chelem, Progreso municipality
• Victim: Known as “Jerry,” initials G.A.E.C.; reported to work as a night watchman
• Condition: Reported in grave condition at Hospital O’Horán; unconfirmed local reports say he died
• Suspect: One person detained; local media identify him as “Chucho el Coquero”
• Motive: Not released; authorities have not said whether they are investigating a hate crime
• LGBTQ+ killings in Mexico: 60 documented by Letra Ese in 2025
• Emergency number in Mexico: 911
Sources: Diario de Yucatán, Heraldo de México, Yucatán Ahora, Visión Peninsular, La Revista Peninsular, Marcrix Noticias, ProgresoHoy, Por Esto!, El Imparcial, Forbes México