Overview

• A decade-long illegal occupation in Tampico ended this week after owners discovered squatters who had stopped paying rent after only three months.
• With formal eviction orders facing six-to-twelve-month backlogs, the owners resorted to makeshift tactics like filling the doorway with sand and launched a viral TikTok campaign.
• On July 6, social media pressure prompted the occupants to vacate voluntarily, and a video of occupant Dalay pulling Daniela’s hair during the exit circulated widely.
• Upon reclaiming the home, the family found defaced walls, missing appliances—including the kitchen stove—and bags of soiled toilet paper scattered throughout.
• The homeowners have begun cleanup and repairs, and their TikTok posts—now exceeding 500,000 views—have underscored Mexico’s slow legal eviction process.