by Jim Barton Sources: El Bravo de Matamoros and other online websites
50.4 miles east of downtown Matamoros, at the Port of Matamoros, six dolphins, their bodies marked with deep cut wounds, were found tied to an anchor, apparently sacrificed as bait to lure sharks.
“This is an ecocide,” said Jesรบs Ibarra Rodrรญguez, president of the Conibio Global Foundation.
“We have been denouncing these killings, and yet nothing changes. These dolphins are guardians of the ocean. To slaughter them like this is a crime against nature itself.”
Ibarra, who has spent years documenting such abuses along Mexico’s northeastern coast, said the massacre of six dolphins follows the earlier killing of 23 others, and he has been pressing agencies including Profepa, Conapesca, and the Mexican Navy to take action.
“The law is clear. Harming dolphins or sea turtles is a federal crime. It carries prison sentences and should lead to the confiscation of boats and gear. But enforcement is absent, and impunity only encourages more cruelty.”
For scientists and locals alike, dolphins are more than just charismatic creatures as they are critical to the health of the sea.
“They regulate fish populations as apex predators, they keep ecosystems in balance,” Ibarra explained.
“They also have a special bond with humans. They are intelligent, social beings who use whistles to communicate, who live in pods, who often approach boats out of curiosity. That very trust is what makes them so vulnerable to exploitation.”
Over the past decade, the population of dolphins in the waters east of Matamoros, known locally as El Mezquital, has been battered by poaching and trafficking.
Double-checking Ibarra's claim, I found that dolphins are worth up to 5,000,000 pesos each on the black market, that is $271,759.81 USD.
“Now they are not just capturing dolphins. They are slaughtering them, cutting them up to use as shark bait. It is barbaric.”
In June 2025, the Mexican congress passed “Ley Mincho,” a sweeping ban on the use of dolphins, orcas, sea lions, and other marine mammals in shows, therapy programs, and tourist experiences. The law prohibits their capture and captive breeding, and requires that the country’s 350 dolphins currently in captivity be relocated to seaside sanctuaries or sea pens within 18 months.
“This is a historic measure,” Ibarra said. “It recognizes that dolphins are not entertainment. They deserve freedom and dignity.”
But he admits the law does not touch the shadowy world of poaching. “It regulates dolphinariums, but it doesn’t stop the blood in the water here in Matamoros. Criminal networks don’t care about laws on paper. Without enforcement, dolphins will keep dying.”
On the beaches of El Mezquital, the story feels personal. For local fishermen who do not take part in the slaughter, dolphins are companions at sea, known to swim alongside boats and leap in the surf. For environmentalists, they are a symbol of what is at stake.
“When we find them tied to anchors, butchered and discarded, it breaks something in us,” Ibarra said quietly. “These animals represent freedom, joy, harmony with nature. Killing them this way is killing those values too.”
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