Protests against surging mass tourism in Mexico City end in vandalism, harassment of tourists

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A protest by hundreds against gentrification and mass tourism that began peacefully Friday in Mexico City neighborhoods popular with tourists turned violent when a small number of people began smashing storefronts and harassing foreigners.

Masked protesters smashed through the windows and looted high-end businesses in the touristic areas of Condesa and Roma, and screamed at tourists in the area. Graffiti on glass shattered glass being smashed through with rocks read: “get out of Mexico.” Protesters held signs reading “gringos, stop stealing our home” and demanding local legislation to better regulate tourism levels and stricter housing laws.

Marchers then continued on to protest outside the U.S. Embassy and chanted inside the city’s metro system. Police reinforcements gathered outside the Embassy building as police sirens rung out in the city center Friday evening.

It marked a violent end to a more peaceful march throughout the day calling out against masses of mostly American tourists who have flooded into Mexico's capital in recent years.

Tension had been mounting in the city since U.S. “digital nomads” flocked to Mexico City in 2020, many to escape coronavirus lockdowns in the U.S. or to take advantage of cheaper rent prices in the Latin American city.

Since then, rents have soared and locals have increasingly gotten pushed out of their neighborhoods, particularly areas like Condesa and Roma, lush areas packed with coffee shops and restaurants.

Michelle Castro, a 19-year-old college student, was among the flocks of people protesting. She said that she's from the city's working class city center, and that she's watched slowly as apartment buildings have been turned into housing for tourists.

“Mexico City is going through a transformation," she said. "There are a lot of foreigners, namely Americans, coming to live here. Many say it's xenophobia, but it's not. It's just that so many foreigners come here, rents are skyrocketing because of Airbnb. Rents are so high that some people can't even pay anymore.”

The Mexico City protest follows others in European cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and Rome against mass tourism.

A protest sign is displayed on a makeshift clothesline during a demonstration against gentrification, as the increase in remote workers has risen prices and increased housing demand in neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma, in Mexico City, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Demonstrators attack a dining area at the end of peaceful protest that turned violent against gentrification, as the increase in remote workers has risen prices and increased housing demand in neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma, in Mexico City, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)

A demonstrators holds a poster with a message that reads in Spanish ¨Death to the neo-colonizer¨, during a protest against gentrification, as the increase in remote workers has risen prices and increased housing demand in neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma, in Mexico City, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A demonstrator kicks in a bank storefront window at the end of peaceful protest that turned violent against gentrification, as the increase in remote workers has risen prices and increased housing demand in neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma, in Mexico City, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)

People protest against Americans' gentrification of parts of Mexico City, at Parque Mexico, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Orbach)

A demonstrator burns an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump in Parque Mexico, during a protest against gentrification, as the increase in remote workers has risen prices and increased housing demand in neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma, in Mexico City, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Orbach)

A man points to his Mexican ID to prove his nationality as people protest against gentrification, as the increase in remote workers has risen prices and increased housing demand in neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma, in Mexico City, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Orbach)

Demonstrators hold posters that read in Spanish ¨Here we speak Spanish, Real Estate Regulation Now¨, during a protest against gentrification, as the increase in remote workers has risen prices and increased housing demand in neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma, in Mexico City, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)