Mexico's Secretariat of Culture rejected the sale of 195 pre-Hispanic artifacts offered on eBay by a user in Orlando, Florida, and requested their immediate return, deeming them national heritage. The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) verified their pre-Hispanic origin, initiating legal procedures for repatriation.
The Government of Mexico, through the Secretariat of Culture, expressed its rejection of the commercialization of 195 pre-Hispanic objects listed on the eBay platform by the user 'Coins Artifacts', located in Orlando, Florida. Claudia Curiel de Icaza, head of the agency, announced on social media X that INAH specialists reviewed the listings and determined that the pieces belong to Mexico's cultural heritage, in accordance with the Federal Law on Monuments and Archaeological, Artistic, and Historical Zones.
In a letter to eBay, Curiel de Icaza conveyed 'strong disapproval' of the sale of these assets, which are inalienable national property and whose export has been prohibited since 1827. She noted that their presence outside Mexico implies illicit extraction and urged the platform to suspend the listings and take measures to prevent their sale, appealing to ethical respect for the legacy of ancestral cultures.
The official stated that jurisdictional procedures have been initiated before competent authorities to repatriate the pieces through diplomatic and legal channels. This incident follows the same secretariat's demand the previous day to suspend an auction in Paris featuring 40 similar archaeological pieces. Since 2018, Mexico has recovered around 16,500 cultural objects through actions against auctions in cities like New York, Paris, and Rome.
