Authorities in Mexico City’s Cuauhtémoc borough removed the bronze sculptures of Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara from Jardín Tabacalera on 17 July, citing the absence of permitting documentation and repeated requests from local residents to reclaim public space. Mayor Alessandra Rojo de la Vega said an internal review found no record of approval by the city’s Committee of Monuments and Works in Public Spaces and that the pieces had been kept under irregular custody by a borough employee. President Claudia Sheinbaum later called on the borough to hand over the artwork—titled “Encuentro” and created in 2017 by sculptor Óscar Pozanelli—arguing the figures commemorate what she described as an historic meeting between the Cuban revolutionaries and should be preserved. She did not specify where the statues should be transferred. Cuba’s ambassador to Mexico, Marcos Rodríguez Costa, responded that “the true revolution is not of stone or bronze,” while the Communist Party of Mexico condemned the removal as an affront to bilateral ties. The borough has not indicated whether the statues will be reinstalled elsewhere or placed in storage while legal questions over their placement are resolved.