MEXICO CITY – Mexico's Environmental Department is closing down at least five small, upscale hotels and three other developments south of Cancun.

Officials say the businesses don't have permission to operate in the protected area near the Tulum Ruins.

Inspectors and soldiers arrived Monday to post closed signs. They say they will be back on Friday to permanently close the businesses and begin clearing out guests.

The closures were officially announced Wednesday.

Hotel owners say their papers are in order and the government can't shut them down.

Federal environmental prosecutor Patricio Patron says the hotels could eventually be demolished if the owners can't prove their legal right to the land. But he says that will take a year or more.