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Mexico — A Mexican official said on Friday that Canadian pop star Justin Bieber and his entourage were asked to leave the Mayan archaeological site of Tulum after he apparently tried to climb onto or among the ruins.
The official of the National Institute of Anthropology and History spoke on condition of anonymity because he or she was not authorized to be quoted by name.
Bieber was visiting the seaside ruins on Thursday when the incident occurred.
The official could not specify which of the site's structures Bieber allegedly had climbed, but said he was "asked to leave."
Visitors can climb some pre-Hispanic pyramids in Mexico, but officials rope off or place 'no entry' signs on some ruins that are considered vulnerable or unstable.
Bieber has apparently been on vacation in the Tulum area, on Mexico's Caribbean coast south of Cancun, for several days.
Despite the singer's reputation for getting out of line, the representative of a native Maya ecotourism camp that Bieber visited near Tulum several days before described him as "completely respectful."
Nathalie Leño, the spokeperson for AllTournative, a cooperative effort with Maya communities at a camp called the Jungla Maya Park, said Bieber visited on 5 January and "expressed a lot of interest in the work we do to preserve the environment."
"He was completely respectful, and he participated in the welcoming ceremony performed by a local shaman," said Leno.
"He even ate some of the traditional food prepared by local communities," she noted.
