There are many American tourists that get hassled for bribes by the cops. And most of them never get (nor want) media attention. They just never go back down again.
I’d be curious how many people get targeted by the police for shakedowns.[/quote]
Yikes! With so many potential risks, it’s a wonder there are any American tourists at all in these border areas.
We had a situation there over a decade ago when we were trying to get home from Mexico at night (long story, tried to get into a hotel, but it was full). We got stopped at a road block on a desolate road by a bunch of soldier-looking types with machine guns who searched everything we had for about an hour and a half, and then let us go. They didn’t ask for money, so might have legitimately been looking for drug smugglers. Still, it was enough to keep us from ever going down there again. It’s just not worth it.
There were multiple trips before when I was camping with family and friends down there, even in the 70s and 80s, and our tents were ransacked by Mexican “police” who stole watches, cash, and anything else that might have been considered valuable. Not fun. :([/quote]
I’m just glad they had a video showing she got on the bus with no luggage. I wonder what would happen if there was no video? I mean, after all, it would just be her word against theirs and she probably would be sitting inside a jail cell at least a few months.
I originally heard about this story a day or so after it happened. Fortunately her husband was able to get CNN on the story and that put a LOT of pressure on the Mexican police…..
I noticed this from the US State Department: “The U.S. State Department also warns that criminals are increasingly affixing drugs to the bottom of parked cars in Mexico, then removing them after the vehicle enters the U.S.”
What if something like this DID happen to you? I’m curious how anyone would defend against it? After all, it would be your word against the evidence. Sounds like it would be a horrible nightmare. Even if you got off, you probably still would be facing at least some time in jail but more importantly tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills and also possible problems with work, etc.
Has anyone ever known someone or heard of any Americans this happened to? I got curious after seeing that warning.
[quote=deadzone]Seriously??? Petty shakedowns have been associated with Tijuana for decades, nothing new here. From my experience, they are a lot less common in recent years.
Does anybody else have real world experience with this? Would be interesting to know what others are experiencing.[/quote]
Deadzone,
Sure petty shakedowns have always been going on in Mexico. When you say, “from your experience they are a lot less” do you mean personally or some official statistic?
As well, it almost sounds like short of Americans getting murdered, you don’t find any risks of going across the border. I realize your argument is it’s the same Mexico as before and the risks are the same. But sometimes your posts don’t come across that way. I’m just saying…
