• Vespair@lemm.ee
    1222·
    8 months ago

    I’ve been to Mexico like 6 times.

    The first 5 times were all excellent trips, wonderful places, wonderful people.

    The sixth time, we were all literally robbed by Mexican police officers at the airport who claimed we couldn’t leave the country without paying an “exit tax” of $200 USD each, and told us we either paid and got on our flight home or we didn’t pay and they took us to prison.

    I don’t go back to Mexico now.

      • Fungah@lemmy.world
        1·
        8 months ago

        Some Mexican police stopped me and searched me for drugs while I was stumbling back to my Airbnb in Cabo.

        But I had no drugs so continued back and went to sleep.

    • A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10·
      8 months ago

      Andrew Callaghan’s Channel 5 has a few videos about migrants coming to America, and a couple of the people he interviewed mentioned being more scared of the Mexican police than the border patrol.

      He actually goes to Mexico and hops the border back into America in one of his videos, I highly recommend checking him out.

      • rwhitisissle@lemmy.world
        15·
        8 months ago

        I highly recommend checking him out.

        Didn’t he rape a bunch of women? Or was it just that he turned out to be super pushy when it comes to sex?

        • A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          8 months ago

          There was a drama or something, but at this point I can’t be fucked to fact-check every accusation when so many people get accused of shit. I figure if it’s really that bad I’ll hear about it on here, Reddit, or someone else’s YouTube channel.

          Either way, his content is informative regardless of his past, so even if he were a rapist or some shit I’d just continue watching with adblock.

          • rwhitisissle@lemmy.world
            1·
            8 months ago

            I figure if it’s really that bad I’ll hear about it on here, Reddit, or someone else’s YouTube channel.

            You mean, like, in the comment to which you just replied? Because you are hearing about it here…

            • A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1·
              8 months ago

              You gave me two questions, telling me you had no clue yourself, that got -4 karma. If anything, that points to him not being a creep.

              But what I heard at the time is that he was drunk and being pushy. Which isn’t good, but it’s not like you can’t come back from that.

              I subscribe to a lot of channels who would jump at the chance to out him at the drop of a hat so I assumed there wasn’t anything more to it, but if you have anything else to put in the table I’m all ears.

    • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
      21·
      8 months ago

      Been many times when my brother lived and worked there for three+ years. We are gringos. Never felt unsafe. Sure, he talks about a time at Xochimilco where him same some work colleagues perhaps drew the ire of some locals, but really the worst part of the trip was the few times we needed to get in a taxi.

      I’m that vein, that was the one rule we tried to adhere to at the time, make sure, if you take a taxi, to take the sanctioned ones or whatever.

      Now, we drove to Oaxaca once, and some of the towns en route to were sketchy looking. Didn’t have any bad experiences but also didn’t bring the car down under like 15mph either.

      Enjoy! Bring Pepto. I got Montezuma’s revenge every time. I’m starting to think it was the altitude (couldn’t have been the many michelladas, certainly not).

        • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
          3·
          8 months ago

          I think it’s an experience for a visit, but yeah, the kind of thing, if you’re local… why?

          Another thing I forgot was that MXC was one of two decent sized earthquakes I ever felt. On the roof of a 17 story building, not ideal, but looking back, pretty neat. The city’s really got it all!

        • Mister Neon@lemmy.world
          2·
          8 months ago

          I want to see some chinampas, I find the method of construction fascinating. I’m hoping the water level is high enough to get around in a small boat.

      • desto@lemmy.world
        4·
        8 months ago

        I have gone many times, every single one has been mellow. I imagine as a local it doesn’t look like that, especially if you have to commute all over the city.

    • kratoz29@lemm.eeEnglish
      32·
      8 months ago

      I don’t like CDMX, but I gotta go there for concerts, but I do agree that it is nice for quick trips, just don’t go late in the streets alone… Well don’t go late at all lol.

        • theangryseal@lemmy.world
          2·
          8 months ago

          Criminals have always counted on the shadows to get away. It’s why when something happens during the day we’re all surprised and we say, “He just did that shit in broad daylight. What a moron!”

    • flatpandisk@lemm.ee
      35·
      8 months ago

      Gotta provide some details for us non Mexican folks.

      They look like they are part of the federal government?

      • IdiosyncraticIdiot
        59·
        8 months ago

        It is common for either:

        A - cartel to dress up to look like police men (commonly recognized through wearing masks over face)

        B - police men to be in cahoots with cartel (iirc this is becoming less and less common)

        • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.worldEnglish
          332·
          8 months ago

          Also actual cops, like uninformed police officers who pull you over, will rob you. My friend got caught with some weed over there and while he was handcuffed they tried to get his wallet several times. He finally convinced them he’d give them some money if they uncuffed him and he gave them half of what he had. He said they would have taken all of it if they were able to get his wallet without having to beat him.

            • theangryseal@lemmy.world
              92·
              8 months ago

              He’d lift his butt cheek to one side and when they walked over to the other side of the police car he’d switch sides. They were all giggling and finally he said, “I’ll tell you what, muchacho, you take these cuffs off and I’ll give you half my money.”

              (Read the next line with your inner Forrest Gump) And wouldn’t you know it? It worked.

        • Anamnesis@lemmy.world
          7·
          8 months ago

          There are autodefensas that dress up and have assault rifles, too. Probably not these guys though.

      • sholomo@lemmy.ml
        9·
        8 months ago

        normally the cartel dresses like the military or the* police, one big give away is that the cartel uses tennis instead of boots and act mostly like kids LARPing

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
    24·
    8 months ago

    I’ve lived in Mexico for over 20 years now, and yeah there is crime, yeah there are problems, but I rarely felt unsafe, really.

        • merc
          1·
          8 months ago

          I have relatives who have lived in Mexico all their lives and they’re not immune. Once the inter-city bus they were on was held up and everyone was robbed. Another time criminals stopped every car going down a certain city in Mexico City and robbed every car that passed at gunpoint. Another distant relative was kidnapped and held for ransom. Plus, there’s constant corruption. The cop who wants a bribe just to do their job, the protection racket affecting most of the stores, etc.

          They don’t feel unsafe in their day-to-day lives. But, they take precautions in their day-to-day lives that I don’t have to take. Every one of them has at least one story where they were the victim of a crime where there was at least a threat of violence.

          It definitely doesn’t stop me from going to Mexico. I love the country. But, when I’m there, I take precautions that I wouldn’t take back home.

          • Herbal Gamer
            4·
            8 months ago

            Cringe comes from the Old English word “cringan” which means to give way or to bend, which is exactly what your body does when you cringe because of an awkward situation. Demographic (Who Uses This Word). Today, the young and old use the word cringe, since it has been popularized by Gen Z on social media. It is now used as an expression when faced with an awkward situation.

            No

      • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
        2·
        8 months ago

        There are hot zones, yes. Border zones are less safe, Michoacan (minis the capital) are not a good place to visit either. Celaya as a city should be avoided, but the Rest of Mexico can be reasonably safe, especially the tourist areas.

        Mind you, I’ve visited Celaya (and Michoacan) countless times and I’ve seen some shit, but I never really was worried for my safety. Stay in the main roads, tourist areas, you’ll be fine.

    • Damdy@lemmy.world
      6·
      8 months ago

      You ever been to London? I hear about stabbings a violence occasionally, sometimes places I’m very close to. But they’re always gang related, if you’re not in a gang, you’re probably safe.

      I feel like Mexico is kinda similar with an added bonus of don’t walk around with expensive stuff or look like an easy target.

      Does that sound right?

      • NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone
        1·
        8 months ago

        There are whole areas of London that are “No go” areas if you’re not a a Pearly King or Queen. If you’re lucky and have a bucket of jellied eels or some Chas N Dave LPs on you, you may escape with your life.

      • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
        1·
        8 months ago

        Mostly right, yes. Stay away from drugs, certain areas, don’t flaunt your money, and you’ll be fine. Lived there for 20 years and I’ve seen some crazy shit but generally, if you behave normally, you’ll be fine.

        Honestly, I’ve generally and consistently felt more unsafe in the US than in Mexico.

  • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world
    252·
    8 months ago

    Been to CDMX many times, where I take the subways to get around. I’m a gringo and CDMX has its bad areas like any other big city. They do also have police and cartel problems. Depending on your ethnicity and location, the US is equally dangerous. These things said, I love Mexico City and will always return. It is incredible and the folks who live there are wonderful.

        • BambiDiego@lemmy.world
          102·
          8 months ago

          Is this how we improve the US?

          Tell all the racists they’re behaving worse than Mexicans?

          Is this how we improve Mexico?

          Tell all the Mexicans they’re really just bad Americans?

      • SrTobi@feddit.de
        6·
        8 months ago

        Sorry but I have been to both countries and only in Mexico did the state police with big guns extorted money from me. And that was not a nice experience.

        • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
          1·
          8 months ago

          I’ve lived in Mexico for 20 years. I’ve been extorted once by police and indeed it’s not a pleasant experience.

          Having said that, usually I have no issue with police there. Police in the US consistently scares the living shit out of me with their attitude, the way they act, talk, walk… You can see they all feel like the trigger happy gunslinging Sherif in town. Police in Mexico is approachable, have done that countless times. I can’t say the same for US police

    • raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world
      151·
      8 months ago

      Only because cartels keep you safe there. Because how else would it be safe if cartels weren’t earning better cash there with the tourist trash?

        • raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world
          11·
          8 months ago

          That seems like a logical explanation at first, but how do you launder dirty money by offering services to tourists who bring “clean” money into the country? and wouldn’t the cartels have a multiple in money from drug trades compared to the overall transactions involved in tourism?

          I mean, I am not saying you are wrong, it just never occurred to me that this could be more than just a nice additional source of income…

          • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
            6·
            8 months ago

            Laundering money is usually mixing dirty cash with clean cash. So you have legit business(es) in a busy area, and you inflate the ‘real’ income with the ‘dirty’ cash. Now you’ve paid taxes on the dirty cash (and can put it in the bank).

              • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
                4·
                8 months ago

                No problem. The best types of businesses for this deal with a lot of cash, and are ideally service-based. If you are selling goods, then someone could investigate and find that you aren’t buying enough supplies to account for your sales. For laundering millions, real-estate and fine art are popular, since you can buy it cheap, and then inflate it pretty arbitrarily, and sell it (to yourself or a coconspirator) for a huge ‘profit’.

    • ButtDrugs@lemm.ee
      41·
      8 months ago

      Yucatan is fucking awesome once you get away from the tourist zones. Great small towns, authentic, safe as best I can tell, strong Mayan culture. I love it.