Crime in Mexico: Is Puerto Vallarta unsafe for travelers?

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-01-2012 @ 10:42AM

Artimus said...

During a recent visit to Cancun, and my last ever visit to Mexico, I wasn't robbed by thugs....I was shook down by the Mexican Police...I had to pay $200.00 cash to the 2 cops that pulled me over for speeding (which I wasn't). They saw an obvious tourist in a rental car and seized the opportunity to grab some American money.

3-01-2012 @ 10:46AM

Dave Seminara said...

Artimus- those kinds of shakedowns are a real problem, no doubt. But I'll tell you that foreign tourists aren't the only ones getting hit up for bribes by corrupt police officers. I was in a taxi near Guanajuato last year and our (Mexican) driver had to pay them off for the same thing. The only difference is, locals know how to negotiate the bribe and don't pay nearly as much as gringos.

3-01-2012 @ 11:25AM

Betsy said...

Exactly.......we were in Cancun a couple of years ago (last time!) and were driving down the peninsula with another couple. We were pulled over & fined $100.00 for having a passenger in the back seat without his seat belt fastened. There is no way they could have seen that from their police car as we passed on the freeway. And, he did have the belt fastened, but had the top belt behind him so it wouldn't choke his neck. No matter to them, they demanded to see our passports, wouldn't give them back until we collected enough cash to pay the fine. They threatened to take us to the police station & throw us in a cell if we didn't pay.
I would just recommend that visitors to Mexico avoid back-country tours, out of the mainstream tourist areas. It's a shame - we took an excursion in the interior of Mexico in 1993 to view the Monarch butterfly wintering area. Wouldn't even consider this now.

3-03-2012 @ 7:25PM

patrick said...

Mexico....a nice place to vacation, if you are a bullitt! lmao!

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