Guanajuato, Mexico -- Fear Mongering?

I have been churning all day over the guy in the Puerto Vallarta area who says it is an absolute lie that Mexico police commit extortion when you have a car accident or pretty much in any sort of dealings with the police.

In that post I made the point that not even the locals, the Mexican nationals, call the police for fear of the extortion factor.

I want to include in this post a quote from a site that you really should check out. I will list the source at the end of the quote:

Name: Joe

November 21, 2009

I was in Cabo San Lucas this past March (2009) and went out for a walk to a sunset point- on a ridge above the Pacific. As I was standing atop the ridge photographing the sunset I noticed two police vehicles drive to where my vehicle was parked, about 1/4 mile down a trail. They had 2 "police" at the vehicle and four others walked up the trail, I met them on the way down. They had drawn guns and told me to put my hands up and they frisked me. I showed them I was simply taking sunset pictures and they proceeded to say they were arresting me for drug possession (I had no drugs). They would not let me leave unless I paid the "fine" on the spot- otherwise I was going to be taken to jail. They told me they wanted my camera- I said "no". I speak a little Spanish (which helps a great deal) so I ended up coughing up $60 to them in an extortion payment. I then chided them for what they were doing and told them I hoped that the dinero would keep them drunk for a couple of days. They laughed but then one of them was upset at me talking back, and he redrew his gun and walked back towards me in my vehicle, asking me if I had "a problem", and I drove away (quickly).

What happened to me was scary, fortunately my wife/kids were not with me, they were downtown having innocent fun. I had some excellent interaction with locals there otherwise, including in remote areas finding hiking routes over the spectacular inland mountains, but the police are evil and corrupt. They are not really police, in civil terms, they are an extortion force and peddle for themselves and their gangs. I love the extraordinary natural environment and the people in Mexico, but, alas, their police and drug gangs are pure evil, it's a spectacular problem and one that will severely effect peace and civil society throughout the Americas for a very long time to come. --SOURCE

Make sure you read this site, "MEXICAN VACATION AWARENESS."

###

ROCKET SPANISH

FREE 6-Day Spanish Course!

Click On This Link Reach The ROCKET SPANISH Website!

Learn Spanish Like A ROCKET With Rocket Spanish!...
Who Else Wants to Learn to Speak Spanish Confidently and Naturally In Less Than 8 Weeks??
... AND take all the frustration, difficulty and headache out of YOUR practice time with this EXPLOSIVE interactive 'learn Spanish' package!

###