Puerto Vallarta (PVDN) – Just a few days before the 2023 Holy Week and Easter holiday season begins, foreign travelers document acts of extortion by elements of the Mexican Army, National Guard, and police in Puerto Vallarta and other tourist destinations of Mexico.
Federal authorities recognize that during the main holiday seasons (Easter and Christmas) the reports of anomalies and abuses where the victims are civilians increase, so they make telephone numbers and social networks available to those affected to report any wrongdoing. Data from federal authorities acknowledge that in holiday seasons, complaints for abuses against compatriots or tourists visiting the country increase by up to 40%.
In the case of the Army, several of these anomalies have occurred in the air terminals of Jalisco, such as the Miguel Hidalgo International Airport in Guadalajara and the Gustavo Díaz Ordaz de Vallarta, where people are retained to check their suitcases. If they detect any product that seems new, people are withheld under alleged tax crimes.
“They told me that because I had a lot of suitcases they were stopping me. I told them that they couldn’t stop me for that, that if the airline didn’t tell me anything, well, they wouldn’t have a reason either. That made them angry and they took everything from me, they asked me item by item if it was documented. They wanted me to pay a thousand pesos to a superior in exchange for letting us out. We arrived at three in the afternoon and left after six,” accused Manuel Escamilla, from Los Angeles, California.
Another point of complaint is on the highways, where it is accused that elements of the National Guard are arbitrarily stopping units with foreign license plates: “I come with my mother, they stopped me because the license plates of the car are from California. (…) I have a Temporary Vehicle Import Permit, but even so, they asked me for a thousand pesos in exchange for not taking the car. Well, I better give it to him, we were in the middle of nowhere and he brought the children,” explained Eduardo Romo, a resident of San Francisco, California.
But the problems are also reaching tourist destinations: in the case of Puerto Vallarta, there have been complaints of extortion against tourists caught smoking in public spaces and taking refuge in the reforms to the tobacco regulation, but they have also denounced a campaign against users of rented vehicles. In this case, the police advise drivers they are taking the cars or the driver needs to pay them money.
“I told them no, that I was just going to leave the vehicle and that I was not going to give them anything. They threatened me and asked for my identification. Finally, I ended up giving them two thousand pesos to get out of the problem”, warns Aurelio Funier, from Pennsylvania.
When contacted by media, both the federal authorities and the Vallarta Police declined to comment.
Despite these incidents that occur at the national level, authorities lack databases or records of reports on abuses perpetrated by officials.
Puerto Vallarta (PVDN) - Just a few days before the 2023 Holy Week and Easter holiday season begins, foreign travelers document acts of extortion by elements . . .
