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01-01-04, 02:00
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irishman
01-11-04, 10:54
i have been to tijuana many, many times over the past 3 or 4 years, probably on average about 3 times a month. i have heard about problems with corrupt police and have read the recent news reports about a seeming increase in tourists being assaulted and extorted by the police, mostly right at the border area. i had never had any kind of run-in with the police until last saturday morning.

after a night of partying with a chica friend of mine, i took a cab to the border at about 3:00 a.m. consistent with my wishes, the cab dropped me off at the drop off point nearest to the pedestrian line to cross the border (as opposed to the area where the yellow cabs park). right in this area is a small police sub-station (a female tourist recently reported being raped in this sub-station). as i got out of the cab, a police officer speaking impeccable and almost accent-free english asked if he could see my identification. forgetting where i was for a second, i asked why with a slight tone of defiance in my voice. but then i just gave up the identification.

there were 4-5 cops around me. the one in charge asked me what i had been doing in tijuana and if i had bought any medications. i said no. they searched me. i had nothing, but i was quite concerned something was going to be planted on me as one of the cops was placing his hands in my pockets. while they were doing that, the lead cop (again, his perfect english surprised me), asked me what my job was. i said, "i am a lawyer." the cop then tells the other cops in spanish that i am an "abogado." almost immediately, they concede their search had not produced anything and they thanked me for my time and sent me on my way.

although i recognize my experience was minor compared to other stories i have heard and nothing serious happened to me, i am a bit disturbed by the experience and i caution everyone to be careful. obviously, these cops had nefarious thoughts on their minds. it was going to be a shakedown. i was randomly stopped for no reason. i was asked what my job was even though this was completely irrelvant to the situation, and when i said i was a lawyer, this was announced in spanish to the other cops and they backed off. it was equally obvious that these cops had this routine down pat. strikingly, they were quite polite in tone, but there was also an aura of intimidation.

there is no doubt that if they had found anything on me or if i had not announced that i was a lawyer, there was going to be a financial transaction attempted. notably, the recent article in the san diego union tribune (which i believe was pasted on this site a few pages back) told about a tourist being detained and searched very near where i was, and then being taken to atm machines. i am not sure what i would have done, but i think given the way i felt at the time, i would have refused to pay and insisted that we see a judge.

of course, in this instance i was completely innocent. i might have felt differently about paying a bribe if i actually had some medications and had been caught breaking the law. i often do pick up prescription drugs down there and had intended to do so earlier that evening, but got there too late and my usual pharmacy was closed. it was just luck i did not have anything when i was searched.

lessons: (1) do not allow yourself to get dropped off by a cab where i was--get dropped off in the yellow cab parking area. this requires more of a walk, but gets you to the border line without passing by the police sub-station where it appears the shakedowns are occurring most frequently;

(2) avoid having any medications or anything else questionable on you, and if you do i would recommend placing them in your shoes or somewhere else on your body where they will not be found with a frisk search;

(3) be a lawyer or be able to credibly say you are one, or perhaps be a cop or in some other profession that may give these tijuana cops pause and reason to think perhaps you will have the wherewithall to pursue justice in the matter;

(4) if you are detained that close to the border, and it looks like you are going to be mistreated, consider bolting and making a run for the u.s. entry point. i am serious. i thought about this afterwards. i was at most 100-200 yards from u.s. territory when i was stopped. i think i could have made it. making this dash and dealing with whatever the consequences are on the us side would be far preferable to being in the custody of the tj police and being driven around to atm machines--or worse. and the us would not probably have any basis to charge you with anything, leaving it to the mexicans to request extradition, which would not happen given the shakedown circumstances.

SDcruiser
01-11-04, 18:27
irishman;

nice to see you made it thru. i know where you are tlaking about and yes, that's where the [CodeWord123] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123) occurred. actually it was more around the corner. it's considered "la linea sentri".

i once had a driver miss the exit and he dropped me off around the corner about 300yds away from the spot you were talking about. i was a little worried and not becuase of the banditos, policia or whatever - i could handle myself against 3:1. i was more worried about them damn tj dogs!!! the wolf packs could make your evening a little nippy.

i've stopped carrying atm cards acrosss the border. i carry a credit card, drivers license - that's it. i'm going to stop taking medication across. i'll just take what i'm going to consume.

thanks for the tip, i'll avoid the sentri drop off after 12am.

cruiser

irishman
01-11-04, 19:23
Conejo has an interesting post in the TJ Street Walkers section re his shakedown on Saturday. It seems that the TJ cops corruption might actually be increasing.

Tranceman, I think if you have a valid verifiable prescription that you are ok under Mexican law, but I am not 100% certain of this. I do recommend lying about your profession if you can get away with it. I mean, if you are 18 years old it is probably not going to be credible to say you are a lawyer. When I said I was a lawyer, the cops did not ask for any verification of this, so you might be able to get away with that lie by just matter of factly saying you are a lawyer. Or maybe be prepared to answer some basic questions they might ask like the type of law you practice, where you went to law school and where you work. Just think about those things beforehand.

Upon reflection, I am not sure if I would lie to the Mexican police about being a cop because cops would typically carry identification so identifying themselves (unlike lawyers). So if you say you are a cop, the TJ cops might expect you to have i.d. proving that.

My guess is that if you only have $20 and no ATM card that the cops will take the $20 and let you go. Remember, the TJ police's entire point of the encounter is to extract money from you. If $20 is all you have and they are convinced of this, they probably take the $20 and let you go. See Conejo's post in the Street Walker forum. Now, this assumes that you have not actually been caught doing anything--if you have a pound of cocaine on you then I doubt if $20 will do the trick.

From the recent news reports, Conejo's post and my experience, I think a few general principles are emerging: the TJ police don't just walk up to you and demand cash, but rather in their own minds they have to have at least a pretext that you did something illegal, a patina of legitimacy to what they are doing. Why I do not know because the intimidation would work just as well if they just made up something, but this seems to be the culture. They are usually not so brazen as to plant evidence on you, but if you have an encounter with them for something they will try to intimidate you (examples of people recently abused by TJ police: a couple who disputed a bar bill, women involved in a car accident without having Mexican insurance, people who bought meds, a person taking pictures in the Zona, etc.). Once they can tell you that you did something wrong, even if it isn't really serious or even true, they prey on your fears and ignorance, respect for the police resulting from being an American and abuse you.

So, the lessons: (1) be above reproach in TJ, don't get into disputes with bar owners about bills, don't buy meds, if you drive have insurance, etc. ; and (2) if you did nothing wrong, I think you can probably effectively stand up to the police there, so what I would do in those circumstances is probably try to get out of it cheaply for say $20 and if that does not work, refuse and say you will tell your story to a judge.

Mutha Foo
01-11-04, 20:45
Guys,

To avoid shakedowns, don't dress fancy, don't get into fights, don't take pictures, don't do anything potentially illegal. Go there and drink without getting drunk and get laid. That's it. Take a cab everywhere (but I am concerned about this police substation) so when you take the cab back to the border head to the taxi stand. I would NOT run for the border cuz the TJ police have guns.

Mutha.

Rabo Verde
01-11-04, 23:27
You are at MORE risk if you drive down, IMHO. Having been shaken down several times while driving recently, I now park USA and walk across. Sorry to hear that now pedestrians are getting the shakedown too! Very discouraging. I have walked up Constitucion 200+ times, and also been dropped off at Sentri an equal number, and the cops never bothered me there when I was walking. Anyone else been hassled while walking?

irishman
01-12-04, 03:34
I have driven into TJ many times and never had a problem with the police. Of course, I could have said the same thing about walking before last Saturday.

To keep some perspective, I do also note that of all the times I have gone to TJ, I have now been stopped by police 3 times for no reason-but two of them were on the US side. I wrote about this on the forum a few months back. I have twice been pulled over by San Diego police in the border for completely pretextual reasons because they were, in effect, randomly searching for drunk drivers. Of course, on the US side there is no fear of a shakedown.

HoMaster
01-12-04, 04:05
You will never end up "seeing the judge". Just be courteous and tell them you understand that they have to take you to the station. They will try and intimidate you and you'll be thinking, shit I'll be waiting for days, etc., but go to the station - 9 times out of 10 the shakedown will dissolve without you going to the station. And if you go to the station and are reasonable, you'll be apologized to and set loose. And get the cops names and car license numbers so you can go back the next day and report them. I've done that each time I'm shaken down/attempted shakedown. A pain in the ass to return, but if we all do it, the bad cops will be impacted.

Rabo Verde
01-12-04, 06:34
HoMaster, pls tell us more. How many times have you "gone to the station"? Were you driving at the time? Did they make you follow in your car? I have seen signs in TJ on Revolucion with a toll free number to report shakedowns, I will write the number down next time I go and post it here. (I realize that, in theory a lot of this stuff is off-topic, but hell, there isn't much to say about TJ hobbying except park your car at the border, walk across, take a taxi to Adelita's, check out the alley and CC, make your selection and negotiate your deal, and take a taxi back...)

GettingTang
01-12-04, 07:55
as for corrupt tj cops, maybe cj has a few on his pay role? after-all he boasts how only mexicans know how to work and all us fat lazy white americans are good for nothing.

more importantly, are you people for real here? there is no surprise when it comes to tj cops. they are all corrupt! this is hardly some big secret. tj cops have been hassling us americans for years. they are constantly biting the hand that feeds them. until we all decide to boycott tj, it will go on forever! be real! they are nothing but thugs, and have less respect for you then the common street thug. true, you do have to show them respect when they are shaking you down, but realize it's only because i am in their country where people have been known to disappear.

i have known of two americans who supposedly traveled across the border and "committed suicide" in both cases the mexican authorities kept the bodies of the deceased for weeks before turning them over to the families. one guy was just 17, no reason to comit suicide was found shot in the head in a remote area. it's more then likely the tj cops who are up to this.

i would not advise mentioning you're an attorney if they decide to basically [CodeWord123] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123) you. the reason is given the timing of such a statement. if you decided to mention this info after they have already violated your "rights" and robbed you and they get the idea you are capable of making trouble, you can bet your chances of "disappearing" in tj have just ten folded. trust me it's best to act respectful and meek to these thugs! give them what they want, value your life. tell them you're a fry cook or something, but never anything that pertains to le.

the mexican government from top to bottom is corrupt. everyone knows this. just ask any mexican. they steal people's property, homes, cars on a daily bases. they add taxes in any amount they want to a mexican's citizens property and basically steal if from them whenever and wherever they want.

the policia in tj will only take your $ and rattle your nerves if you handle it right, but do anything else and you're sure to be a goner!

gettingtang~!

Country John
01-12-04, 18:18
CJ does not have TJ cops on his payroll and only CERTAIN fat white lazy Americans are good for nothing.

CJ

Simple Man
01-12-04, 18:21
let's knock off the b.s. and focus on the issues that this forum is intended for, the ladies!

i don't think that the government is going to consult with this forum to determine their immigration policy. i could be wrong.

on the issue of the tj police i have been coming to tj for more than 10 years and have only been harassed once and on that occassion i was admittedly speeding. i currently live in baja california and drive all over baja. i am extremely white and do not at all look like a native. i drive a late mode land rover with california plates. i just returned from a trip in which i drove from tj to cabo san lucas and never once had a problem with the police local or federal. in fact, i got directions from the police and advice on what hotel to stay in on the route. from my experience the majority of people that are harassed by the police here bring it upon themselves. i know of at least one person that constantly rags on the tj police on this forum taht was pulled over because he ran a stop sign. he paid $40 and considers this a "shake down." the same offense in california would cost you more than $200.00 plus a day at traffic school or points on your record.

for people that say that the tj police are just more street thugs, i can only say that tj is a very dangerous city. on top of home grown mexican scum they receive a number of gangbangers that are deported here from the states. accordingly, there are a number of active and very dangerous street gangs in tj along with common and ruthless thieves. if you should happen to turn down the wrong alley you may find yourself wishing that one of tj's finest was what you ran into.

i drove down to cabo with my girlfriend so i was unfortunately unable to hobby. i did note, however, that practically every town on route 1 has a ladies' bar just outside of town. i did not get to check any of these out but they did peak my curiosity. i did have a couple of afternoons to myself while my lady was at the spa and the beauty salon. both these days i took a cab to the ccc, a large store in cabo, like a walmart. on both of these days i began speaking to the cabbies and both times they offered to take me to casas that are frequented by the locals and not tourist spots. again, as i was traveling with my lady i declined. i don't know if it was b.s. or not but both of them only offered after we had spoken for quite some time and both came into the store and hung out with me while i shopped and both only charged me $5.00 which is very cheap for a cab ride in cabo. so while i don't know for a fact, i suspect that like most cities in mexico there are numerous casas in cabo that cater to the locals, you just have to have a local show you where they are.

Dosequis
01-13-04, 01:03
Let's put it this way very simply. Very little has changed in TJ. There are some corrupt cops and some who aren't. They always have and still do random searches, especially in the drug areas which is the zona norte. (where the hookers are) It's no big deal. If you haven't done anything wrong, they don't do anything to you. It's more of a scare tactic.

Driving is tougher because they can easily say you rolled through a stop sign. It is unsettling getting searched or stopped the first few times but it is common. Just go with the flow. If you did nothing wrong, hold your ground and pay nothing. They just bust your balls and then let you go. If you are that afraid, just stay in the US or go and stay with your friends when in TJ.

Donkey Punch
01-19-04, 20:51
fellow *****beeists,

i have finally moved into my new home and now have consistant internet access. i wish i would have had this three weeks ago. it would have saved me $150.

today i have sat around reading all your post for the past months. believe what you read about shakedowns! the heat is on. is there anything that we can do?

first off, sorry for this long post. take from it what you will. it's all real and scary no matter how i try to make it sound.

last sunday (jan 10) i went down to tj to take care of business and have some fun. i ended up staying until tue. on monday i did not leave my hotel until 11pm (only because i partied until 9am on mon., damn 3 ways!) and walked over to revolution to deliver some cologne to a bartender / friend of mine and decide to stroll back to our alley. wrong. this was about 2 am. from now on i will always take a cab. again, taxi libre. as i was walking down 1st (arch, to the left) my spidey senses went off. i ignored them. 5-0 rolled up and waved me to their car. i feel like an a-hole. i spoke in my parent's native tongue and only proceeded to sound like an idiot to them. never again. better to sound condesending, i think. sure enough they searched me and found evidence. great, guilty. in the us if they had even attempted to rifle through my pockets without pc i would have reminded them of the law. i highly doubt that it would have even gotten this far. i'm actually glad this happend. was i worried for the next hour and half while they drove me around? sure. it's true, they have guns and for all i know, why not trade a $.50 bullet for some dough? why am i glad? never in my life could i ever, ever, ever come up with the comedy occured. i now have some great material for my tj script. it is simply laughable and i now know what it will cost me to get out of almost anything if i can somehow manage to play it cool and remain semi-serious.

things to know about my experience:

i somehow felt that i would never see "the judge".

how many cops do you know that will drive you around on their beat because both "the judge" and "the doctor" that is able to administer a [CodeWord140] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140) test is busy?

because of my honorable line of work (actor) they were nice enough to not cuff me but rather let me dangle my hands into their plexiglass window while i was driven around and itimidated. us cops are never that nice.

one officer, the one in the passanger seat that waved me over originally, had what can i only describe as nasal drip. for about the first 45 min. of our tour of the outskirts of tj (the cemetary is very nice) all i could hear from his was sniffle, sniffle, drip, drip. i will buy him some cold medicine next time i go back.

if you listen hard enough and understand my language you can hear the officers talking back and forth to each other. i know the passanger cop told the other one, in a low voice, that i had $200 on me. boy, was he off, i only had $194. dummy.

i tried to keep a straight face and look wide eyed and scared while they explained to me how brutal a "mexican federal prison" is. i'm sure it is horrible, but i somehow felt that reform for me was not their true motive.

be prepared for the tj inquisition, where they get info out of you

-where do work?
-do you have to be at work tommorow?
-boy, won't your family, friends, fans, be ashamed of you when they read about you in your newpapers. i had no idea that tj and the us had reciprocale (who gives a crap how it is spelled) newspapers. if you do read about me, please don't judge me, ok?
-did you drive across?
-where is your car?
-you realize your crime will end up costing you 10k in the long run?
-do you have a lawyer?
-how much do you have on you?
-do you have access to an atm? (idiots, read my "credit card", all i have is an atm card on me, learn the differance!)
-try not to bust out laughing when the officer that is both driving and doing the questioning turns down a one way street, the wrong way, and goes against traffic. at least he pulled by a closed store and asked his partner if this was the place. officer sniffles plays along and quitely replies: "no, i thinks it's closed." please guys, it's 3am, everything is closed on this block.

i offered $100 for their "higher ups". i was informed that this was as offensive as offering my lawyer, that wanted a $2,000 retainer fee, a "chicle". i happen to know that chicles are only worth about 5 cents. i was also informed that even the offense of "[CodeWord134] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134)-[CodeWord134] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134)" in the streets warrented a $200 fine. i didn't think i heard right so i had to say "mande?" once again i was told that to offer $100 is nothing because going "[CodeWord134] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134)-[CodeWord134] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134)" alone would get me a $200 fine. i think "[CodeWord134] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134)-[CodeWord134] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134)" must be a medical term.

once i told them that there was no way i could come up with the $1,000 that it would take to wipe my record clean ("it's not for them but for their higher ups who must delete your horrible crime off of their computers") they then took me to the slammer. i figured that that was it, once there, no turning back. hahahaha / jajajajaja (spanish).

even if you do end up in the slammer, there is no padlock on it. hello mayberry. there is, however, a drain where you can take a, and here is a quote, a "[CodeWord134] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134)-[CodeWord134] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134)". pretendending i couldn't undertand what he said, i actually made the officer repeat it twice to me. [CodeWord134] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134)-[CodeWord134] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134). (same officer, not another one)

ok, again sorry for the long report. in the end it ended up costing me $150 which i had in "efectivo". the great thing is that they were nice enough to give me a ride back and drop me off a block away from mermaids (across from ab). the jerk in me almost wanted them to drop me right in front of either place.

please stay safe and feel free to contact me for any more details.

love,

donkey punch

Headache
01-24-04, 10:47
Friday night, the Tijuana police stopped me in the back street south of the Hong Kong club and Adelitas, tooked my ID and forced me in the back of the police car. There was another police car behind but no non-Mexicans around. They took all my cash and took me to an ATM and ordered me to take all my cash out. They looked at the receipt and told me to repeat the transactions until every last dollar was gone (the payout was in Pesos). Then they took me to the border (in the front seat of the police car) and gave me $10 of what used to be my money to pay for parking. Total loss about $1000.

Lee Bog
01-25-04, 00:09
The shakedowns seem to happen a lot at night, like Headache's post of 1-24-04.

Headache,

Can you clarify what time of night that happened to you?

What were you wearing? Maybe you looked like someone who'd have money, so they targeted you. How many times have you gone before?

Do a Forum Search for "cops" etc & read some previous posts on what things you could have done to avoid those situations. Hearing about these shakedowns is really discouraging.

Also, you may want to activate your Private Message feature in the User Control Panel to allow people to contact you thru the board without cluttering up the forum.

Pokey
01-25-04, 00:28
Headache, did you file a complaint with anyone? Under the street walkers forum I posted a link to TJ"S internal affairs division where you can post your complaint, along with some phone numbers.

SDcruiser
01-25-04, 01:00
Headache, sorry for your lost.

Amigos. This is easily avoided. Carry your license, cash and what ever vitamin 'v' you plan to use. Being an old man of 40yo, I can pretty much preidict whether I'm going to pop 1,2, or 3 times in an eveing. I multiply each pop by $100 and that's all I carry. It gives me enough cash to get a room, beer, food, tips for the dancers and of course getting laid. I can do an AB girl, SG or none at all. So when if I ever get jacked by one of pinche federales, policia or wanna be's they can get what I have on me but no more. If I ever needed 30 pesos to get back to the border I know a few people that would help me out or I'd just walk.

There's no need to carry ATM cards into TJ.

Cruiser

Amis
01-25-04, 09:56
Headache,

Interesting report re Tijuana Police! The Monger's first post documents a TJ police robbery. The incident lacks specifics as to why this fela was stopped? how much money was taken in cash? How much money was withdrawn from ATM and at what location? Most ATM usually allow $300 or $500 maximum per day. That would mean TJ police took at least $500-$700 from monger's pockets in addition to the ATM withdraws? Nor, any description of how many officer's were involved or their Patrol car information. Stopped South of Hong Kong and Adelaita Bar? That is rather vague...AD & Hong Kong are not located together! While these incidents do happen, until I hear it from regular poster's, I am a bit skepitical. I have been going to TJ for over 1.5 years at all kinds of different times and I have never been stopped. I always take taxi from and to the border. Only walk between AD & CC and to the Alley and that is it. The board recommends to take less money and always hide it on your person. May be credit/ATM cards are not a good idea to take to TJ!

Explorer8939
01-26-04, 02:26
Don't worry guys, its a troll:

"Friday night, the Tijuana police stopped me in the back street south of the Hong Kong club and Adelitas, tooked my ID and forced me in the back of the police car. There was another police car behind but no non-Mexicans around."

The 'back street' south of HK and Adelitas is the Alley. As we all know, the Alley is closed to automobiles, due to big holes in the road, not even police cars can get in there now. Just forget about it.

CC Train
01-27-04, 05:08
Headache is full of shit.

You guys have to take all these stories about shakedowns with a grain of salt. I'm from Orlando and my knowledge of Zona is still very vague but yet I wander the street pretty much at will.

I was just in TJ this past week and and stayed there overnight for 3 nights, Thur, Fri and Sat. Me and Gekko stayed at the Cascade 2000 (which is right in the alley) Thur and Fri. Those 2 nights, I freely roam from HK to AB to CC over and over without a real concern for any type of shakesdown.

I spent from Sat 6pm to about 2pm Sunday at the Cascade 2000 by myself and there wasn't any fear on my part. The whole time, I must have went back and forth from my room to the clubs numerous times.

I mean I wore all all type of attires from hockey jerseys to dress shirts and the police never gave me a second look.

Now remember I am not a regular in TJ. Gekko showed me around on Thur and Fri and I wander freely on Sat by myself.

I'm not saying all the stories are BS but take them with a grain of salt. don't believe evrything you read. Mind your own business and the streets of TJ are pretty safe.

irishman
02-01-04, 20:17
a cab driver this weekend initiated a conversation about the police. he saw an off-duty cop in a nice car and with no prompting from me began railing against the police, calling them thieves. he recounted the recent story about a policeman [CodeWord125] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord125) a female tourist while other officers were taking her husband and 9 year old son around to atms. apparently, this story has gotten a lot of publicity in tijuana as well as the us, and there is a fair amount of outrage in tijuana about it.

the cab driver also said that in the local news media there have been a lot of admonishments or advertisements imploring tijuana citizens something to the effect of "respect the tourists, for is it your money at stake."

he further said that in the past few weeks tourism has been way down in tijuana. he, and i suspect a lot of merchants in tijuana, atrribute this to the problems with the police. i told him he is probably correct, as many americans do not go to tijuana out of fear of the police, especially with the recent publicity over the horrifying [CodeWord123] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123) incident. he agreed.

police corruption in mexico is a deep-rooted problem that will not be solved anytime soon. but i take it as an encouraging sign that there is an awareness in the media and among people there with a stake in tourism that it is effecting them. it is only with sustained societal and political pressure and action that the problem will be lessened. i think the tijuana police will be under more political scrutiny, at least in the short run. maybe this will have some effect, maybe make some of them less brazen. then again, the real problem is the paltry wages that the police receive, averaging about $300 a month.

i bet that the group most upset about the tourist [CodeWord124] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord124) is probably the police themselves. this was way beyond the pale and has brought all of them under more scrutiny, thereby making their more common and accepted shakedowns more risky to their careers. i think the tijuana police culture is accepting of the bribery and shakedowns, but [CodeWord123] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123) i do not think so.

irishman
02-02-04, 00:20
Lee,

The minimum wage in Mexico is only between $4.00-5.00 a day--yes, a day. So there are a lot of Mexicans working full time and making even less than your acquaintance's $60 a week. Of course, even allowing for lower rents and other living costs in Mexico, one cannot really live on these wages. Mexicans making these wages tend to live in sub-standard housing that would not even be allowed to exist in the United States and tend to share that housing with many others.

The difference is that if you are a cop, you have the ready opportunity to supplement your income by abusing your power. Human nature being what it is, it is utterly predictable that paying someone a non-livable wage while placing them in a position of power would result in corruption. This is true of any society anywhere in the world. Add in the Tijuana police's constant interactions with economically more fortunate Americans, who not only tend to have more money but some of whom also generate resentment by behaving arrogantly, and you have the perfect recipe for a police culture of corruption. It's just inevitable.

There is corruption among our police in the US, but nothing like Mexico in terms of shaking down individuals whom they come across because of minor incidents or crimes. No rational American police officer in any major American city is going to accost a tourist and take him to an ATM to withdraw money. This petty corruption is not worth the risk because such police officers, while not highly paid, at least make enough wages and benefits to live a middle class lifestyle.

Of course, I do not want to create an erroneous impression. I think Tijuana is basically safe, and I go there all the time. I have been there 100+ times and been stopped by the police only once and, while this was a disconcerting experience, they let me go without incident. Nevertheless, law enforcement corruption is an unfortunate reality that one must be aware of.

Double
02-05-04, 07:40
TJ Trip Report,

Crooked Cops

Well guys, I have been going to TJ for many years. Until now I have always believed that if you were careful you could stay away from the bull. I don't drink or drug and I am descreet , but my number came up.

I arrived in TJ at about 12 midnight on tuesday. I had a taxi drop me off at the corner near the entrance of the alley behind Adelitas. As soon as I got out of the taxi a young Mexican guy came up and asked me about the massage parlors. I declined and walked away. No more than 20 seconds later a patrol van pulled up and the police got out. They motioned me and massage parlor guy over saying the needed to talk to us. He followed me down the street after I got out of the taxi.

The police put us against the van and searched our pockets. They found nothing in my pockets and gave me all of my belongings and money back. Just as I was getting ready to walk away, one of the officers say what is this. It was a napkin that suddenly appeared on the street between me and the massge parlor hustler. They pick it up and open it. Yes, it is some kind of drug. The Mexican guy immediatly says don't worry about it, I will take the blame. Just give me $70 dollars.

To make a long story somewhat short they throw me in the van with this guy, that I believe is working with them. He then asks for $300. I say that I don't have it. He suggest that my freedom is worth that and wants to go to the atm. I tell him that I have exceeded my limit and all I have is what is in my pocket. I give him $100 and he asks for $20 more. The massage guy drops the money out of the slot in the door and the police return. They drive me down the street and let me out saying that I was in a very bad area and I should be more carefull. They say they are doing me a favor and letting me go. They say that they are going to keep the other guy in custody.

I know they were all together. It happended way fast. I did not spend 1 full minute on the street b4 they had me.

Take care guys. This could have been much worse. BE CAREFULL. Have the cab drop you off in front of Adelitas. At least you will get in to see some pun before any trouble comes you way. My feeling is they know if we are just arriving we have our ho money in our pockets. In my case they were right. This really left a bad taste in my mouth for TJ and the people in general.

BTW the customs does not get involved, they don't take a report nothing and the Mexican counsel asked for a written report and blew it off.

Happy Trails,

Double

Hizark21
02-05-04, 22:10
The cops like to shake down people at night for some reason. Not sure, but I think it's because there is less people around. We all need to complain about the crooked cops.

Minimus
02-06-04, 01:50
Holy shit! That's a hell of a story and it hits home since I was in TJ 3 weeks ago and about one block south of Bar Taurino or whatever it's called (still not quite in Zona Norte), I decided to walk out in the street since there was a bunch of police action on the sidewalk. There just happened to be a guy walking in the street as well. One of the cops stopped us both and asked us if we were together. I said no, but was still stopped momentarily while the other guy was searched. They didn't do anything to me but it was disconcerting.

Look out fellas.

Turbolover
02-06-04, 03:50
thanks for the heads-up.
police were pretty fucking scrutinizing of me lately, though i am not a likely criminal profile, no booze, corn fed and clean cut, maybe i seem a better mark for a similar scam. the degree of scrutiny (even for tj cops) seemed really friggin' strange so i left the immediate area.
i don't think all tj police are bad, but with an attitude of "i've been coming down here for years and nothing ever..." i would have been ganked on several occasions. i would have been pooped by the scam you encountered too though.
just curious, did you get any different response from the special "tourist" police when you went through your grievance procedures?

ChiMan II
02-06-04, 06:28
Team,

What has happened to TJ? I wish there was something we could do besides just wait for this police problem to go away. Very soon TJ is going to be dead and they will have to get these police in line. If noone is complaining, the people in power in TJ will not know what is going on and it will take something big to happen before it goes away. I don't know about you guys but I am not into sneeking in the shadows in another country hiding from the police. I would rather spend $150 in the USA and be safe. Fuck being throw into a TJ jail. What happens if we spend all our money on the girls then we get nabbed? No pay off money. I don't even want to think about it.

Peace

Conejo
02-06-04, 07:39
We must all develop strategies to avoiding being shaken down by cops:

All on this board should be advised that if someone asks you what time it is, it is only to make you stop long enough to give you a pitch about a massage place or worse. It is crucial to ignore all of these people and walk away as if you did not see or hear them. Consider the fact that if you stop to talk to a person, the cops can make up any number of stories and charges up. The post by Double exemplifies just how they can and will do this. I know how paranoid this all sounds. But as bad as things seem to be getting, I think it’s not a bad Idea to have a strategy to reduce your chances of getting taken by the cops.

After reading all of these recent reports of police shakedowns, I should consider myself extremely lucky. I got away with paying $25 on a bogus charge of taking pictures illegally in the zone (of buildings mind you). I truly believe that I was made a mark last time because I did not dress down, and because I had a digital camera which is considered a luxury item in Mexico. When I was shaken down on my last trip, I got really lucky because the cop did not look inside my wallet. I don’t think that they will make that mistake twice.

For future visits I plan to follow a few extra precautions. I won’t bring any Credit or ATM cards. I will dress down as much as I can, without looking like a bum that won’t be let in the clubs (kind of hard to do). I also plan to invest in something that will allow me to stash my money away from sticky fingers, and crooked cop eyes. I will take the Taxi Libre right to the door of the AB where I can jump out of the cab and into the club (no barkers or cops hang around there). From there I will proceed with caution to the alley.

With regards to dressing down, I think that old and dirty tennis shoes are one key factor. I remember one time that I wore a newer pair of shoes old man made the comment “nice shoes”. But it he did it in a tone that made me uncomfortable and self conscious. If he spotted this despite the fact that I was dressing down, then I’m sure anybody else can. So next time, it will be my oldest pair of dirty shoes. I also plan to carefully digging through my closet for the oldest and worse clothes I can find. In addition to increasing my efforts to blend in as much as I can, I plan employ a strategy of diminished exposure in terms of time spent walking around. I figure that the less they see of me, and the less I stand out, the better the odds are that they won’t bother to make me their mark.

Overall, I think that the key for all of us is to find a way to make ourselves harder to get when our pockets are full. We must also find ways to become less obvious about the fact that our pockets are full. Cops don’t stop everyone. Weather they like it or not, it does take them time to conduct a shakedown. So they will likely look for targets of opportunity that will present the greatest likelihood of having full and or deep pockets. The shakedown that Double went through exemplifies just how well the cops know our profile and MO. Double was targeted because the cops knew that there was a high probability that he had just arrived with lots of cash, just as I was targeted because of the camera I had.

It’s up to us to use this forum to study their MO to develop strategies for avoiding their shakedowns. I don’t think that I’m going to stop mongering in TJ any time soon. But I do plan to be a hell of a lot more careful. It sucks that instead of being afraid of being mugged by the “bad guys”, we are afraid of being shaken down by cops. Makes me grateful that I live in the US where LE corruption is the rare exception rather than the rule.

One other comment regarding ATM extortion rides:

The issue of cops and crooks both taking people on an ATM ride is nothing new, nor is it an urban legend. This issue has been featured on Mexican news programs. When the crooks do it, it’s called a mini-kidnapping. The person is taken and held until the bank account is cleaned out. Since the person is released after all of the funds are drained from the account, it is know as a “Mini” kidnapping instead of the regular kidnapping for ransom. In Mexico it is well know that cops often operate with criminal gangs, it is not a stretch to believe that they employ the same ATM tactics. I will agree that some posts have been a bit sketchy about details. But the fact remains that this type of extortion is well documented all over Mexico, especially in Mexico City/DF. So do leave home without your ATM, and American Express, etc, or at least leave them in your car.

Conejo

FlapJacK
02-06-04, 08:23
The first time I get scammed by the Tj cops will probably be my last time going to TJ. Ive been going on and off the past 12 years.

So far I Guess I can say I’m lucky.
I usually go alone and some times with one friend.
I always get there while its still light out usually around 5 - 6 PM I walk to Adelitas or one of the other near by clubs and have never had a problem yet.
I most the time just hang out in the Area of AB, Chicago and the back street where Hong Kong and Miami are, where there are lots of other people.
Id like to think that I’m pretty safe in the areas I stick to.
I’m thin, clean cut and dress nice and have not been screwed over yet by the TJ cops.

All the crap I keep hearing about the TJ cops is making me think twice about going it alone in the future but doubt this will stop me from going yet.
I guess all this will just make me be more aware of my surroundings.

And while were talking about TJ cops. During Christmas time I gave that Cop/Security guy “the older heavy guy" who is always there "front door adelitas". I gave him a $20. Tip On X-mas.
He now remembers me each time I visit, he always says hi to me and shakes my hand each time I show up.. I think I made a friend there with that little random act of kindness.

Maybe this will be beneficial for me one day in the future. And then again maybe not.

Double
02-06-04, 17:48
Trolls, and Copy Catting,

I am a grown man. I have had enough of my own perosnal experiences in life that I don't need to scan the internet to find tales that I identify with to share with others as my own.

Once agian, I have been going to TJ for many years and never had a problem until this one. Most people that have gone to TJ have seen people stopped by the police, but from a distance you can't determine what is going on.

I am a simple sane adult. I do not drink, drug, or do anything to stand out. I keep a very low profile but that does not matter much if you are stepping out of a cab and the scam is on and going as soon as your foot hits the street.

Anyone monger that goes to the Zona Rosa is like a duck in a pond. Wrong part of town, questionable motives, and money in their pockets.

It does not matter how much the police make, curruption is an acceptable means to an end in TJ and these things will always happen. Show me a Mexican that does not know that curruption is a way of life in Mexico, and I will show you my new Mars rock.

My job is not to convince anyone that they are in harms way every time they cross the border, or that my experiene was real. When you are in the middle of your own problem you will realize it.

Stay safe in your travels,

Double, i.e. Troll, Copy Cat

irishman
02-06-04, 18:32
Double's report sounded credible to me, but of course everyone can make up their own mind about any report. I recall the previous post which Explorer accused Double of copying and embellishing, but Double's post is not at all similar to that prior post, much less "amazingly similar," except on a very general level (i.e. both incidents happened in the zona near the alley). Perhaps if Explorer had actually taken the time to go back and re-read that prior post (which I did not believe either, by the way), he would not have thrown out his accusation, which really should not be made lightly.

As for Double's statement that the police salaries are not a factor in their corruption, I would simply ask the following: if you were in a job that paid you $300 a month with no realistic hope of ever making legitimately much more, would you break more rules and commit more crimes to make money than you do now?

Queer Juan
02-06-04, 23:20
I'm in the Zona two or three times a week, have been going for years and have never been stopped, searched or questioned.

Funny part is I dress like I always do, which is to say I even stand out in the ritzy neighborhood where I live. Jeans daytime on occasion, but mostly Armani, Hugo Boss, Claiborne, you get the idea, dress slacks and shirt. Nobody screws with me.

Personally, I think the cops mess with the guys dressed the poorest, thats been my observation and experience. Why? I don't know, maybe their intimidated by people that dress. I walk that alley like I own it, but I'm rarely there after midnight and I don't drink so that might have something to do with it.

Also, I carry my atm and credit cards always, I make use of them when I have dates outside the Zona. Any cop that hoisted me would have their hands full, I'd go to jail rather than pay a bribe, any bribe, ever.

I've been in jail twice, I was a lot younger and it didn't scare me then and I'm a lot meaner now. Don't let anyone phuck with you down there, especially a cop on the take.

Poon Searcher
02-08-04, 11:22
Hey queer eye,

The cops in TJ are in way intimidated by you a bit. It's just that your number has not come up yet. If the cops won't get you the muggers will if what you said is true which I highly doubt. The prisons in TJ are not Club Meds like the ones across the border.

And by the way,if you think scratching and biting is mean than I guess you're pretty tough. LOL

irishman
02-15-04, 23:42
BEWARE THE FLOWER GIRLS

Glad to see the new section set up for crime, safety and the police. A warning about the "Flower Girls" on Revolucion. These are a group of mostly attractive young women (teens to early 20s) who come out in the very early morning hours on the weekends, when drunken tourists are exiting bars in large numbers. They hold flowers and purport to want to sell them to you.

In fact, they are skilled pick-pockets. Their modus operandi is to approach you aggressively and invade your personal space, two at a time, and try to pick your wallet while you are distracted by the flower ruse and their attractivness. I encountered the Flower Girls awhile back at about 4:00 a.m. while leaving Peanuts & Beer. One girl holding up a flower closely approached me smilingly from the front while one swept by behind me. It happened very fast, but I had heard about the Flower Girls before so I was on-guard and when they got close I instinctively reached to protect my wallet, which, fortunately, was in my front pocket anyway.

They got nothing from me, but I know people who have had their wallet taken and only realized it later. It did strike me as to how effective their technique probably is with people who are not on-guard. I advise everyone to be on guard if you encounter this brazen group of girls.

Dinghy
02-16-04, 06:20
irish - and to second your observation - i got picked a couple of years ago by the flower girlz - once you recognize thm and they recognize you - it's easy to shake them off - a simple clenched fist and "dejame!" (day-hah'-may is the transliteration) with the accent on the second syllable - as shown - works well - they rep001ter like cucarachas in the light. they got me for a lousy $1 or 2 - didn't matter - the ampount was unimportant - just the principle. their other area is up by rev and premiere (first street) where you cut down toward the walking bridge. they also only seem to target singles - hard to do a group. might be nice to spoof them sometime with some stage money. also assuming the time has passed, probably the same ones i dealt with - were mid teens then a couple of years ago. cute, though (just larcenous)

Mutha Foo
02-16-04, 22:59
To all you mongers out there, watch out for the funny money. A friend of mine was in TJ with his wife and kid one weekend and went to the store to buy something; when he left he went to the liquor store next door. Well, what happened was that he got phony money from the first store and the cops busted him stating that he was trying to pass off funny money. Now he is in prison and tells me that his family can't seem to get him out. His family is trying to raise the money but in the meantime he is having a very hard time just staying alive. So far he has actually witnessed 2 murders while in prison. Just be careful when money is exchanged with some of the local vendors. As we all know TJ cops are a-HOLES and the mexican court system is only interested in getting the as much money as possible from an American family.

Mutha.

SDcruiser
02-17-04, 21:24
Mutha;
wow that sucks. Was your friend given pesos or dollars?

I've always thought that TJ would be a great place to spend phony US currency. Unless the chcas start carrying marker pens.

Can someone holler back to me with a hotel suggestion for street girls except Cascadas???
thanks in advance.

Cruiser

Explorer8939
02-18-04, 01:10
The story below is funnier than the money. TJ cops are easy to payoff, unless they are convinced that you have committed a crime that money can't or shouldn't go away. For them to pass up a mordita generally means that they feel that the person is truly guilty and the crime is serious. So, don't be surprised if there is more to the story, that they searched the guy's hotel room and found a bushel of fake money.

Moreover, there is something fishy in the events as related, he goes out to the store, picks up some fake bills, and then gets arrested for passing out fake bills. If you think about that sequence, its rather odd.

Remember, everyone in prison is innocent.

Mutha Foo
02-28-04, 23:46
Explorer, that may be the case. This friend of mine is not the most honest person in the world and has been in trouble before but it was for assualt charges in the U.S. I only know his side of the story. Although, using funny money in TJ is not a bad idea. I have thought about it on occassion but I'm too lazy to pursue it. I'd rather just pay the girls in real dollars and be done with it. It may very well be that he made and attempted to use funny US money and got busted. Regardless, his family is having one hell of a time getting him out.

Mutha.

Joe Driver
03-05-04, 03:57
From US embassy in Mexico:

In some instances, Americans have become victims of harassment, mistreatment and extortion by Mexican law enforcement and other officials. Mexican authorities are concerned about these incidents and have cooperated in investigating such cases. However, one must have the officer's name, badge number, and patrol car number to pursue a complaint. Please note this information if you are ever involved with police or other officials. In addition, tourists should be wary of persons representing themselves as police officers or other officials. Request evidence that any such people are in fact who they claim to be.

Consulate Nuevo Laredo
Allende 3330,
Col. Jardín
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas 88260

Phone: (867) 714-0512
Fax: (867) 714-7984

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. / 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Principal Officer: Thomas Armbruster

Also found: Concerned U.S. citizens may contact the U.S. Embassy or any U.S. consulate to discuss precautions that they should take. Four Americans were kidnapped in separate incidents in Nuevo Laredo during the Spring and Summer of 2002.

CRIME IN BORDER CITIES: Visitors to border cities such as Tijuana , Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, and Nogales should remain alert and be aware of their surroundings at all times. Visitors are very vulnerable when visiting the local "red light districts," particularly if they are departing alone in the early hours of the morning. Municipal and traffic police are aware of the danger and regularly check the area for persons carrying weapons or drugs and for drunk drivers. Nonetheless, Americans can still fall victim to crime in these districts. In Ciudad Juarez, there has also been a rise in automobile accidents in which municipal police extort money from U.S. citizen victims.

Just various comments I found on these US Embassy, and US consulate internet websites, pertaining to Mexico, and Nuevo Laredo.

Joe Driver

The Wizard
03-07-04, 20:16
I also had an ex employee who tried to use phony money in TJ. He tried to use a fake $20 at a club. It didn't work. The police were quickly there and took him away.

I don't know how long he was locked up or what fine he paid. We had to let him go for not showing up at work.

I suggest that nobody try this. They've been using US dollars for along time and can probably spot a fake as good as anyone in the US.

King Monger
03-09-04, 09:35
About a month or ago i was in the zone a few blocks south of the alley, scouting for SGs when a local called me over trying to sell viagra. After looking at the pill with a package that looked tampered with, he gave me some massage parlor card as I left.

2 blocks later the local police call me over and start the shakedown.

After asking for ID and wondering if it was my 1st time in TJ (this was afternoon) the asked me to empty my pockets looking for drugs. I assured them I have never taken any of any kind I kept waiting for the punchline, which never came. The handed me back my wallet after not finding anything and sternly warned me to not talk to guys and the street, and to head back towards the main drag.

With my tail tucked between my legs I was so relieved I escaped with no bribe money and no threats of beating, I hightailed it back to the safety of Adelitas and my $60 chicas. Lessoned learned for this gringo, dont stray too far from base, especially when along and be careful who you talk with.

Happy Humping

KM

EDITOR's NOTE: Posting of this report was delayed pending revisions to capitalize the word "I". To avoid future delays, please use a capital "I" to refer to yourself in future reports. Thanks!

Rabo Verde
03-16-04, 11:08
Got dropped off tonight at the SENTRI border crossing point by a Taxi around 1 AM. A couple of TJ cops came and shone their flashlights in my face and ordered me to empty my pockets. They kept asking me if I bought any pills or Viagra. I was clean, so they reluctantly let me go. It was clear they wanted to shake me down if they found any excuse.

Jaimito Cartero
03-16-04, 14:20
it's strange, i've driven thousands of miles in mexico and have never had any problems with police, except in tj. my buddy and i were driving back from baja california and i took him to adelitas for a little refreshment.

after we left, and were heading to the border, we get pulled over by a motorcycle policia and told how the terrible gringos were speeding. we were moving with traffic at about 25mph. they took my buddys license and told us to follow them to the police station.

of course, we don't go to the police station, but to a quieter place to see how much they can shake us down for. they started to say that, "oh you don't want this ticket to get on your insurance and raise your rates". yeah, like a tj police ticket is ever going to show up on your us insurance.

they wanted $100 or so, and my buddy had $40 left over from adelitas and he just gave them that. i've had some good experiences in tj in the 80's and 90's, but thing like this just make me not interested in ever going there again.

Traveler X
03-18-04, 03:30
i can attest the reports of shakedowns in tj, especially in the last few years. i know many people from personal life who make trips there. some of my friends have gone to tj and had no problems, some of my friends have gone and been searched (normal), others have had to bribe their way out of fictitious traffic infractions, and some have been outright extorted by police. this has been happening most often in the last one and a half years.

when my friend was robbed by the tj police, he filed a report with the us consulate in tj. he was told several americans (and one mexican) had been extorted that same week and also filed complaints, and that there was a recent spike in extortions. i've seen the crime report he filed, and this isn't a joke. this was around spring of last year, and he was "arrested" around midnight near adelitas. needless to say, he never made it to the police station, but instead was set free off an unlit alley with an empty wallet. he tells me he committed no crime (i don't know, but he's a pretty straight person) and that the police were actually changing their story as to why they picked him up. when they eventually claimed that they had found illegal prescription medicines on him and showed him an empty packet that was not his, he offered to pay rather than gamble on it. in the end, they drove him around for about an hour. i'm told by some veterans that the tj police usually don't try to plant evidence, but i wonder if things have been changing over the years. people are talking about paying for fake traffic violations, and there is also that woman who was raped over another prescription drug arrest. maybe tj has so few real criminals now that the police can't find "legitimate" reasons to extort someone.

i'm pretty sure tj wasn't always this bad for foreigners, because even some veterans i personally know are getting shaken down their first time in years. i think if this happens to anyone, at least report it to the us consulate, because they're the only ones who can legally look out for americans in tj. if this problem is as real as it seems, i'd like to know that someday it'll be fixed to where more people can be making the trip safely.

Jaimito Cartero
03-18-04, 08:28
I was thinking that it would be interesting to set up a hidden camera in your vehicle and get all the info on tape from a traffic shakedown in TJ. I don't live in So Cal, but am surprised that a local station hasn't done it yet. Anyone ever hear of this being done?

Smut Villain
05-05-04, 18:05
Greetings,

I've actually lived in Tijuana for about 5 years, and I've pick up some tips (through locals or personal experience) that should help you stay relatively unmolested:

(1) The ONLY time I've ever been fucked with by LE was when I was in my car. Period. Something about California license plates just causes dollar signs to appear in their eyes. That's why I either walk or take a cab when I'm in Zona Norte.

(2) I keep my ATM card in a plastic sleeve in my shoe, and I leave the wallet at home. I usually have a seperate "mordita fund" of about $20-$40 U.S.D. in a conspicuous place on me (I've only had to use it once, but it's there just in case).

(3) I stay sober, especially when alone. You wanna get "borracho" (drunk)? Stay the hell in your motel room, and don't come out FOR ANYTHING. Being drunk isn't a crime in Mexico (I don't think so), but it makes you such an easy mark for banditos and corrupt LE alike.

(4) In Zona Norte, if you venture past AB or CC (or the Manhattan Club), you are indeed asking for it. Keep your ass in the well-lit, populated areas.

(5) If you're going to be on the street after 2 am, taxis are an excellent idea. I've never been fucked with on foot, but there's always a first time.

(6) Re weapons: everything from pepper spray to pistols are highly illegal in Mexico. Leave them at home, or we won't be hearing from you for a while.

(7) If anyone tries to give you a sales pitch on the street, break in the other direction with no delay. Don't even stop to give the time of day (some of these fake "vendors" DO work with the "Policia")

(8) I don't buy shit from the Farmacias (drug stores), not even aspirin, when I'm downtown. It gives the TJ cops a pretense for a shakedown, and U.S. Customs at the border wouldn't exactly greet you with open arms either.

One more thing: I used to be in the Military Police, and I still have my Badge and I.D. I was stopped one time (when I was still in the Military) and frisked. When the cops came across my credentials they left me alone and treated me like a friggin' brother; it shocked the hell out of me (I thought that TJ's Finest were incapable of honor)! Not that I'm advising that you get some (fake) credentials, but I think maybe that this could be an idea some might try (I also hear it works great with F.D. credentials as well).

I'm not claiming to be some expert or anything, but I've been living there awhile and have yet to see the inside of a TJ cell. I must be doing something right. Besides, all this shit I'm talking about is either things I've witnessed or things that have actually happened to me, so I know this advice works.

Be careful out there, guys.

Arbol Solo
06-01-04, 01:57
I have been to TJ twice but I have been reading extensively about it.

I see people 10 feet away from cops and negotiating with the SGs, with no problem.

Shakedowns: The news is that TJ city is now very strict with corrupt cops. Several people have written that they immediately tried to read the name of the officer from the badge and made him aware that the person knew his name. That was enough to scare the corrupt cop. You have to file complaint with local authority for action, and not US consulate. Action is taken if you do so.

Be respectful to cops. I think that is their weak point. A gringo acting arrogantly would get in trouble. Never use a curse word. I know someone who recently was arrested and fined by judge for using bad language. And he didn't curse the cop. Just muttered something with 'f***' word.

A chica from AB stole money from my vallet in the room. I caught her before she could run away. Luckily I have two large bills in my vallet and I exactly remembered what it was. So they searched her and found the two bills. She was fired. They called the police (5-6 cops reported). They asked my name and address just for report. They didn't ask a single question what I was doing in the room with her. I didn't want to press charges so I just walked away. They didn't bother me.

I think all the advice in last post was excellent. I intend to follow these directions when it comes to how much and where to carry the money.

I usually stay at Cascadus and bring the SGs up to my room. Just be careful to keep all your staff in one area and watch it. I saw one chica trying to get close to my stuff for no reason. I then watched her closely till she left.

If a chica asks for money in advance, I always refuse it. Most of the times, they agreed for a 'despues' payment.

Donkey Punch
06-03-04, 16:16
If drunk drivers are causing half of all the problems, who is causing the other half? On another note: Cali is a police state only because (and this was explained to me by a few member of the Chicago P.D.) our Cali police force is young, somewhat inexperienced and insecure. They are not able to look at "us" (not necessarily a color thing) and be able to make a split second decision. They are going to shoot first, strike first, etc. because they don't want to get hurt. A seasoned officer is going to be able to look at a situation / person and be able to tell if there is going to be a problem. Somehow here in L.A. they are either not willing or able to do that. Si o no?

Love,

DP

Big Baller
06-21-04, 12:08
I've been reading all the postings about being fucked by the police in Tijuana, I don't live in "TJ"right now but I was born and raised there and I go in a regular basis, and there are some things I would like to say about it.

1- Police in TJ are like dogs, they can smell fear, but they smell attitude and arrogancy too, when stoped by a TJ cop, don't fear, but don't be rude either.

2- This may be hard to believe to many of you, but TJ police is not really harmfull, they play the bad guys, and if you buy it, they'll get you and everything you have on you right there. The last thing a TJ police wants to do is hurt an American, TJ is a big city ( yeah its a big city even though most of you have only been in ''El centro") but much of it's income comes from tourist (and they don't care if you are there to buy a mexican sombrero, to get drunk or to get a cheap piece of ass) so they know if something bad happens to a tourist in police hands they'll get in serious trouble, and not only one officer but the whole department, wich leads me to the next point.

3- when you bribe an officer, he doesn't get to keep all that money, he has to share it with his chief and his chief shares it with his chief, so is kinda useless to get a name, badge number, or patrol car number, because the police department is not gonna do anything about it, and the US embassy has no direct influence in Baja state, and another hard to believe thing in Mexico is that not even the Mexican goverment knows how many cops there are, this means that a police officer in mexico can be working with a fake name, many diferent badge numbers, and in diferent cars every day, and since there is no registry or a database of names or numbers, finding the guy who took your money is very dificult or imposible.

4- Don't believe all the urban miths about TJ and even if its your first visit down there don't act disoriented, dont get nervous when with cops and dont let them take all you have, if they say 100 you say 20 and so then it'll end up being abbout 35.

5- And last, no arms, drugs or any legitimate reson for them to fuck you up, cause they will, and theres no 100 dollar bill that is gonna save you from visiting one of the most exclusive TJ's suites, "La carcel 8"

tjmonger
06-29-04, 02:32
Here's an interesting article on TJ safety that I saw on Inside Edition the other night.

http://www.insideedition.com/investigative/Tijuana.htm

Makes you think twice about going down there.

Danny G
07-02-04, 10:51
Hola Amigos,

I have a question about returning back across the US border.

My question is, will I have problems crossing back into the US. I'm a filipino-american, thus am frequently mistaken for being Mexican. Will my driver's license be sufficient to cross back to the US? I'd prefer to take my US passport, but I recently lost my passport and naturalization certificate and it will be a while before I can get replacements.

Thanks,

Danny G

The Shaft
07-02-04, 21:00
When crossing back to the US, it all depends on who you encounter at the entry point. If you come across some gun-ho prick, be ready to be questioned, especially if you look Mexican. On the other hand, some may just ask your citizenship, and boom, you cross. If I were you, I'd carry your passport, but I don't blame you for not wanting to.
In general, most of the immigration officers have a pretty good nose of whose trying to weasel their way in or not.

Technically a driver's license is a valid form of ID, but however doesn't necessarily show that you might have legal residence in the US.

Ninguno Especial
07-03-04, 00:56
Danny G,

You should have no problem with you DL as ID. I've heard from 1 PI guy the only time he has problems is if the agent is PI as well. Just be serious and answer questions, if any, honestly, should be a problem.

TesterTester
07-03-04, 07:24
Danny G,

Your driver's license should be fine to get back into the U.S.

tester

Nauskas
07-03-04, 07:50
You won't have any issue getting back witha CDL, because it is in the database.

What a Border agent will probably tell you if you mention your passport or certificate is if you filed for new ones or reported them lost. several of their systems now reflect that information.. More trivial, but a good idea (apply for new docs) since these folks take that stuff somewhat seriously these days.

GettingTang
07-03-04, 09:11
You won't have any problems getting back across the boder with just you CDL, that is if the TJ police don't kidnap you and steal your $, or even perhaps worse!

GettingTang
07-03-04, 09:13
It's funny, how big a deal the media makes over most international kidnappings, when it happens almost every day to Americans, just a few feet from the US border, done by the TJ police, if only briefly to steal your money, it does happen, yet we never hear about this.

TANG~!

Danny G
07-06-04, 17:12
Thanks for all the input, guys.

I did in fact make a trip into TJ this weekend. I didn't have a problem getting back into the US with just my driver's license. Of course my high and tight haircut gave away my military background and the first question asked of me by the cute blonde female border patrol agent was, "what rank are you?" I suppose, if need be, my military ID would have gotten me back into the US.

Later,

Danny G

Dong Long
07-26-04, 09:00
Hey guys,

I'm an asian guy, and I've been to TJ before a couple times, no trouble no harassment but do you think I'd have any trouble going for some of the action at Adelita's or Chicago Club? And getting back over the border after that? I usually do the SW thing or AMP thing here, I just have heard so much praise about TJ and want to get some advice.

EDITOR's NOTE: Posting of this report was delayed pending revisions to add standard capitalization throughout the text. To avoid delays in future reports, please refrain from using the "chat room" style of writing with no capital lettering. Thanks!

ImTheMan1
07-27-04, 17:10
Dong Long,

Not a problem. In fact, you will see so many asian fellowers in Adelita bar or Chicago Club. Someone in this forum even called the chicago Club Asian American Social Club because of too many asians there :-)

Sonidos
07-28-04, 04:54
Doon Long,

I am African and two of my Adelitas mongering budies are Asians, and we have never had any problems for the past two years of hanging out there. If you have the cash and you are polite to the ladies, you will get all the action you want. I would avoid Chicago because that place really sucks. Adelitas does get crowded and really hot on weekends, so you are warned.

Be safe, but lots of fun.

Member #1846

Mutha Foo
07-29-04, 03:03
Dung Long,

Most TJ hookers prefer Asians because for one, you guys have lots of money and two, you guys got small peckers.

Mutha.

Sordid
07-30-04, 03:16
We stopped by TJ last night. I just got back this afternoon. My buddies left early this morning to beat traffic. While walking in a darker, quiter area just outside of the zona, I was jacked up against the wall by two of the law enforcement officers in the white shirts with the black vests.

The one searching me handed me the money in my pocket as he searched until he got to the pocket with the 10s and 20s. Then he tried to hand the wad to his partner. I turned around and grabbed it from him. His partner slammed me in to the wall and grabbed my right hand shouting, "Arriba!" multiple times. Then they took everything from me, then returned them a few minutes later.

They tried to take 2 small electronic items by filling up my hands (while returning my money/belongings), then walking away very quickly. I went after them to get my stuff back. I may spend a few hours in jail, but I would've worked VERY hard to get both of them fired any way I could if I hadn't gotten my stuff back. The bigger fatter guy had an attitude, but when they realized I wasn't going to let them just walk away, they gave me my stuff back. I assume they are only searching for easy prey.

They stopped me on the premise that they were looking for drugs (looking for a reason to rob tourists under color of authority). They also asked if I had people there with me. I don't think they would have stopped us if all 5 of us were there.

Hope this helps anyone who runs into these assholes.

Warning: DO NOT FUCK WITH THE FEDERALIES!

The guys in the military fatigues with the assault rifles are not to be trifled with! They will not bother you unless you go out of your way to do something really stupid. It's the locals that will mess with you.

Dong Long
07-30-04, 09:55
Mutha fag,

Nope not small but BIG enough to fit in yo corn cob sized bung hole that farts like a pant from that LSW @ the alley named Cunsweylo.

Street Hoolum
08-07-04, 05:09
Well, about the safety of TJ policias. There's not much issues to talk about safety in TJ. Just like a 3rd world country, where you carefully guard your wallet, dont walk by yourself into the wrong neighborhood, do not associate or talk to locals about buying drugs, than you're probably ok to be in TJ. I driven to TJ many times in the past and for the past 3 to 5 years, I never had a problem with policias or local thugs.

Personally I drove a late 90's 5 series BMW and I always drove across the border and parked at this parking where there's a taco store right next to the parking lot. Don't be intimidated or affraid to drive across because you're thinking that you drive a nice car. In the parking lot, I saw new Corvette, Porsche 911, and many German cars. One thing keep in mind is that, do not drive your car around the neighborhood if you dont know where you're going. Many streets are one way and little mistake can get you trouble either by the police. Also, purchase your yearly Mexico insurance when you indeed cross the border with your car.

Many times I drove on Revolucion and proceed to Chicago club and parked my car into the parking garage right adjacent to Chicago club. There are times when Patrol officers on their motorcycles are riding and stoping right next to me. They looked at me and politely smile and rode away. No problem people, just drive your car into TJ and there are many parking for you.

As for the policia harassing tourists or trying to rob tourists, I'm not sure about that and never encounter it myself. I think its probably urban myths or something. I sometime dress casual such as Lacoste polo shirt, Dockers pant and K-Swiss shoes. Policia can easily tell that I'm a gringo or tourist. Never had their eyes on me for more than 1 second. Also, sometime I wore a levi's jean, a t-shirt worth probably 50 cents, and a pair of vans. Same thing happen with no policia make eye contact with me for more than 1 second.

Not sure if this corrupting cops shit is real or not, but dont let other people information let you down. I never had any problem with local thugs and policias. Just be polite and positive. Dont be a jerk and boisterous around the neighborhood like you're a god damn American and nobody can do shit about it. Believe me, policias can do lots of shit to American. One friend of mine from LAPD was actually arrested few years ago when too much drinking and cursing with locals at a bar. Policias and plain clothes detectives probably, had him search and detain. LAPD friend show him his LAPD badge and ID badge and the TJ detectives said " Your LAPD badge dont work here." Well, make long story short, he's jailed for approximately 20 hours after TJ policias called in to LAPD to verify his identification. In the mean time, I was waiting for him around the neighborhood by having lots of carnitas tacos, mucho cervezas and lots of chica to talk to.

He's feeling like shit and knowing that he shouldn't fuck around in TJ anymore. So, good luck and hope this information will find you good.

Traveler X
08-08-04, 09:26
shakedowns in tj are not an urban legend. the us embassy in tj gets these complaints on a regular basis, and have even released statistics on the ones that get reported. there are also a number of well-documented shakedowns including [CodeWord123] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123) that have happened over the years.

i do hope things are improving in tj, but corruption is a real problem. there's a reason why police are so eager to randomly search people, and taxi drivers tell you to be careful of the police. the advice some veterans gave me was to avoid the rld after 10pm, carry as little as possible (no ccs or atm cards), and go straight to the clubs by taxi rather than walk. this has helped me avoid problems my friends have run into, although it's been some time since i've gone.

police can and do randomly search anyone they want without probable cause in mexico. on one trip i saw three such incidents, all near adelitas and chicago. if the police do search you, they examine everything, so they know exactly how much cash and what cards you carry. basically, the corrupt police are kidnappers, except it's illegal to run away from them.

if you are searched, make note of their name and badge, as well as the color of their car (if present). there are many departments and officers in tj, and so when my friend filed a crime report with the consulate, they were only able to id the police using this information. the consulate then passes this information on to the lawyer for the tj police.

Country John
08-11-04, 06:32
This is almost exactly how it went down last wednesday night in the Zona just moments after I dropped off Diana de Culiacan (one of my all times fav's) after a night of AlleyKat 17 in the Zona. Some stuff I don't have word for word (drug mass) but it's close enought for you to get the picture.

Drop Off Diana in the Zona, Turn right to head back to hotel, cops light me up:

Police Officer: Did that girl just give you a blow job?
Country John: No.
PO: Get out of the car. (Asks for license etc., part down - usual stuff.)
PO: What are you doing here?
CJ: I had a date with my girlfriend.
PO: I am going to arrest you because you know that is illegal in Mexico, lock up your car because you are going with me.
CJ: What is the charge?
PO: Getting a blowjob from a prostitute on the street in Tijuana, it is against the law.
CJ: What is your name?
PO: Officer responds.
CJ: Officer Fuckhead, I did not get a blowjob from that girl on the street in Tijuana. She spent the evening in my hotel.
PO: I SAW her give you the blowjob sir and that is why you are under arrest. I have a judge who will see you now.
CJ: I would be delighted to meet your judge, show him my hotel key and ask him to call the PUEBLO AMIGO where we are registered as guests and the front desk staff will verify that she was with me all evening. By the way, what was your name again (staring at his name tag).

(Country John proceeds to "lock up" his car and walk towards the police car. At this time, another police car pulls up (the whole fucking world is going to show up now) and out steps a very neat and trim individual who calls himself the "supervisor." These were uniformed cops in marked vehicles.)

PO #1 drives off. PO#2 says "What's the problem here?"
CJ: The PROBLEM is that your officer says he saw something that he didn't really see and we are on our way to tell your judge about it, but he drove off.
PO#2: OK sir, he told me over the radio what he saw so you can take your car and follow me to the station, the fine will be about $150.00 US Dollars (yes, he said US Dollars).

(He said this in a kind of "you can give me the money now in cash and we can forget the whole thing" kind of voice. I am Ex LE so I sometimes have a fucking death wish OK?)

CJ: The fine will be nothing sir because I committed no crime and I am ready to follow you now.

(CJ returns to his car, starts the engine, turns on the lights and turns on his signal light like he is ready to go. The police car behind him does not move however. He Waits, he waits, turns off his signal light, stops the engine gets out of the car and walks back to the police car and asked the Supervisor...)

CJ: Are we READY yet?
PO#2: OK Senior, you can go now but you go HOME.
CJ: OK, but I need directions back to Hotel Pueblo Amigo.
PO#2: OK, (gives directions).
CJ: Clarifies directions, these guys were trying to fuck me.
PO#2: Have a good night.

PO#2: drives off.

The reason why this went so well is because I was right and didn't do anything stupid. I had the answers, spoke politely but firmly taking names etc. If you get stopped by the cops, don't be wrong if you can avoid it, it's a very weak position to be in with these guys because they'll gut you like a fish.

Maybe this time I was lucky, maybe so but one thing for sure, I could prove the other guy wrong which is more important than proving YOURSELF right. They're after the money, plain and simple. Neat stuff eh?

Country John

Rabo Verde
08-12-04, 00:48
As noted here b4, it is MUCH better these days to walk across and take a taxi.

Street Hoolum
08-12-04, 23:35
Yeah,

I agreed with Chuponalgas. It is better to walk across the border and take the taxi for 4 or 5 dollars. Unless you are very familiar with the Tijuana streets and neighborhood, it is wise to place your car at the American last stop.

To CJ:

You're right in one thing. Be polite and be positive. Dont act boisterous around the neighborhood and dont be an asshole. Yelling at policia in TJ will not get you anywhere except in " Jail "
Although I never had any problems with the policia, I can tell they sometime fuck with tourists and hassle money from US. Can't blame them, think about their coulple hundreds dollars paid salary.

If you are a newbie in TJ, it is best to walk across and take the taxi to your destination. After certain times of mongering in TJ, if you feel comfortable driving into TJ, then do so and drive carefully. I dont think policias in TJ target only expensive cars and such, because I known couple TJ club muchachas drove very nice cars too. So, not sure if you drive an expensive car will get you pull over or not, if you are afraid then just park your car at the border.

Big Baller
08-13-04, 20:42
That's what I'm talking about Country John, firm but polite, they're after the easy money and if you get intimidated you will end up giving it to them, as I said before, they can smell fear and attitude, if you did'nt do anything wrong there's no way they can do shit about it, most of them are harmless.

Corruption is not an urban mith in TJ, is happens and yes, the reports are filled, names are given, but when you let the Tj police take your money with little or no resistance there's nothing you can do afterwards.

And as country john said, he didn't do anything wrong ( and even if he did get a blow job from any girl, thats not illegal, is part of the tourist package in TJ, not officially legal, but practicly legal) But if you did something wrong (drugs, fire arms, fake money, etc.) they will get you, and take everything they can from you because then they will have a legitimate reason.

So my advice as a TJ native is don't be afraid to go down there, but behave, don't bullshit with those people and you will have a good cheap time.

Rabo Verde
08-16-04, 00:43
Interesting story:

http://mediafilter.org/guest/Pages/January.09.1997.19.08.21

Matiz
08-16-04, 20:04
Last Wednesday night around 2 a.m., I took a Libre back to the border and was let off on the walkup to the U.S. building. When I got out, my chapstick tube fell from my jacket onto the pavement. As I picked it up and put it in my pocket, five policemen surrounded me. The leader asked me what I had put in my pocket. I showed him and this launched a fullscale search of my jacket, then me, and all my pockets. They put everything on the hood of the patrolcar, where I was spreadeagled with my hands down on the hood. Once they realized I spoke enough Spanish to talk with them, they peppered me with questions like where I lived, what I did for a living, and where I had been in TJ. A little voice told me not to say I'd been in the ZN, so I said I'd been at Iguanas/Ranas. Cryptically, one officer said, "The iguana is a nice animal."

They were understandably perplexed by some of my paraphrenalia. My cigar cutter mystified them, as did my contact lens case, so I explained how each operated. Fortunately, I didn't have any contraband on me like drugs or even Viagra. I did have an almost empty tube of lube, which prompted one cop to say to me, "You know what this is used for, don't you?" Then he made a crude handsign for fucking. I didn't respond. I had assumed by then I was in for a shakedown drive. I know that these drive-arounds occur with some frequency and that the cops almost always let you go if you stay cool. If pressed by the cops, I would ask to see the judge, knowing that this is the last thing they want and that the cops usually fold if you call their bluff. Worst case scenario was that I would have to explain it all to the judge, which didn't bother me at all. In fact, I was surprisingly calm, and even felt a perverse tingle of anticipation about the challenge, should it come to that, of embarrassing these macho thugs in front of the judge ("So you see, your honor, I didn't realize that in Mexico probable cause could be established by carrying a concealed container of lip balm.")

However, at just about the moment I expected to be hauled into their car for a tour of TJ, the leader motioned for me to put my stuff back in my pockets. When I had, he handed me my driver's license and said, "Gracias, senor." I walked into the U.S. side looking straight ahead, a little surprised and very relieved. I immediately counted my money and checked for items, but everything and every dollar was accounted for.

I've been going to TJ for fifteen years and this is the first time I have been hassled by cops. I wasn't drunk, or even a little high, I dress neatly, act appropriately, and don't carry contraband. Always felt that I presented a very small, innocuous target to the TJ cops and that once I got near the U.S. building I was more or less "safe", but no more. A friend has told me that the point where I was stopped, which is where most of the Taxi Libres now drop off their customers, has become a favorite shakedown spot for the cops. He suggested going back to the old routine of being dropped off on the other side of the highway and walking over on the bridge, like we used to do years ago. Maybe I'll try that. For now, though, I'm going to be very careful in that area, avoid eye contact with cops, keep a low profile, and try to avoid anything that might give these jerks a pretext to stop me again.

Conejito
08-19-04, 10:53
Matiz

You are right, I posted a while ago about these "at-the-sentri-border-line" cops. I wish someone knew the chief or something so these ass-holes would go away.

They especially like to stop guys who are alone. Lucky you did not have viagra or whatever.

EDITOR's NOTE: Posting of this report was delayed pending revisions to add standard capitalization throughout the text. To avoid delays in future reports, please refrain from using the "chat room" style of writing with no capital lettering. Thanks!

Hobby Fan
08-26-04, 00:09
I have been hassled but not robbed at Sentri. I have spoken to Americans who claimed they were robbed at Sentri. Conejito is correct, again.

As to Country John's story, I would use cabs. Driving in ZN is asking for it, IMHO.

HF

Country John
09-01-04, 06:07
I am very comfortable driving in Mexico. I've been doing it for years.

I am no fool, however. I always purchase full coverage insurance and I behave when I drive there. My paperwork is in order and the car is clean. I must be mobile when there so I had to get used to the idea of driving there a few years ago since I do biz there.

I guess it depends on how high profile you are. How big a target you become or if they make you as an easy mark. They just took a shot with me but I would have no part of that.

Going to the zona presents a certain amount of exposure on its own. Drawing attention to yourself should be something any "visitor" to the zona should avoid.

It has nothing to do with bringing a vehicle across. It's actually more convenient in many ways as long as you watch the booze.

If everyone knows that you get grabbed at the sentry post then why the hell do people allow themselves to get dropped there?

Country John

Member #2041
09-01-04, 17:59
Interestingly, I ALWAYS tell the Border guards EXACTLY why I went over there, as in: "Well sir, I came across to have sex with beautiful prostitutes for cheap" And I have NEVER been hassled. In fact, I usually elicit a laugh out of them. When I cross, I am never drunk or under the influence of any narcotics, and I also never have any drugs on me, other than those Levitra for which I have a legal U.S. prescription - but nobody has ever searched me.

IMHO, the border guards respect the fact that you are obviously telling them the truth with that answer.

Donkey Punch
09-02-04, 13:14
Matiz,

Thank you for sharing your experience. Many fellow Gentlemen of Leisure (***** Mongers / Hobbiest / Dirty Filthy Perverts) feel that just because they behave, don't drink, keep a low profile, are white, are brown, are black, are red, are yellow, wear a Polo shirt, don't wear a Polo shirt, wear socks (eso si que es), don't wear sock (eso si que es), etc B.S. are not going to be singled out by TJ's Finest of The Worst. I feel that it can happen to anyone. --- For my next adventure I am planning on flinging a lunch bag full of poo into the TJPD substation by The Alley. There is absolutly no way that this will cost me more than my last adventure* ($150, it is so great to be a medium roller). --- If you would like, please check out my early post from: 01-19-04 10:51. Please take everything in, filter it for your own needs, and keep what benefits you.

Love,

D.P.

TJ Bob
09-08-04, 03:13
Do the TJ cops carry guns? If i were to be hassled/mugged by one of the corrupt TJ cops in the alley, i could easily take their head off with my ring fighting experience unless they have weapons or more than 2 of them are on me. Does anyone know if they carry weapons as i'm pretty sure their physical prowess is probably like a girl.

Sonidos
09-08-04, 05:44
TJ Bob,

You asked: "Does anyone know if they carry weapons as i'm pretty sure their physical prowess is probably like a girl." Even if they don't carry a gun, do you really want to find out? I would rather spend my time and money with the lovely ladies. Great question, though. I feel like that sometimes in a lot countries, not just TJ.

Member #1846

Brutus1
09-09-04, 23:38
Beware of a man claiming to be a police officer, he is a fake.

I read this on another board.

TJ Bob
09-10-04, 04:00
1846,

It's not that I want to fight a TJ cop, but sometimes you just have to be able to defend yourself from a thief even a thief with a badge. Besides, I'm a bodybuilder and I was into alot of muay thai ring fighting in the past, so I do enjoy the sport of fighting. But, I'm the last of my friends to ever pick a fight with anyone. I always remind my friends when we go out to a club, "we are here to hit on girls, not to hit guys."

Brutus,

Who's faking to be a cop? What's that got to do with anything here? explain.

Brutus1
09-14-04, 05:10
TJ bob,

The guy is a thief,trying to get money from people.

This forum is about safety and crime.

Mr Speed
09-28-04, 09:39
Only real police can carry a gun in Tj if they are fake cop and carry a gun they are illegal and there shoudl be more of them around the corner somewhere about the tear the Sh#@ out of someone. If it's a real cop take his badge # down and report his ass

peac out

TJ Bob
09-28-04, 23:31
I hear that the TJ cops are out to shakedown as many people as they can until the new officials from the recent elections take over TJ in december. There are going to be changes and these current TJ cops are trying to load up as much $$$ as they can before the changes. So, be careful and play safe guys!

Allen Eire
10-10-04, 05:07
TJ Bob,

Are you for real?!! Take on a TJ Cop or two. You had better hope you kill them before they radio for back up because you won't making it back across the border alive.

One busy Friday nite outside the AB a TJ Cop was standing there like a doorman as I entered and I noticed his piece, a .357 revolver. Mexico is not liberal England the cops do carry loaded guns.

Rabo Verde
10-10-04, 12:07
TJ BOB be sure and tell us when you plan to street-fight a TJ Cop, so we can all come and watch you get shot 500 times!

TJ Bob
10-10-04, 20:48
Yeah, no problem. Cum by and watch me shoot my load, you [Deleted by Admin]

EDITOR's NOTE: Posting of this report was delayed pending removal of Personal Attacks in the text. To avoid delays in future reports, please do not post Personal Attacks in the Forum. Thanks!.

Wtboatr
10-12-04, 03:03
I'm no fan of cops, especially the corrupt ones in Mexico.

I have to say that I really appreciated one cop who gave me a hand the last time I was in TJ. There was this one drunk street bum wouldn't leave me alone. He kept asking for a dollar for a taco. My usual bum handling routines didn't work on him, i.e. ignoring him, not looking him in the eye, pretending that I don't speak English, repeating words from a Chinese menu so he thinks I'm from China, and walking really fast.

The dude followed me from the Alley all the way to the CC. The door man wouldn't let him in. There wasn't much action there so I left. The drunk bum continued his pursuit of me after I left the CC. By the time I got to the corner I was ready to give this guy a real good punch across the jaw, but I realized I was in Mexico and I didn't want any trouble.

So I crossed the street toward the police station and a cop saw that I was being chased by this bum. The cop waved someing at him. I can't remember what it was, maybe a baton. The bum backed off. The cop said something to him in Spanish. I don't know what he said but I hope is was something like, "Leave the tourists alone or I'll throw you in jail." The guy backed off and went walking in the other direction.

Donkey Punch
10-29-04, 16:27
Interestingly, I ALWAYS tell the Border guards EXACTLY why I went over there, as in: "Well sir, I came across to have sex with beautiful prostitutes for cheap" And I have NEVER been hassled. In fact, I usually elicit a laugh out of them. When I cross, I am never drunk or under the influence of any narcotics, and I also never have any drugs on me, other than those Levitra for which I have a legal U.S. prescription - but nobody has ever searched me.

IMHO, the border guards respect the fact that you are obviously telling them the truth with that answer.


Brilliant! I wish I had the balls to say this. For the record I'm a comedian / satirist and my best response to the border guards thus far has been:

Guard: Are you bringing anything back?

Me: I hope not.

Sincerely,

Don Quixote Punch

Allen Eire
11-27-04, 07:57
Fellas,

I was down in TJ a week ago Wednsday for about the fifth time in my life and I will relate an incident that occurred outside the AB. While waiting outside for what seemed like an eternity for my amigo to conduct his biz upstairs (There is only so much noise, smoke and beer I can hack.) I was standing outside and a group of about 5-6 cholos come sauntering up the street & head into the AB. In about 30 minutes the TJ Cop that is posted at the door & the Manager pull these clowns out of the club onto the sidewalk. Apparently the ringleader had snapped off a picture inside the club with his cell phone without anyones permission. The TJ Cop had the kid's phone in his hand and was scrolling through his pictures, found the one in question and deleted it in front of him and gave him his phone back. They then moved on to another venue. In the meantime while the cop was scrolling through the phone another back-up unit rolled up with two officers, just in case. No big deal was made and everyone went there separate ways but it clearly seems snapping off shots inside the AB will get you removed from the club. Clearly you do not want to do things to draw the attention of the police.

Crossing the border was a breeze, the only thing the agent asked me was my country of origin (USA!). Might I add all my trips have been without incident but I am always alert & don't get drunk.

Be safe!

ChiMan II
11-29-04, 06:47
Team,

I was just in TJ. Tj is so much better now because the cops seem too be scarce. When I was there 8 months ago I could not wait too get out of there. Tj seems too be safe from corrupt cops now. Too me they were the real threat down there.

Chiman

Peter Pan #3
12-15-04, 09:59
i was waiting inside an art shop in the artisan village near the foot bridge around 3pm saturday. the plaza was pretty crowded, with about 50 people. no cops were seen.

suddenly there was a motorcycle cop riding with siren into the plaza. then there was 2 patrol cars and 6 to 8 policemen converging towards to footbridge. they all jumped on one mexican guy wearing a white t shirt. a lot of people were haging around, looking at the incident. i asked a few people 'que pasa?' noone knew what was going on. most of them thought it was a drug bust.

after they cuffed and took the mexican guy away, the shop owner told me he heard the guy was arrested for trying to get into the public restroom at the foot bridge without paying the 25 cents to the girls at the door. the girls screamed and the cops immediately ran over!

just think what would happen if you try to screw the sg's out of their $30 fee. 30x4x10=1200 uniformed and plain clothes mexican cops would probably be descending down on you, kicking your balls in with their dirty, little boots so you never have the urge to cheat these poor little mexican girls again!

strangely when gringos are under deathly choke holds, having their wallets forcefully removed by big, hairy mexican banditos around the zona roja, they could never find any mexican cops around ! the captains, lieutenants and all their troops seem to be busy in their stations most of the time stripping, thoroughly searching and [CodeWord125] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord125) female tourists as recently reported in the press!

Nauskas
12-29-04, 08:34
Some here would probably figure I know this, but I figured I would asl.

I noticed the line to the border crossing has been huge between 9 AM and 2 PM. Best time has been 45 minutes and they no longer seem to rent the bicycles to get to the front of the line. The line (sentri) almost always seems to go under the bridge during the day. I have seen the $5 buses, but failed to see they get you into San Ysidro faster than the line moves. (there is a line of buses)

How are things at say 4 PM and 6 PM ? Wondering if its closer to a 10 minute ordeal then

Is it any lighter during the week ?

I know the car line is bad except between 9 PM and 5 AM.

SoCalLans
01-09-05, 07:23
I haven't been down in over 3 months and last time, locals warned me of crack downs (I think due to impending elections and who knows what else). I read an article in the LA times that said SWs had stood up to the new regime and won.

That said, the last thing I want is to get shaken down by these crooked cops. Last time they found legit medication from the US and gave me crap. While the seedy element adds a funny mystique, too much is a deterrent.

I'd appreciate any knowledge/advice....

TIA

Mutha Foo
01-10-05, 01:46
This was on revolution (near the arch) about 5 p.m. on Saturday. The victim was about 40 years old. One mexican did a choke hold on him while two other mexicans went thru his pockets. It happended in a matter of seconds. A woman yelled out for police but two TJ cops standing nearby did absolutely nothing. This was the first time I have ever seen anything like this before. Be careful guys.

Mutha.

Long Duck Dong II
01-12-05, 23:00
This was on revolution (near the arch) about 5 p.m. on Saturday. The victim was about 40 years old. One mexican did a choke hold on him while two other mexicans went thru his pockets. It happended in a matter of seconds. A woman yelled out for police but two TJ cops standing nearby did absolutely nothing. This was the first time I have ever seen anything like this before. Be careful guys.

Mutha.And you did NOTHING?

Belgrath
01-13-05, 11:18
Not surprising a gringo got mugged there, all kinds of druggies and weirdos (TV's) seem to hang out north of 3rd according to the few cabbies that were honest and not trying to get me to go to a massage parlor. The couple times i've roamed north of Peanuts bar (not alone!) it looked pretty trashy and street girls(?) hanging out in front of places like Alaska Hotel looked pretty abused and used.

Bayou Redneck
01-29-05, 21:40
January 26, 2005

Full Warning: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_2100.html

...violent criminal activity, including murder and kidnapping, in Mexico's northern border region has increased. The overwhelming majority of the victims of violent crime have been Mexican citizens. Nonetheless, U.S. citizens should be aware of the risk posed by the deteriorating security situation. This Public Announcement expires on April 25, 2005.

Violent criminal activity along the U.S.-Mexico border has increased... foreign visitors, including Americans, have been among the victims of homicides and kidnappings in the border region in recent months...

U.S. citizens are urged to be especially aware of safety and security concerns when visiting the border region. The majority of the thousands of U.S. citizens who cross the border each day do so safely, exercising common-sense precautions such as visiting only the legitimate business and tourism areas of border towns during daylight hours. ***It is strongly recommended that red-light districts and neighborhoods where street drug dealing occurs be avoided.***

Does anybody have any reason to believe that it is siginificantly more dangerous to visit TJ now than in the past? This has me a little concerned as I'll be there in a week and I was planning to spend the majority of my time in the "red-light districts." However, I have grown rather fond of breathing, and I'd like to continue doing it for as long as possible.

Bayou Redneck
02-08-05, 14:19
I just got back from TJ. Stayed at Cascadas 2000 (the hotel attached to Miami/Hong Kong and Chavelas Bar). Dirty, no climate control, (cheap $31/nt for single, $42 for double, $67? for jacuzzi) but safe. First girl you bring to your room is free, each one after that costs you $5.50. (all prices USD.) Anyway, I found the hotel to be very safe. I took all reasonable precautions and didn't bring anything valuable, but I did not feel threatened in any way. There are "cleaning guys" all over the place 24 hours per day mopping the floors with the same dirty water. Still, their presence lends to safety. Also, there are security personnel and the front desk monitors everyone who comes in or out. I found the immediate area around the hotel also to be safe. Using information from previous posts, I stayed VERY close to the hotel and took taxis everywhere else. No problems. I also met some great girls there and I'll be posting about them this afternoon.

Country John
02-14-05, 20:31
Here's a heads up: The SGs tell me that because buisness has been slow, they've not been able to pay off the cops (average $20. per week per girl) therefore they are being a bit more aggressive towards "tourists."

Be very cool, obey traffic laws, don't be an asshole, and just generally behave yourself. I'm sure that when things "improve" the pressure will lighten up.

Country John

SDcruiser
02-15-05, 08:48
It's down to 5.50? Seems like the lack of business is working. Cascadas is the perfect hotel for multiple SG's, but not at an extra charge. I would rather pay $40 bucks instead of having to stop and pay an extra $5 each time you go up.

Cruiser

Hawaii Man
02-21-05, 20:19
Before I knew about the WSG I was in TJ about 5 years ago by myself, just hanging out and bar hopping. Well, I ended up leaving one of the bars ( by myself) around 9PM and just walking down the sidewalk looking for another place to hang out when BAM !

Wasn't expecting this...didn't know it was coming. I got the choke hold put on me from behind and these guys know what they are doing. I immediately began to struggle and try to fight back, but the choke hold is really effective in cutting off your air supply IMMEDIATELY. As I struggled, I had the conscious thought that if I kept on like this I was going to die. All during this time one other guy was going through all of my pockets and took everyting I had on me. I decided I would stop struggling and maybe they would let me go, 'cause I was beginning to black out. Luckily, just after they cleaned me out they let me go as I dropped to the ground and they ran away. I was able to get up shortly after and stagger my way back to the border.

I didn't have a dime. I couldn't ask for any help because I don't speak Spanish, and the onlookers didn't care one way or the other.

Long story short. I learned a lot that night. Mexico is not the USA. There are people there that don't give a shit about you or what happens to you, they just want what you have.

Pay attention to what you read here in WSG and don't take any risks in TJ with walking around. I have gone back to TJ many times since this happened, and I seem to always travel alone but I am much more street wise now after reading these posts and being EXTRA cautious. Use the cabs, know where you are going, don't take more money etc. than you need for your nights entertainment, walk in the middle of the street so you don't get ambushed if you do need to walk around, and use those eyes in the back of your head!

Don't be stupid......the choke hold is a *****!

Kimogee
03-02-05, 08:11
I got dropped off by taxi right at the border. There were 4 cops there and they wanted to search me. I only had $17 on me and no atm card. I don't know if it wasn't enough for them but they didn't rob me. I'm thankful for reading here and learning how bad the cops are so I didn't bring my atm card specifically beacuse of them.

Maybe they were just doing a random search but who knows. If they're going to kill me I'll have the satisfaction of knowing they won't get much money for their effort.

Country John
03-04-05, 05:47
Listen up. There are a LOT of newbies on this board (welcome all). The Zona is no place to be off guard. Don't be paranoid, just don't be stupid either.

Take the taxi back to the TAXI STAND and walk across the bridge. Getting dropped off at the sentri point is a MISTAKE. You have a better chance of avoiding problems by doing this.

Do not linger around or walk through a group.

Criminals who are deported from the USA are dropped at the border in TJ. There are lots of them. Lots and lots of them. Many end up in the Zona. Some in the Zona are actually hiding out from the cops in the USA. You have got to understand that personal security is important.

NEVER walk alone from the Zona to the crossing at night. I said NEVER. You should spend the night in the Zona and leave the next day in the daylight. Staying in the Zona is cheap and there are places that are secure.

travel with a wingman or hook up with a member. Talk to people in the Zona, get to know people. Know your surroundings. Take your vehicle, there are places to park where your car will be safe in the Zona. Say Hola to the cops when you walk past them.

There are lots of things you can do to keep the odds in your favor but NEVER forget that you are SURROUNDED by criminals in the Zona, male and female.

Most importantly, NO DRUGS. NO GUNS. NO AMMO. You WILL do time and jail in TJ is no fun. Don't be an asshole. Obey the laws. All that.

Don't dress up, no rolex watches, mont blanc pens leave that shit home. No bling. Don't stand out. Walk with a purpose etc. I could go on for hours but if you need specific advice, PM me.

Country John

Conejito
03-04-05, 11:35
They're baaaack!

Yes my friends, the world-famous "policemen"/robbers, all 5 of them in their cute brown uniforms, are back at the Sentri taxi drop-off line, and acting cooler than ever!

Good luck to anyone walking back across at night. If you have any viagra on you, they are going to take all your money. If you are just a little drunk, you will find some of your money missing later.

Have fun guys!

Sordid
03-06-05, 07:19
Seemed to be under construction or something. Was blocked off on the taxi stand side & you can see the construction on the walk just past the drop-off. We wanted to take the bridge to avoid the cops even though there were 3 of us, but there was no bridge to take. There were no cops either. We got to Linea Sentri around 8pm or so.

tjmonger
03-06-05, 22:28
If you keep going, you can get across the bridge. Its kind of straight and left of the construction. You'll eventually have to walk across the traffic of cars waiting to get across, but i think you can avoid any possible confrontations with the Policia at the Sentri line.

Lurking Fan
03-27-05, 01:56
3/24 Report

I posted my AB part of the night in the AB forum. In this forum I just want to warn people to be careful when walking around the Zona as has been mentioned before.

After my first round at AB I had checked out HK and the dancers. Then headed back down the alley, up Constitution, and then instead of heading to CC I decided to check out La Tropa. As I crossed Constitution on Calle Coahuila one of the Spanglish dudes touting the massage places kept following me and pushing a place. About 70 feet past Constitution the f*ckin Policia pull up and hassle us. Drive us around and say they found drugs on the other guy so I gotta go to Federali's for 48 hours, blah blah. Kept trying to exhort money for "supervisor" to erase records. Guy must practice his lines enough. He started @ $5 for bail, then $2.5 for supervisor, then $1.5, then $1. Finally "settled" on $.5 and a wasted hour+.

Got dropped off near CC and couldnt' believe how many people (girls and guys) were there for a Thursday night. But at that point I wasn't in a mood for a chica. Just drank a couple and checked out the eye candy. Needless to say I didn't check out La Tropa that night and I stayed between CC, AB, HK. Didn't go to Tropical until Friday afternoon.

Was $.50 too much? Whats the procedure we mongers should follow when this shit happens? TIA.

Queer Juan
03-28-05, 03:50
Never pay a fine to an officer on the street. Insist they take you to the judge or substation, it's right there by Guadalupe {sg} on Constitution. If the cop is caught trying to shake you down on the spot they get fired.

If they ride you around insist on the judge, you'll never get there, they'll let you off eventually. They'll take off looking for new victims. Paying these creeps make it difficult for the next monger they target. They are counting on you giving in so don't.

If you really did something wrong, then it's your call as you could spend a few hours in the lock up, but 9 times out of ten they make shit up then try to get you to pay on the spot, that illegal. Try to get a badge number and if they ask what you do for a living tell them you're a lawyer {Abogado}. That puts them off.

Country John
04-01-05, 00:17
They will grab you if you look like an easy mark. Be polite but firm before getting in the car. $20. is not much for 4 hours of your time, but resist paying because like queer juan says, it can go hard for the next guy.

The best advice I can give is do not look intimidated and respectfully ask for the supervisor on duty right away because you and I know you ain't seeing no judge unless you've been mis-behaving.

If they stop you for Felony Breathing then tell the supervisor that you know what is really going on and you should not be treated this way. This works well. As long as they don't lose face they'll let you go without the TJ Tour. Just act like it's happened to you a thousand times before. Don't look scared and don't be disrespectful.

Country John

USSmaximus
04-19-05, 17:36
Guys,

I'll be visiting the Zone for the 2nd time next month, and I have a question. I saw a while back where someone of you advised on asking the cabbie (on the way back to the border) to drop you off somewhere besides the Sentri point or whatever.

When coming back to the border, exactly what do I say to the cabbie? Where is it I would rather them drop me off to avoid being hassled by the sentri "cops"?

Also, are they requireing a passport at the border yet? I heard where Bush didn't agree with this requirement, so will it ever happen now?

Thanks,
Max

One Wing Low
04-21-05, 18:42
Estimated hundreds of cars are being stolen everyday, taken to Mexico, then used to smuggle illegal aliens back into the US, according to US law enforcement agents and insurance officials along the border. Apparently there is no timely way for US Border Patrol to prevent stolen cars to return to the US loaded with illegals.

If you have to park near the border, it's better to park in a paid parking lot than on the streets. The thieves are less likely to pay the parking fee just to get the car out.

Wherever you park, take 2 minutes to open the hood and take out a few fuses, distributor wires or some electrical components to disable the car. That way the thieves may break the door lock, but will give up rather than risking to fix the car.

Petite Penis
04-22-05, 06:10
USSmaximus,

I usually hop into a Taxi Libre and tell the cab driver "Linea Sentri". They will then drive you to a drop off point near the border (about 100 yards). Just follow the pathway towards the border. On your right will be storefronts and on your left will be the cars trying to cross into the US. The ride usually costs like $5 or $6 from the Adelitas area.

So far, the proposed regulation for mandatory passports is supposed to go into effect in 2008, but I believe Bush opposes this regulation. I've been using my Driver's License and will probably continue to for a while.

pP

tjmonger
04-22-05, 11:36
I'm going to quote Country John on this one:

Take the taxi back to the TAXI STAND and walk across the bridge. Getting dropped off at the sentri point is a MISTAKE. You have a better chance of avoiding problems by doing this.

The Linea Sentri is where all the stupid pigs hang out, to hassle all the american touristas.

El Juez
04-22-05, 19:15
For the past couple of years I have been going I have always been dropped off at the Linea Sentri and so far have never been bothered. But like anything else in TJ, it's the luck of the draw and not guaranteed result.

Pablo for Fun
04-23-05, 01:24
You know I have been to TJ many time since the warnings advising not to get dropped off at Sentri, but my experience has been different. There have been no pigs there when I get dropped off.

This could be because of two possible reasons, one being that there is was/is construction going on there around that area, or two, the cops don't stake out that spot on the weeknights as much. Either way, it's a risk, but then again, so is going to TJ.

Blue Nose
04-23-05, 02:33
OK, here's how it happened. I was in TJ last weekend, and I had just finished up at CC. I decided to get some air so I walked around la zona for a while. I have been walking around this area for months, and I always keep my guard up. However, on weekend nights there are usually many people around on the main streets of the zona roja: Constitucion & the Alley. I was checking out the SGs and didn't see any in the alley that I liked. I turned right onto Constitucion, walked to the top of the hill and remembered that there are some SGs who hang out on that street, parallel to the alley. I turned right at bar Taurino and kept walking.

I wish I hadn't done that. There were a few girls out, but not many. I walked by one who seemed to be talking to two guys. Then she hissed at me the way the TJ girls do, and the next thing I know there are two TJ cops standing right beside me. Turns out they were "assigned" to this street to oversee things and help Serve & Protect (themselves). Well, they immediately stopped me, and there was a large utility van parked on the road next to the sidewalk, blocking the view from the street. The stores were all closed and the only people around were the girls, who are the victims of police shakedowns anyway. Senor Blue was, in a word, Fucked.

They asked for ID, which I produced - my CA driver's license. Then one cop took my wallet while the other patted me down. They took everything from my pockets - keys, wallet, condoms, even a pack of gum. They got a big kick out of the fact that I had several condoms with me - like they didn't know what I was there for. After a thorough pat down, the guy started going through my wallet, asking me if I had drugs.

First he asked me if I had drugs, then he got specific and started asking about marijuana, coke, ecstacy and meth. Fortunately, the ony drugs I had were the ones that were already in my system: beer and Cialis. They kept asking me if I had seen girls, and laughing about it. Eventually, they realized that they had nothing on me and started handing me back stuff. I got everything back, except my condoms, which one guy was determined to keep. I eventually asked for these back, and he politely handed them back. They then pointed me in the direction of la zona (after asking me where I was going) and sent me on my way. It was only later that I realized something was missing: I hope those bastards enjoyed stealing and eating my chewing gum. The nerve!

Anyway, I was EXTREMELY lucky. They could have planted something on me or taken my stuff or just beat the shit out of me for no real reason. I played it extremely cool - having 9 beers in your system helps you to keep relaxed under this kind of pressure, and I was extremely polite, humle and gracious the whole time. This is what saved me, I think.

If I could offer up a few lessons learned from the whole experience they would be as follows:

1) Don't go down this street (or any street that is somewhat deserted) at night in or near the zone. Even if there are girls or a club down there it is not worth it. You are OK walking on the main streets, where there are lots of people, but the people quickly fall off as soon as you get away from the main drag

2) Do not carry any weapons or drugs (prescription, non-prescription or illegal). Take your Viagra or Cialis within 30 seconds of leaving the pharmacy and throw away the packaging.

3) Use a money belt - these cops patted me down, but it wasn't a thorough job. They never even noticied that I had a money belt with cash in it.

4) Don't get too loaded. In retrospect, I had had too much to drink but fortunately I didn't appear to be as I am not loud, obnoxious or a "fall down" drunk.

5) Try to travel / walk in groups. You are OK if there are several of you, but it is when you are alone that they prey on you. If you are alone, walk with purpose like you know where you are going and do not stop anywhere outsise for more than a few seconds, except at traffic lights.

6) If you get stopped, be polite but be firm, especially if you haven't done anything.

Blue Nose

El Juez
04-23-05, 20:49
Blue Nose,

I know what you mean about straying outside the Zona area. I, at times, have been tempted to explore but I don't think the risk is worth it. Greater chance of muggers and crooked cops in the less traveled areas.

In regard to the Linea Sentri, one night I was dropped off at about midnight in front of four cops. Oh, shit! I thought. Here it comes. I never have to really worry since I never carry weapons or drugs, perscription or otherwise but I don't like the idea of parting with a single dollar to get rid of these idiots. But they totally ignored me. Don't know if I should feel insulted or not. I always wondered about the street smarts of shaking down a tourista as he's leaving town anyway. I'm usually nearly out of cash by then, which is why I was leaving in the first place. You'd think they would find a way to hit you as your coming in with your pockets full.

I guess they figure they could never be as fast as the cab drivers in swooping up the touristas.

TJ Bob
04-24-05, 10:24
You know I have been to TJ many time since the warnings advising not to get dropped off at Sentri, but my experience has been different. There have been no pigs there when I get dropped off.
.

I've almost always see these TJ pigs at the sentri drop-off many times shaking down other people. they always leave me alone cuz i look "clean-cut" and a "nice" guy. But, i'ma afraid it's just a matter of time their is a brawl.

USSmaximus
04-24-05, 13:07
Well, it looks as if there's certainly no consensus on where to get dropped off by the taxi. That being the case, here's another question:

Is it more hassle/less convenient for the cabbie to drop you off at the taxi stand? Will he be reluctant to do this?

Thanks,
Max

Pablo for Fun
04-27-05, 19:10
...First he asked me if I had drugs, then he got specific and started asking about marijuana, coke, ecstacy and meth...

They asked for ID, which I produced - my CA driver's license. Then one cop took my wallet while the other patted me down. They took everything from my pockets - keys, wallet, condoms, even a pack of gum.

This sounds like the typical routine for these *pigs.* I was stopped on two separate but consecutive trips (I know, how lucky am I) by pigs and the script was almost similar.


After a thorough pat down, the guy started going through my wallet, asking me if I had drugs. One of my big concerns is, if they take your money in the process of searching your pockets or wallet. Typically, your face is against the wall and they are behind you "searching." They could easily take a few $20's out and then hand you the wallet, only to realize later that you were ripped off.

Post-search elation would be so great that you probably would not mind this inconvience considering the alternatives, in addition, they could have slipped some drugs in your pocket and taken you to jail.

I used to wonder around in TJ in hopes of finding new places, but these scenarios are too probable and costly, so I will have to alter future trip agendas - perhaps an "in-&-out" strategy is the safest.

Last thing - there are so many cameras out in the alley (HK and MB) and by AB (x3) and probably CC, so dress accordingly and be becareful.

Apache
05-01-05, 21:23
Anyone know the proper spanish translation for the taxi driver to drop you off at the taxi stand? I have tried to communicate this to Taxi Libre drivers & they did not understand.

C Cube Lover
05-02-05, 06:11
Apache,

I have been telling the taxi libre driver to drop me off by the yellow taxi stand by telling them "McDonald next to the Linea" or "McDonald next to the yellow taxi" using English. I have no problem so far and I believe that it is actually easier for them to do so. I hope this helps.

CCube

Azil
05-03-05, 04:27
According to Babelfish, "Please take me to the taxi stand at the border" translates as "Lléveme por favor a la parada de taxis en la frontera." No doubt somebody could provide something less formal (I notice that "la linea" seems to be used more than "la frontera"), but this would probably work.

SDcruiser
05-06-05, 20:55
I always drive across. I never mess up while driving. Today was different. Passed a cop car shaking down a gringo. Checked out the female officer and smiled, she smiled back. Down a block at the detour, I didn't do a double stop at the sign. I looked back and the cop and the female were behind me flashing their lights. Pulls me over. Asks have I ever been stopped - Drugs? Guns? Knives? Weapons? No NO No NO - did you say knives? Oh-huh. Pocket knife in center console. It's was a gift from work and I never removed it. Female is going thru my car and brings out the knife. The guy cop basically says I will have to go to the station for violating 245, weapons law in Mexico. The knife would be ok if it were in the trunk, but not in the car. He said if I have no previous violations in TJ I will pay the fine and go, about $26. Otherwise if this is a 2nd offense, it's 20 days in jail and $50 per day fine. I said ok, I'll follow you, he's like no we'll tow the car. I said I've never been arrested in TJ, Could I just pay the fine here (insert smile). He said sure $50. Now I let put the $50 in the trunk. He picked it up and then showed me that the knife can go into a bag in the trunk and it's legal. If you buy a knife in Mexico, keep the receipt and the knife in the trunk.

BTW: had a vial of Levitra in the center console. Prescipt with name, he said no problem and the female officer was smiling and giving me that shame on you look. I'd would have done her just because I like the umiform thing. I think I'll find her again for some sexo.

SDC

cannon
05-12-05, 19:01
I would like to go to TJ for some pay for play in the next few weeks and would like to know the best way to avoid trouble with the cops. I dont use drugs and wont carry any knives or anything like that. It sounds like taking taxis instead of driving my car will help, do cops just look for any reason to shake gringos up. I'm about the whitest looking guy on the planet so no chance of blending in. Anyways, if someone could give me some do's and dont's I would appreciate it.

El Juez
05-13-05, 04:25
Cannon

Pretty basic advice is the following:

1) Don't drink to excess. They like to take advantage of drunks, especially if they are obnoxious.

2) Carry no weapons of any kind. I don't even take nail clippers. Don't want to give them any excuse.

3) No drugs, not even prescription. If you use Viagra or anything like that, take it before crossing the border and throw away the wrapper. If you have to buy it in TJ, take it as soon as you walk out of the pharmacy and throw away the wrapper.

4) If locals try to talk to you on the street (other than the chicas) shake your head and keep walking. If cops see you talking to street people they will think you are buying drugs. Be civil to the people who try and hit you up for money or to take you to whatever bar they are hawkers for but remain firm that you are not going to stand there and chat.

5) Don't walk more than a block on either side of Adelita's at night if you go to the Zona. At night, take a cab to and from the border

6) Always try to avoid fights although in the two and half years I've been going to the Zona I have never been bothered by anyone.

7) If you are stopped by the cops, be cooperative. Be civil but not subservient. You did not do anything wrong and they know it. Don't act scared because they will think they can rattle you by saying they have to take you to the judge. If they do, say " Okay, let's go". They're bluffing. 99 times out of 100 they will give you a walk

At most, the cops are a nuisance. They are not annoying enough to keep me from having fun and you should feel the same way.

Enjoy

Matiz
05-14-05, 17:26
Cannon, El Juez has pretty much given you the important points. I would only add, by way of emphasis, that IMO muggings can be as big a problem as shakedowns by police. Typically, the rateros target gringos who are alone, as opposed to groups, and as many attacks seem to occur in broad daylight as late at night. So don't assume that just because it's noon you can let your guard down when you're walking in TJ.

I don't mean to suggest that you should be paranoid. I'd give you the same advice if you were visiting New York City or Beijing or Rio. TJ has very generous kind people but it also has its fair share of hooligans and thieves and scam artists. Just be aware and use common sense and courtesy and you'll be fine 99% of the time. There's nothing any of us can do to eliminate that other 1% risk except to stay at home. I know it's hard to be alert to your surroundings when so many beautiful chicas are trying to distract you, especially if you've been drinking excessively. That's why El Juez's list (and any good list of TJ do's and don'ts) starts with that recommendation. If you plan is to get totally smashed, stay at CC or Adelita's and when you're finished, have your waiter pour you into one of the many taxis that wait outside of those establishments and go straight back to the border. That will at least minimize your risk. Under no circumstances should you go strolling around the ZN when your plastered.

Regarding the cops, it's very important not to have anything that remotely looks like contraband on you at any time. If you speak a little Spanish, it probably helps to at least try to use it. Also, I try to avoid eye contact with police when I walk by them. In the U.S., that would be considered suspicious behavior and indicate you have something to hide. In Mexico (and other places in Latin America), staring at another guy can be interpreted as a kind of macho challenge. It seems to invite some kind of response, something we'd all prefer not to have from the TJ cops. So I always avoid eye contact when I walk by them and have never had a problem.

Bottom line is TJ is a big urban area with big urban problems and a police force that has a history of corruption. You can have a wonderful time in TJ (I've been going for 16 years and never had a serious problem). Just act like you're a guest (which you are) in their country and be respectful and courteous (this includes the chicas) and you'll leave TJ with a big, big smile on your face.

Matiz

Blue Nose
05-14-05, 21:19
Cannon, the big problem with la policia is if you are carrying anything on you. If you don't have either weapons or drugs then even if they stop and search you, you should be fine, especially if you stay in the more well-travelled areas within la zona: the alley & Av. Constitucion. Besides the no weapons and drugs rule, a few rules to remember are: don't get too loaded, don't be obnoxious and don't pick any fights. Cops are mainly looking for troublemakers and easy marks (no shortage of these in TJ). If you follwo the advice given in the past few posts and keep your head down then you will be fine.

Remember not to venture off the beaten path too far (or at all), especially at night. Once you get into la zona, stay there until it is time to leave. Then take a taxi libre

You take a big risk by bringing that stuff with you into Mexico. The police in TJ are rats and they do not need probable cause to search you. They exercise their right to "gringo search" quite frequently. Rarely does a visit to the zone go by for me where I don't see somebody either being searched or led away in handcuffs. Best way to avoid this is to park at the border, smoke a joint in the parking lot, pop a few pills and then walk over. Leave your stuff in the car - if you need to use it, you can always return to the land of the Fourth Amendment and get it.

Blue Nose

Frequent Flier
05-14-05, 23:00
I was taking a friend from Hong Kong to TJ for the his first time. As I was showing him the way I made a mistake and missed the last exit. The line back across the border was way long so I decided to park in TJ instead of turning around and parking at the border.

I used to do this all the time a few years ago. Very safe parking lot that you pay to park at close to the action.

Well I proceeded to get very drunk. We ended up in Madonna's, after some other activity in AB.

Upon leaving I was to drunk to drive, but my friend didn't drink hardly anything and said he would drive us back.

Well my friends eye sight is not so good and he ran through about three stop signs. The stop signs are only about three feet tall and easily missed.

Of course we were spotted and pulled over. They talked to my friend, kept his drivers licence and told him to follow them to the police station.

Well the police station was only about three blocks away and resembled a alley behind a building. There in this open air police station we were told $400.00 to go home. $200.00 a piece. Being that we did break the law it seemed reasonable to me and I was happy to be in my way.

Always park at the border and taxi to the zone if going to TJ is my advise.

FF

cannon
05-15-05, 00:23
Thanks for the advice guys, I will follow it to a tee. I do have a problem that I dont have anyone to go with, so I cant avoid walking by myself.

I do have another question, are there any safe hotels around Adelita's or Zona that would be safe to get to? I was thinking about maybe staying for a couple of days.

El Juez
05-15-05, 03:35
Cannon,

I always have gone alone to the Zona and, knock on wood, have never had any trouble by following the advice I have heard on this board. Don't let flying solo spoil your fun.

Another thing I would like to add is that I always have a plan of action about where I am going to go as soon as I hit the Zona. I have at least two places I intend to start at. Whenever, I leave a bar, I make up my mind which place I am going to next and the route I will take before I even walk out the door. This avoids the walking around aimlessly with a goony bird stare that attracts predators. Give the impression that you have been there before. You should probably stick to Adelita and Chicago Club until you get your bearings. Some guys have stuck with just those places for years after first visiting TJ

In regard to hotels, I have never had the urge to stay overnight but two places I've heard are okay are Cascades, which is down the street from Adelita's and Hotel Leyva which is next to the Chicago Club. They run from around $25 to $35 a night. Cascades charges you for each girl you bring up after the first in a 24 hours period.

That would never be an issue for me but it's a pain in the ass for the younger studs.

Blue Nose
05-18-05, 01:44
See below for an article from today's SD Tribune regarding cops in TJ. I personally doubt it will make much difference as it seems more like window dressing to me. However, there are some telephone numbers that you can call (listed at bottom of article) to complain if you have been unfairly hassled.

Blue Nose
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
May 17, 2005

A dozen Tijuana police officers accused of extorting tourists have been removed from their force's tourism division, the city's secretary of public safety said yesterday during a visit to San Diego.

"They have been isolated in a certain location so that they can't harass people," Ernesto Santillana said at an event promoting a tourism trade show set for Saturday in Tijuana.

The police force is striving to make visitors to the city feel safe and welcome, Santillana said. The steps include assigning more bilingual officers, the addition of video security cameras, and the removal of dishonest police, he said.

Santillana and Alfonso Bustamante, the city's director of international relations, were at a restaurant in Old Town to promote Saturday's Tianguis Turistico Tijuana 2005. The event is to promote the state of Baja California to the Southern California travel industry.

City officials expect that nearly 300 will attend the events at the Grand Hotel, a local brewery and the Cultural Center.

"The purpose is to let everybody know the good things that Tijuana and the rest of the state have to offer," Bustamante said. "We have had some bad occurrences happening here, and we'd like to show the other face that we have."

A cornerstone of Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon's crime-fighting has been the installation of 300 high-definition video security cameras. So far, 15 are in the Avenida Revolución area, Santillana said, and the city expects to install 35 more this month. In two months, Tijuana plans to open a monitoring center for the videos.

Santillana invited tourists with complaints about Tijuana police to call the following numbers: From Mexico, 01-800-TIJUANA; from the United States: 1-800-TIJUANA. Bilingual staffers at the City Attorney's Office are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Rabo Verde
05-22-05, 17:21
tijuana awash in wave of violent crime
the slaying of a police official saturday is the latest in the region's string of killings, many targeting wealthy businessmen.
by richard marosi
los angeles times staff writer

may 22, 2005

tijuana — waving ak-47 rifles, the black-hooded force of 10 assailants barged into the hacienda-style restaurant at lunch. the team, wearing commando uniforms, grabbed the co-owner, jumped into a convoy of three vehicles and disappeared.

a week later, 10 men — wearing similar black outfits — stormed the swank club campestre, snatched a 30-year-old businessman and escaped by crashing the convoy through the security gate.

the exploits of the comando negro, or black commandos, are part of a dark season of violence that has set new standards for brazenness and frequency in this crime-weary city.

within days of the attacks on april 27 and may 4, the victims — both businessmen with links to drug trafficking, police say — were found dead. both had been tortured, strangled and shot execution style.

fueled in part by warring drug cartels, bodies in recent months have been turning up almost daily in empty lots, ravines and streets. many victims were mangled by torture, their heads wrapped in tape. some bodies have been dissolved in tubs of acid. one body, the son of a local magistrate, was missing its right hand.

homicides in tijuana totaled 163 in the first four months of this year, compared with 92 in the same period last year — a 77% increase.. in april, 55 homicides, a monthly record, were committed, police said. los angeles, by comparison, a city more than two times larger, had 36 homicides in april.

tijuana's crime surge is part of a wave plaguing many mexican border cities.

on saturday, rosarito beach's top law enforcement official was shot to death outside his home by two masked men. carlos bowser, a former tijuana police officer who became director of public safety in december, died in his bullet-riddled car. authorities arrested six suspects and confirep001ed three cars in the hours following the killing. police found guns and masks inside the vehicles.

raul gutierrez, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office, said ballistic tests would be performed to see if the weapons matched those used in the killing. the motive for the attack, about 20 miles south of tijuana, wasn't known.

"everyone will speculate … was he a hero or simply on the wrong side of one of the narco-trafficking organizations. it's always so murky," said david shirk, the director of the trans-border institute at the university of san diego.

crime in the tijuana metropolitan area, shirk said, has reached unprecedented heights. "this is probably the most bloody period of tijuana's history," he said.

kidnappings are also a particular problem. one suspected leader of a ring of kidnappers still at large is a former chief of the state police in tijuana. police say abductions of people not linked to organized crime have dropped from 28 in 2001 to two so far this year. but business groups, human rights organizations and crime experts say the figure is inaccurate, because many families don't report the abductions.

crime waves are nothing new in this sprawling border metropolis. previous surges in violence have claimed the lives of politicians, high-ranking police officials and prosecutors. but some recent incidents have spilled into public places in upscale neighborhoods that in the past had been mostly free of violent crime.

"the narcos are killing each other off — that's good. the only problem is: it's happening in broad daylight," said guillermo f. gonzalez smith, the chief liaison for tijuana's public safety department.

the murders and kidnappings have prompted the u.s. state department to issue a travel warning to border areas. violent crime, for the most part, has not affected tourist zones or nightlife activity, say mexican and u.s. officials.

a 57-year-old american woman was killed this month in rosarito beach in what appears to be an isolated incident, said lorena blanco, a consulate spokeswoman. americans, according to the travel advisory, are urged to be aware of the "unsettled public security situation."

in a city with a large tourism economy, tijuana city officials are scrambling for solutions. security has been bolstered in popular spots such as the strip of nightclubs along avenida revolucion, where newly installed video cameras scan the streets.

tijuana mayor jorge hank rhon, a multimillionaire who owns shopping centers and off-track betting parlors, tried to reassure merchants recently at a meeting of a local chamber of commerce.

"any honest citizen shouldn't be worried," hank rhon said in an interview, citing statistics showing an overall drop in crime rates.

he blamed the media for sensationalizing recent crimes that he called isolated incidents.

the state attorney general of baja california, antonio martinez luna, said the murder rate had jumped in part because tijuana was a fast-growing city suffering from social ills, such as drug addiction, that plague many communities. his investigators solve most kidnapping and murder cases, he said, and the vast majority of citizens and tourists are not touched by crime.

"look at how many people go to restaurants. how many go to shopping centers. how many people on saturdays and sundays go to baseball games. how many people come to play golf. how may people go to so many places, and nothing happens to them," luna said in an interview.

other people interviewed from a broad cross-section of society — taxi drivers, store owners, wealthy businessmen — said crime had never been worse.

businessmen have been targeted in a new type of crime: extortion phone calls. unidentified callers threaten to kidnap family members if they don't pay large sums of money, typically $6,000 to $10,000. about 100 extortion calls have been reported in the past few months, according to jaime valdovino machado, president of a local chamber of commerce group.

the crime fears, say merchants and businessmen, are boosting demand for bodyguards. some families are moving from tijuana's middle- and upper-class neighborhoods to san diego county suburbs, where some commute back to tijuana in small, old cars that don't attract attention.

alberto garcia, the president of the san ysidro international chamber of commerce, which has member businesses on both sides of the border, said some tijuana residents felt like "hostages in their own homes."

"they are afraid that if they're dining in a restaurant, someone will come in and either kidnap the owner or kidnap someone dining there also," garcia said.

residents were rattled when the comando negro struck in the heart of the city's most upscale neighborhood, the zona rio, a popular destination for the city's middle and upper classes.

at the carnitas quiroga restaurant, where co-owner adolfo fregoso was taken april 27, the assailants also stole purses and wallets from several diners, including two u.s. residents visiting from the san diego area. the restaurant is around the block from the federal attorney general's office.

in the second incident, ivan escobosa was dragged off the staircase entrance to the club campestre at an hour when many parents are dropping off their children for swimming and tennis lessons. a club supervisor said escobosa's screams were heard in the chandeliered dining room nearby.

the recent crime wave has not been limited to drug wars. a case in early april involved a 15-year-old boy who allegedly killed his sister-in-law and her three children. after a 49-year-old nurse was slain in her home on april 20, friends and colleagues marched to the state attorney general's office demanding justice. two state police officers were shot to death in january. fearing other officers could become targets, supervisors told police they didn't have to wear their uniforms.

much of the violence, say experts and law enforcement authorities, results from the continuing battle for control of the drug-trafficking corridor through baja california. with the arellano felix drug cartel weakened by arrests and killings, other organizations have been trying to gain control.

among the people killed in recent drug-related violence, according to police, were the son of a former mayor who was kidnapped in january outside his home near the beach and a san diego resident machine-gunned to death april 17 while sitting in his car in the upscale chapultepec area.

in march, police arrested four men accused of killing 15 people on behalf of the arellano felix cartel. at one hide-out, police found acid containers that they believe were used to dispose of bodies.

the daylight raids by the comando negro, some theorize, could be the work of a new group flexing its muscle. authorities are looking into whether it has links to local police. the team could be working for any organized crime network vying for control, law enforcement officials on both sides of the border say.

"geographically, it's a jewel for these groups, and the arellano felix organization is struggling to maintain its power base in tijuana," said misha piastro, a spokesman for the u.s. drug enforcement administration.

in most of the recent kidnapping cases, police linked the victims to organized crime. such incidents — in which the victims are typically killed without ransom demands — are not included in the regular kidnapping totals. but critics, some of them family members of victims, say authorities are too quick to label victims as drug traffickers.

"not everyone that dies in tijuana is because of narcotics trafficking. many are businessmen. the police say it's narco-related so the citizenry won't complain," said manuel ortez, whose brother-in-law, jorge pimentel mendiola, was kidnapped and killed earlier this month.

pimentel, a 39-year-old paint supply store owner, had moved his family to national city, near san diego, after receiving an extortion phone call, ortez said. a few days later, he was abducted when he returned to mexico to meet a client in rosarito, said ortez.

the family, after raising a substantial amount of the $500,000 ransom, delivered two bags of cash to a drop-off point, as instructed by the kidnappers. but a few days later, pimentel's body was found dumped in a landfill. he had been strangled. some local media outlets, citing police sources, said the kidnapping was related to organized crime.

but ortez said the family recorded the telephone calls from the kidnappers and have receipts of the bank withdrawal for the ransom — evidence that shows it was not a gangland-style hit as in so many other cases, he said.

the family remains terrified, he said.

"in tijuana, if you have a business, you fear growing it. you fear painting your house, because it will draw attention," said ortez.

Yoyo 69
05-25-05, 00:51
I've been a reader of posts for some time but this is my first here (sine I can't post new reports I'm replying to this one. A friend of mine and I were in TJ on Sun 5/22, had a few beers (we were not slobbering drunk but a far amount), took a cab to adelits then walked to CC. After CC we proceeded up the hill (on the way back to Revolution around 6pm) and were going to check out the alley along the way. This is when I get pushed into the wall by the cops. My friend gets the same treatment. We are fully searched. They found a pen knife on my friend and told him there was crystal on the blade. I knew it wasn't any type of drug. Period. So we are loaded into the back of the truck, taken to the station, stripped searched and put into the cell with 3 other (mexicans) and a hole in the middle full of [CodeWord140] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140). Nice! They same we have to go to the other station to see the judge. So I think I know what is going on here by reading all of your posts BUT this is way beyond the "typical" treatment. I ask why I was there as I had nothing on me. They told me because I was with him. So we get loaded up yet again (no cuffs) and head off to see the judge. We are brought before some guy (the head officer I think) who says we are going to jail for pocession of crystal and the knife. We ask to pay the fine now ans he says OK and throught the knife away and tells us this conversation never took place. Understand? All of the time we both think we know whats going on here but enough is enough already. So we are loaded back into the truck to leave for jail one the arresting cop comes up (while we are in the cage) and says $200 (I. E. $100 each). I tell him I have forty (although he should know better due to the search as they found my shoe stash) and my friend has $100. He says no. Going to jail.comes back a few min later and says 200, we cough up 163. He says no, go to jail. Finally we dig deep and say OK and give him the 200. 15 min later he comes back and asks if we want a ride to the border. We say no just take us back to the police station and we'll walk. Well that was my first time ever in TJ and I'm not too in tune with ever going back after that. My friend has been there hundreds of times and that was his first ever incident. My friend had on long pants, old shirt and ball cap and I was wearing shorts, old shoes and shirt. My friend did talk to some street people though. I just can't figure out why it happened and WHY the hole thing went so far. Any ideas? I've traveled 50+ countries solo and never even came close to this BS.


Cannon, the big problem with la policia is if you are carrying anything on you. If you don't have either weapons or drugs then even if they stop and search you, you should be fine, especially if you stay in the more well-travelled areas within la zona: the alley & Av. Constitucion. Besides the no weapons and drugs rule, a few rules to remember are: don't get too loaded, don't be obnoxious and don't pick any fights. Cops are mainly looking for troublemakers and easy marks (no shortage of these in TJ). If you follwo the advice given in the past few posts and keep your head down then you will be fine.

Remember not to venture off the beaten path too far (or at all), especially at night. Once you get into la zona, stay there until it is time to leave. Then take a taxi libre

You take a big risk by bringing that stuff with you into Mexico. The police in TJ are rats and they do not need probable cause to search you. They exercise their right to "gringo search" quite frequently. Rarely does a visit to the zone go by for me where I don't see somebody either being searched or led away in handcuffs. Best way to avoid this is to park at the border, smoke a joint in the parking lot, pop a few pills and then walk over. Leave your stuff in the car. If you need to use it, you can always return to the land of the Fourth Amendment and get it.

Blue Nose

SDcruiser
05-25-05, 15:02
It only cost you $100 bucks and you are complaining? Stay out TJ. It's a bad bad place.

Pablo for Fun
05-25-05, 19:01
They found a pen knifeThat may be the reason! Don't carry anything that will give them a reason (i.e. weapons, drugs, ect.) b/c they will detain you.


I was wearing...ball capSecondly, from my experience, if you wear your ball cap too low, for some reason they tend to think you are a drug dealer and you more likely to get stopped and searched.


My friend did talk to some street people though. DON'T talk to these idiots, they will only arouse the LE's attention.

Just remember: TJ is a sperm receptical, and is a place that criminals use as a temporary stop b/f moving on to other places. So, most people in TJ are suspect including the LE. It's like one big prision yard, you always have to watch your back.

Rabo Verde
05-25-05, 19:40
You can't make any sense out of something like that. It was just your lucky day, my friend! You can reduce the odds, but here is NO 100% guaranteed way to avoid this type of thing... The only thing I would have done differently is I would have offered to "fix" things earlier, they only wanted $200, sheesh, that's a lot of drama for $200!!! Probably could have been settled with the first cops on the street for $50, once they had you in the station, everyone got to take a cut. We all take our precautions, but anyone who thinks thay are 100% safe in TJ is nuts, even police chiefs, mayors and Catholic bishops are not 100% safe in TJ!

El Juez
05-25-05, 22:20
Yoyo69,

Your experience was worse than most probably because of your many mistakes. You did not say what the "crystal" on the blade was but we'll take your word it was not drugs. Still, lesson number one is never to carry anthing remotely resembling a weapon into TJ. Once they found that blade it was open season on you and your buddy and the only question was how much it was going to cost you. You should have made an offer right there on the spot like chuponalgas said.

Mistake number two. Lying to the cops about how much money you had when you knew they knew you were lying. They probably thought you were being a smart ass. No one hates paying off crooked TJ cops more than I do but when your caught with a knife you will have to pay something and if they go as far to take you down to the station, you can be pretty sure that you're going to lose your whole bank roll.

Sorry about what happened though.

Netman05
06-23-05, 18:34
I am wondering what people think about needing a passport to re-enter the US from TJ? I have typically brought a passport with me. However I see them scanning it (sometimes). I would prefer (for some obvious reasons) that there was less of a trail that I was in Mexico. Also leaving my passport at home is something I would like to do. I was thinking of brining only a US driver's license and maybe a photo copy of the passport.

Has anyone ever been denied or hassled without a passport. I usually see a lot of people with only a license from Ca.

Does what your ethnicity matter in this either? I don't look hispanic at all.

Thoughts?

Street Hoolum
06-24-05, 21:06
Netman,

It is better to bring your US Passport with you when you're traveling to Tijuana and coming back to US. I know that bringing your passport is a risk of losing your passport while mongering in Tijuana. I've known people who likes to purchase US passport for big bucks in Mexico. Although CNN about few months ago broadcasts that US citizens traveling to Mexico will need to bring their Passports when coming back to US but, many of my friends still did not bring their passports simply because, they never have a passport to began with (US Born and never travels to foreign country). So, I guess the real answer to your question will be it is all depands on the INS or US Customs officers. I never had any problems coming back to US just showing my DL and I'm not a white boy. In fact, I seem white boy get asked for US Passport few weeks ago and the white boy replies that he never had one before. US customs officer then waive him through. If you are really feeling wiery about not bringing your passport because of afraid of losing it, then you should leave your passport in your car's glove compartment and lock it. Also, bring a copy of your passport and put it in your wallet in case US customs officer ask for it. If somehow they demands to see real passport or they pick on you just because they feel like it (often time thats because you're acting like an idiot), then politely tells them that you have original passport in your car and if they can have an officer follows you to your car in order to check for proper credential. 9 out of 10 times that most officers will let you go through without any complication. If they do demands to see real passport, you're in luck because you get yourself free ride to your car without walking :) Hope this information serves you well. I do know many people loses their passport while happying in TJ.

Clodbuster
06-24-05, 23:16
I used to take my CA drivers license as my only form of I.D. and had no problem returning to CA. Recently I made a copy of my passport and began to take it with me in case my driver's license got lost or just so I would have a second form of ID. Last week I went to TJ and accidently forgot to put my drivers license in my TJ wallet and it turned out that the copy of my passport ID was adequate for return. I explained to the border guard that I usually bring my CA drivers license but only had the copy of my passport and he looked at it and said pass on by.

I don't like the idea of carrying the passport in TJ because I travel light and I sure wouldn't want some mugger to take it. I also agree that I wouldn't like to have it scanned everytime I pass through. I don't know why, but prefer to move into TJ without the world knowing I'm there.

Clodbuster

Bbond
06-26-05, 02:13
A citizen of the US does not YET, need to have a passport to enter the US from Mexico.
They are talkiing about making it a requirement in 2008, but as of now it is not needed.

By John Mintz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 6, 2005; Page A01

Millions of Americans will be required to show passports when they reenter the United States from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean by 2008 under new rules announced yesterday by the State and Homeland Security departments.

The new policy, designed to thwart terrorists from exploiting the relative ease of travel in North America, means that Americans who lack U.S. passports will have to obtain them to travel between the United States and neighboring nations. It also will require Mexicans and Canadians to present either passports or another official document to enter this country, with details to be determined.

full story here http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28188-2005Apr5.html

One Wing Low
07-03-05, 19:42
When this happens, expect to see the number of visitors to border towns like Tijuana, Mexicali, Nogales, to drop probably 80%.

Most Americans don't have, or don't like to carry the big passports around just for short-time, casual visits.

I feel sorry for the senoritas and their kids.

[QUOTE=bbond]A citizen of the US does not YET, need to have a passport to enter the US from Mexico.
They are talkiing about making it a requirement in 2008, but as of now it is not needed.
QUOTE]

El Juez
07-04-05, 04:10
I've heard the passport idea has already been put on hold by the Bush Administration. With all the traffic ( legal that is ) between the two countries it would hurt business on both sides of the border without adding a thing to national security. This has already been recognized as foolish.

Of course, foolish ideas have a way of not going away.

tjmonger
07-04-05, 23:31
Saturday night started off like many nights in TJ. Went to revolucion first to drink a few beers and oggle the young ladies before heading to the Red Light District.

After eating some tacos at the restaurant that stays open late, my buddy and I decided to go back to ESCAPE because we could drink all we wanted for ten bucks each.

If any of you have never been there, you are missing out on NOTHING. It is basically like some club you can find in east los angeles. Every single guy there was some gangbanger or wanna be gangbanger ( I can' t tell the difference anymore). But last time we had gone there, basically everyone was cool and left us alone. Of course this time it was the same, except the stupid ***** assed security guard there.

After a few beers, the inevitable happens. I have to use the restroom. I neglected to see the sign on the door that it was Senorita Segurid's banio. As soon I was done pissing and started to exit the bathroom, he instantly blocked my exit and told me he was going to search me. Asking for my permission (as if i was able to say no). He told me to take all my belongings out and put them on the table - keys and gum was all i had in my pockets (plus some of my money). He inspected my pack of gum like it was a bomb about ready to go offf. THen he started frisking me and felt my money in my pocket. The entire time i kept insisting i didn't have ANYTHING , etc. etc. He made me take the money out and hold it in my hand, saying he wasn't a cop,etc. basically inferring that if he wanted to he could have ripped off my money.

After that, he continued to frisk me and even felt inside the top of my socks (Hey stupid, i keep the rest of my money and my id on the bottom of my sock). He basically then let me go.

I immediately went back to my friend and told him what happened. Senorita SEguridad who apparently didn't have enough, came up to us and started talking to my friend, apparently acting all nice and respectful towards my friend (who is asian, don't know if this has anything to do with it). I kept telling him I wasn't doing anything wrong, didn't have anything,etc. ( I know probably my mistake). THis is when he asked me "Do you want me to make your night miserable?" Well fuck that, i can take a hint, finished my beer and split. Went to Adelitas and took my rage out on some poor Senorita there.

Ok, why am i writing this ? It definately could have been a lot worse if he had wanted it to. I was afraid the whole time that he was going to plant drugs on me. That was my main concern. I also got to thinking, fuck that hellhole of a city. It will be a cold day in hell before I go there again and spend my hard earned money on that place. Let em have it. At least in this country you have rights. Not so in mexico. Why would i want to travel there and give my money. Sure everyone is nice, as long as you are tipping well and spenidng your cash. fuck TJ!!!

JeanLuc
08-02-05, 06:43
When this happens, expect to see the number of visitors to border towns like Tijuana, Mexicali, Nogales, to drop probably 80%.

Most Americans don't have, or don't like to carry the big passports around just for short-time, casual visits.I seriously doubt it will be anywhere near 80% drop. There are a lot of tourists that are not US citizens, thus have passports. Plenty of middle to upper class US citizens have passports, as lot's travel to other countries for business or vacation.

And "big passports"? They easily fit into your back pocket or a purse.

My guess: 10% to 20% initial decrease in tourism (to border towns). I think after a short time of 'educating the public' about passport requirements, things will return pretty close to normal. (probably except for 18 to 21 year olds, who I won't miss in TJ or Rosarito).

Rabo Verde
08-03-05, 09:31
Every night this week, there have been two crooked cops doing the shakedown in the shadowy area at the Sentri drop-off point. They are stopping solo Gringos and doing a complete search, shakedown if they find a Viagra or pocketknife, etc. When you cross over the bridge from McDonalds, you end up at a well-lit point closer to the border, generally without trouble.

One Wing Low
08-06-05, 11:02
The old foot bridge is closed. The new foot bridge brings you to the dark spot at la linea sentri.

Got dropped off by a $3 taxi libre at La Linea Sentri. There were 2 undercover policia shouting to someone on the street. They wore dark blue sweat shirts with the sheriff stars on their chests. I thought they were private seguridad until I saw the big Colt 45's they carried on their right legs.

In the dark spot underneath the foot bridge, near the bright TV bill board, there were 4 uniformed policia shaking down a gringo. They were harassing this guy in very loud voices, in fact they were all shouting at the gringo, asking whether he knew there were video cameras installed somewhere in the direction of the palm trees.

I was with a fellow monger. We gave them a wide berth and could not risk lingering to find out what happened to the solo gringo.

Along the cat walk to the US border, there was a big, dark, uniformed policia carrying a carbine M1 with sawed off buttock. He was just sitting down bull shitting with a bunch of guys. If you ever got robbed along the way, don't count on him to move his fat ass to help.

Be very careful in this area.


Every night this week, there have been two crooked cops doing the shakedown in the shadowy area at the Sentri drop-off point. They are stopping solo Gringos and doing a complete search, shakedown if they find a Viagra or pocketknife, etc. When you cross over the bridge from McDonalds, you end up at a well-lit point closer to the border, generally without trouble.

Pablo
08-12-05, 18:42
This really sucks, I worry about the damn TJ cops more than the other criminals when I go south! How screwed up is that?

Tuesday night when I got dropped off at Linea Sentri by the cab there were about 8 uniformed TJ cops milling around. They looked me and my buddy over but we passed thru without getting hassled. Maybe because we're older, I don't know.

Last night (Thursday) we got dropped off there at about 1AM and there were no cops there. Maybe it was time for the do-nut break or maybe they had already gotten some poor bastards and were driving them to ATMs or the station to shake them down.

As Chuponalgas mentions, if you cross over the new bridge it does curve a little towards the north/US and you sort of avoid the dark area where the cops seem to lurk. I wouldn't say it ensures your safe but probably a little less chance of getting hassled than getting dropped off by the taxi. I guess that means you'd need to get dropped off by the yellow cab lot across the street.

I saw some guys also crossing the street on foot by the same path we used to have to use before the new footbridge and before the taxis used the Linea Sentri drop off, when the bridge dropped you off on the wrong/west side and you had to dodge traffic to get to the east side. There are still breaks in the fence to get to the sidewalk. So if you really want to make sure you avoid the cops (for whetever reason you may have) maybe that's the best way as you get to the sidewalk well down from the Linea Sentri drop off nearer the US. But then again maybe that attracts attention and the cops will wonder why you didn't use the foot brigde too.

Thumperr
08-13-05, 06:35
This an abridged post from the general TJ thread, just another viewpoint, and an observation that I seem to be alot luckier than some of the other posters.

I get to TJ from NYC about 3-4 times a year. I'm late 40's, do not pass for younger. Was down on Sunday & Monday this past weekend.

I drive down, and parked for $4 at the hotel to the left of McDonalds & the other burger joint. I walk over from there. I do change to pesos, almost everything is quoted in dollars, and you can pay 1: 10 ratio, even though when you convert the dollars you get a little more. (can vary from 10. 5 to 11 and change). So there is your first discount.

Right now, with all the construction at the entrance to TJ, you can only walk straight out to where the taxis are. Many recall turning right and crossing over to the plaza directly. Right now it is closed for construction. As soon as you go throught the turnstile, you will be asked just under 73 times if you want a taxi. Most of these are the yellow cabs you see, and you can get hit up for 6 to 7 dollars or more for the average $3 ride. If you go through the gate, turn right. Walk to the street (about 200 yards), cross over and turn left. Walk another 300 yards until you see the people waiting on line for the Taxi Libres (name of company on the side of these smaller white cabs). To get to the Red Zone, on the meter can run to about 34 pesos with tip. If they say the place you want is closed, get out. (Unlees it's election day). Note: cabs will not generally make change, never with dollars. I usually give the guy a fifty peso note and say: diez peso, por favor. In other words - take 40 gimme 10 back.

There has been alot of talk about being hassled by the local police, the federales or any other police group working the area. THe cab dropped me off in front of Adelitas. I was in jeans and a T shirt. Nothing special. They looked me over and didn't say a word. Frankly, I have never had any problems. Same with the return trip to the border. The cab drops you off about 500 yards from the border, you walk in a straight line alongside hundreds of cars waiting to cross back. I did see a guy get hassled on Monday night, but he was so drunk I was surprised he could stand.

In other words, YMMV.

Bummer guys about your experiences. But I've just never had any of it.

Reboot
08-22-05, 01:03
Tourist magnet Tijuana cleans up brothels

Thu Aug 18,11:54 AM ET

The Mexican border city of Tijuana, a weekend playground for U.S. visitors, plans to give prostitutes electronic health cards and regulate brothels in an effort to clean up its gritty image.

Under a bylaw passed last month, the city is forcing about 50 clandestine brothels to meet public safety and hygiene standards, like putting clean sheets on beds, or face closure.

"We have a lot of prostitution but few controls," Martha Montejano, head of the council's health and human development commission, said on Wednesday. "This aims to combat sexually transmitted diseases and bring order to the massage parlors."

Prostitution is illegal in Mexico but brothels are often left alone by law enforcement agents.

Under the regulation, some 7,000 male and female sex workers in Tijuana, a city of 1.2 million people, will carry health cards with a computer chip to show they have passed monthly health checks.

The Tijuana bylaw is due to come into force in the coming days, perhaps as early as Friday, and a team of 30 inspectors already has begun visits to brothels, which are often thinly disguised as massage parlors.

The bylaw is the first serious attempt to regulate the sex trade in the city, which has served as a playground of bars, brothels and racetracks for visitors from California since the U.S. prohibition era in the 1920s.

Brothel operators back the measure, which they say allows them to operate in the open for the first time, while providing safeguards for both sex workers and clients.

"It makes it safer for everyone involved," a brothel manager called Jorge told Reuters at a massage parlor close to Avenida Revolucion, a strip of gaudy tourist bars. "The girls and the clients are better off and it means the authorities can't close us down if we comply."

The Tijuana bylaw, similar to regulations in cities like Monterrey and the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, has been criticized by some opposition councilors.

"It's like throwing up your hands and saying that we've been beaten by the problem of prostitution," said opposition councilor Luis Ledezma of the conservative National Action Party. "We think it definitely goes too far."

One Wing Low
08-25-05, 15:51
Got dropped off by a $3 Taxi Libre at 1AM at the dark spot at La Linea Sentri last night.

It was very dark. There were no policia anywhere. Perhaps they were all home screwing their chief's wife and daughters?

There was no line at the Border Security checkpoint. The only woman agent there was pretty good looking. She was hanging around chit chatting with the latino agent like they just had a long night of sex. She eyed me carefully with her lusty eyes like she needed a good fuck in the interrogation room.

One night I must disguise myself as a wet back for a long and hot interrogation/ S&M session with her in her dungeon, courtesy of Uncle Sam.

One Wing Low
08-29-05, 10:38
Came back to La linea Sentri at about 1AM Thursday.

4 Policia were roughing up an older Gringo in white pollo shirt and khaki short. They were all over the guy emptying his pockets etc. The poor guy was sweating buckets.

We walked right by, didn't even draw a look from the policia. Don't know what the guy did wrong.

One Wing Low
08-29-05, 10:52
Went through the gate on the West side at 10PM on Sunday. A bunch of yellow cabbies were soliciting. I told one guy Adelita for $3. He readily agreed.

He walked us towards the farmicias and handed us off to another cabbie. I told the guy again the $3 deal. He agreed.

He dropped us off. I gave him $3. He took a moment counting then got out of the cab saying it should be $5. I told him about the deal and what I told the other cabbie. He persisted. I told him to take me back to the pick up point and got into the cab. He drove us back.

After 2 min drive, I demanded my $3 back. He would not give it back. I rolled down the window, calling policia. He stopped the cab on Nino Heroes, telling us to get off. I got off the cab, took down his cab #, telling the *sshole I will report his conduct to policia and the cab company. He was pretty shaken. The meter rate between La Linea and Adelitas is only 18 pesos or about US$1.50

I walked back to the Zona. Nino Heroes was bustling with people on Sunday night. What a sight! I really like Mexicans and their unique lifestyles, except the dumb, rude, cheating cabbies *sshole. I will stick it to this dumb and rude *sshole.

I will also write a letter to their tourism department suggesting mandatory use of meter or fixed rate for cabbies. Most tourist destinations manage their taxi rates very well, avoiding abuses and misunderstandings. The cabbies could give very wrong images about the rest of the people to tourists.

Laerge group of yellow cabbies, on occasions, had rough confrontations against policia and federales near Adelitas. A high percentage of kidnapping in Mexico City are committed by cabbies. These guys have nothing to lose. Be very careful how you deal with them. I avoid using them whenever possible. Taxi Libre drivers are far more honest in my experience.

Nibu Raphael
08-30-05, 00:01
Hey Dude Mutha I here You. I got robbed last year in Lima Peru by about 8 dudes in Lima Centro like 4 A.M. In The morning. Chased down The Police Cruiser Blazer that all the Cops Use In Peru and The Cops just ignored me and did nothing. I got also searched in a Red Light And Drug Zone/Cheap Hotel aRea in Mexico City by a Few Cops in the Late 90,s but they were all Cool. The One Main Guy Searching Me talked in English and then said to Me check your money for it,s all there. oh also in Lima Peru I never ever ever got searched there by a Cop in my 4 years of being there.
This was on revolution (near the arch) about 5 p.m. on Saturday. The victim was about 40 years old. One mexican did a choke hold on him while two other mexicans went thru his pockets. It happended in a matter of seconds. A woman yelled out for police but two TJ cops standing nearby did absolutely nothing. This was the first time I have ever seen anything like this before. Be careful guys.

Mutha.

Hizark21
08-31-05, 01:09
It's pretty amazing the cops just stood around. You should lodge a formal complaint to the Mexican consulate in San Diego. Tell them that you intend to write the San Diego Union and other news organizations. This is one reason why I always constantly look behind me to see who is following me in Zona Norte. This is also why I don't go Zona Norte at night.

Nibu Raphael
08-31-05, 01:50
Dude Sorry this happened in Lima Peru.
It's pretty amazing the cops just stood around. You should lodge a formal complaint to the Mexican consulate in San Diego. Tell them that you intend to write the San Diego Union and other news organizations. This is one reason why I always constantly look behind me to see who is following me in Zona Norte. This is also why I don't go Zona Norte at night.

Pham888
09-10-05, 17:46
Is illegal to buy Penicllin in TJ without a presciptions ?

My friend was at a beach 30 miles into mexico near Puerto Neovo. Two mexican police stop them and ask if they have any drugs of any kind in their veh. They search the vehicle for about 1 hour and found a bottle of Penicillin in the glove compartment. They said " it was illegal to buy penicillin with a presciption from U.S. doctor or Mexican doctor and they have to take them to the police station and the fine will be $1600.00".

The two police ask" how much monies you got and we will let you go". The two police clean them out for $350.00

Pham888

Member #4450
09-11-05, 02:42
Is illegal to buy Penicllin in TJ without a presciptions?

My friend was at a beach 30 miles into mexico near Puerto Neovo. Two mexican police stop them and ask if they have any drugs of any kind in their veh. They search the vehicle for about 1 hour and found a bottle of Penicillin in the glove compartment. They said " it was illegal to buy penicillin with a presciption from U. S. doctor or Mexican doctor and they have to take them to the police station and the fine will be $1600. 00".

The two police ask" how much monies you got and we will let you go". The two police clean them out for $350. 00

Pham888PENICILLIN: It's not a recreation drug to my knowledge, they just want to clean him out, he should report them to the judge, Penicillin is a drug to treat infections, you gotta watch out! those cops will find any excuse to take your $$$, my advise to everyone is, have your pockets and your glove compartment clean of any drug period! when you're in Mexico. Never, Never said ol the money you have to the Mexican police, just carrie a few $20s in your wallet, and hide the rest somewhere else, so when they ask how much you got? open your wallet so they can take the 20s and they go happy. I don't even take my atm card w/ me when I'm in TJ, they can force you to withdraw cash from the teller, just take cash only, it's like Vegas, if you take ol the $$$$ with you? You comeback empty 4 sure.

One Wing Low
09-11-05, 17:30
I was tired of dealing with the dumb goons driving the yellow pieces of shiet. I am not short of money, but I dont like crooks who extort money from my fellow mongers.

Besides, the main concern is possible encounter with banditos and corrupt policia between the drop off point to the US border. One would never know when one is held up by a bandito or a cabbie with a knife, or TJ policia with their badges, and got one's wallet cleaned out.

I've seen enough policia jumping from their squad cars with drawn guns, chasing banditos down dark alleys half a block from Adelita. And the walk across the border zone is scary, dusty and tiresome.

I decided to drive into TJ in my own car. It was a breeze. It took only 10 minutes from the border to Adelita. I feel a lot more secured and relaxed driving my own car than walking at night on Mexican soil. Parking at CC was packed, costing $1.40 para hora. The return to the US border after midnight had few cars waiting, only a dozen cars ahead of me, costing 10 to 30 minutes wait. Overall there is time and energy saving over taking cabs.

Avoid waiting on the leftmost lane as US Custom could close it down without warning, leaving you stuck with your dicks hanging. Besides, when it's open, there are always dozens of dumb drivers trying to cut into the line, creating hassles. The middle and right lanes always move faster.

Driving into TJ is a far more elegant, convenient and secured solution than dealing with the dumb trash driving the yellow turds. Fuuuuuuuuck the yellow cabbie aaaaaaaaaassholes in TJ. They are the shame of the Mexicanos.

Heyzeus
09-12-05, 02:15
I was tired of dealing with the dumb goons driving the yellow pieces of shiet. I am not short of money, but I dont like crooks who extort money from my fellow mongers.

Besides, the main concern is possible encounter with banditos and corrupt policia between the drop off point to the US border. One would never know when one is held up by a bandito or a cabbie with a knife, or TJ policia with their badges, and got one's wallet cleaned out.

I've seen enough policia jumping from their squad cars with drawn guns, chasing banditos down dark alleys half a block from Adelita. And the walk across the border zone is scary, dusty and tiresome.

I decided to drive into TJ in my own car. It was a breeze. It took only 10 minutes from the border to Adelita. I feel a lot more secured and relaxed driving my own car than walking at night on Mexican soil. Parking at CC was packed, costing $1.40 para hora. The return to the US border after midnight had few cars waiting, only a dozen cars ahead of me, costing 10 to 30 minutes wait. Overall there is time and energy saving over taking cabs.

Avoid waiting on the leftmost lane as US Custom could close it down without warning, leaving you stuck with your dicks hanging. Besides, when it's open, there are always dozens of dumb drivers trying to cut into the line, creating hassles. The middle and right lanes always move faster.

Driving into TJ is a far more elegant, convenient and secured solution than dealing with the dumb trash driving the yellow turds. Fuck the yellow cabbie assholes in TJ. They are the shame of the Mexicanos.I have lived in TJ for a number of years and because of past experiences I've had with the policia in the ZN I don't drive there unless I absolutely have to. Of course driving is definately the easiest way to get into TJ, but there are more real and potential costs associated with driving than with walking. I would only drive in if I was staying overnight in TJ frequently and the hotel that I was staying at had free parking and I had a sentri pass. If you consider la linea, mexican insurance and parking, driving will cost you more money and time.

If you don't like dealing with the cabbies at the border then walk to the ZN. It's only a 10 - 15 minute walk. After continual problems with taxi libre drivers I always walk in now unless it's early in the morning. Usually though I don't go to the ZN from the border I take a taxi de ruta from nearby where I live in TJ. One way cost to Centro is only 8 pesos.

Bbond
09-12-05, 04:05
Is illegal to buy Penicllin in TJ without a presciptions ?

My friend was at a beach 30 miles into mexico near Puerto Neovo. Two mexican police stop them and ask if they have any drugs of any kind in their veh. They search the vehicle for about 1 hour and found a bottle of Penicillin in the glove compartment. They said " it was illegal to buy penicillin with a presciption from U.S. doctor or Mexican doctor and they have to take them to the police station and the fine will be $1600.00".

The two police ask" how much monies you got and we will let you go". The two police clean them out for $350.00

Pham888

Should have told them "lets go to police station", call their bluff, cause that's exactly what it is....they scared them into something there is no law against.
Uninformed people will be fleeced by these guys, informed people won't...

Or, they should have gone themselves to police station and reported what happened. Get names and numbers of officers and vehicles if possible.

Be informed, or lose, just that simple.........

Heyzeus
09-19-05, 08:55
Last night I was stopped around 10:30 by two of TJ's worst while walking West on Calle Primera halfway between Constitucion and Ninos Heroes. For me this broke a two year streak of not being stopped by the police while walking in the Zona Norte. I was suprised when they didn't want to search me, they just wanted to see my ID and then they asked me a few questions. I didn't particularly care for there line of questioning though, which consisted of them asking if I was in TJ alone. They obviously thought that judging by my appearance that I didn't know TJ well. I told them in spanish that a lot of people in the area know me and that I was on my way to meet friends at a bar. After I started speaking to them in spanish they quickly realized they had misjudged me and that I they wouldn't be getting any handouts from me. They gave me back my ID and I went on my way.

One Wing Low
09-20-05, 01:48
I dont think it's a good idea to walk around TJ at night outside of the well lighted and crowded areas in Zona Roja. The walk between the border and La Zona has a lot of dark, isolated areas where walkers could fall victims to crimes.

If you keep walking around TJ, the probability is that one day you will be robbed and likely beaten. As I drive my car, I am at least protected inside the car. In worst case, I can hold off a dozen banditos with the tire iron...





If you don't like dealing with the cabbies at the border then walk to the ZN. It's only a 10 - 15 minute walk. After continual problems with taxi libre drivers I always walk in now unless it's early in the morning. Usually though I don't go to the ZN from the border I take a taxi de ruta from nearby where I live in TJ. One way cost to Centro is only 8 pesos.

Heyzeus
09-20-05, 02:55
I dont think it's a good idea to walk around TJ at night outside of the well lighted and crowded areas in Zona Roja. The walk between the border and La Zona has a lot of dark, isolated areas where walkers could fall victims to crimes.

If you keep walking around TJ, the probability is that one day you will be robbed and likely beaten. As I drive my car, I am at least protected inside the car. In worst case, I can hold off a dozen banditos with the tire iron.The real criminals in TJ are the police and IMO you are less likely to be hassled by the policia if you walk or take a cab to the ZN. Judging from some of the posts you have made, for instance when you said the new pedestrian bridge was 1/2 mile away from the old bridge.


Mexico just opened a new foot bridge, which crosses from the Yellow Cab parking all the way South to the dark area where cabbies drop off passengers going to La Linea Sentri. The old foot bridge, which is now closed, used to end North, 1/2 mile closer to the border. You either know hardly anything about life in TJ or you are trolling.

Blue Nose
09-24-05, 02:07
Last night I was stopped around 10:30 by two of TJ's worst while walking West on Calle Primera halfway between Constitucion and Ninos Heroes. For me this broke a two year streak of not being stopped by the police while walking in the Zona Norte. I was suprised when they didn't want to search me, they just wanted to see my ID and then they asked me a few questions. I didn't particularly care for there line of questioning though, which consisted of them asking if I was in TJ alone. They obviously thought that judging by my appearance that I didn't know TJ well. I told them in spanish that a lot of people in the area know me and that I was on my way to meet friends at a bar. After I started speaking to them in spanish they quickly realized they had misjudged me and that I they wouldn't be getting any handouts from me. They gave me back my ID and I went on my way.


Had a very similar experience on Calle Primera a few months ago. I was taking a walk around the zone, looking for some out of the way SGs, and decided to walk down primera from Consticuion over to Nino Heroes. It was after dark, and Primera has quite a few SGs in this area. Came up to a few SGs, and then realized that they were talking with cops. Cops saw me and immediately stopped me. Asked for ID and did the full search (I know TJ pretty well, but my spoken Spanish is not that great). When they didn't find anything other than condoms on me (which they thought was hilarious, for some reason) they let me go. No harm done, I guess, but it was a fairly tense encounter that I don't want to repeat.

My advice for mongers, especially newbies, is to take a cab to and from the zone. All mongers should take a cab or drive after dark. When in the zone, it is best to stay in the alley (well lit and with many people and cameras) or on Constitucion, between the alley and CC. Up the hill on Constitucion at night can sometimes feel a little dicey. If you have to walk on Primera at night, walk towards the arch (and away from the zone). Primera between Const & Nino Heroes is OK during the day, but should be avoided at night - it seems to be a real trouble spot and perfect for a shakedown.

Blue Nose

El Juez
09-24-05, 02:34
From one who learned the hard way, you may want to have at least a rough idea of how much money you have on you when stopped by the cops. When they start looking through your pockets and wallet let them know how much you have so they know you'll probably count it when they give it back to you.

I had about a third of my roll ripped off from me by one cop who took it out of my wallet while the other one was talking to me about the bullshit reason they stopped me. They'll do a quick flash of your roll when they give it back to you so you'll think they're square. Don't believe them. Count it right then and there. I didn't realize I had been ripped off until I was getting ready to head home.

Heyzeus
09-24-05, 06:40
Had a very similar experience on Calle Primera a few months ago. I was taking a walk around the zone, looking for some out of the way SGs, and decided to walk down primera from Consticuion over to Nino Heroes. It was after dark, and Primera has quite a few SGs in this area. Came up to a few SGs, and then realized that they were talking with cops. Cops saw me and immediately stopped me. Asked for ID and did the full search (I know TJ pretty well, but my spoken Spanish is not that great). When they didn't find anything other than condoms on me (which they thought was hilarious, for some reason) they let me go. No harm done, I guess, but it was a fairly tense encounter that I don't want to repeat.

My advice for mongers, especially newbies, is to take a cab to and from the zone. All mongers should take a cab or drive after dark. When in the zone, it is best to stay in the alley (well lit and with many people and cameras) or on Constitucion, between the alley and CC. Up the hill on Constitucion at night can sometimes feel a little dicey. If you have to walk on Primera at night, walk towards the arch (and away from the zone). Primera between Const & Nino Heroes is OK during the day, but should be avoided at night - it seems to be a real trouble spot and perfect for a shakedown.

Blue NoseThree nights later I passed by the same two officers close to where they had stopped me before. I nodded to them in recognition as they went by me but niether of them said anything to me.

The worst part of primera/articulo 123 is between the Rev and Constitucion. That's where all the rateros hang out. They call it "ratero alley". Definately avoid walking here at night or in the day unless you absolutely have to. If you need to get to the Rev to either walk back to the border or to walk south on the Rev I would suggest walking South on Constitucion to Juarez then East to the Rev.

GettingTang
09-24-05, 09:41
From one who learned the hard way, you may want to have at least a rough idea of how much money you have on you when stopped by the cops. When they start looking through your pockets and wallet let them know how much you have so they know you'll probably count it when they give it back to you.

I had about a third of my roll ripped off from me by one cop who took it out of my wallet while the other one was talking to me about the bullshit reason they stopped me. They'll do a quick flash of your roll when they give it back to you so you'll think they're square. Don't believe them. Count it right then and there. I didn't realize I had been ripped off until I was getting ready to head home.

Nice advice if you were on the US side of the border. Go counting your $ in the face of a TJ cop in some back alley would be perceived as accusational. This would be interpreted as a real live insult. After that, anything goes if you know what I mean. It's best to simply walk away, cut your losses and move on.

TJ has become a real shit hole the past few years. The bad cops have really ruined it and until you mongers quit going across the border in droves and cut off the bad cops supply of green backs, it will only worsen.

El Juez
09-24-05, 17:04
TJ cops are looking for easy marks. Every sign you send out that you are aware of what is going on is not accusational just smart. The cops know what their reputation is and they know it's deserved. As long as you're not abrasive or combative and stay cool you have little chance of being hurt by the cops. I suggest simply stating how much money you have when they take your wallet may be enough to avoid any shortage when it's returned. If push came to shove and they still tried to rip off some, I probably would write it off as not worth the hassle to complain further. But others can and have taken it farther with no repercussions.

As for the suggestion not to keep going to TJ, it makes little economic sense because the alternatives on the U.S. side are illegal hookers and escorts and all the LE problems that come with them. When U.S. cops catch you, that's when you really want a cop to take a bribe and they won't. Forget the Nevada legal brothel scene. I just saw a re run of the HBO show Cathouse about the Moonlight Bunny Ranch. Some hooker was talking about giving a customer an hour of cuddling with no sex for $400 and thought he got a bargain. A $400 lap. The $100 I lost in TJ is more than offset by the thousands I've saved over the last couple of years if I had gone to Nevada.

Heyzeus
09-24-05, 23:44
From one who learned the hard way, you may want to have at least a rough idea of how much money you have on you when stopped by the cops. When they start looking through your pockets and wallet let them know how much you have so they know you'll probably count it when they give it back to you.

I had about a third of my roll ripped off from me by one cop who took it out of my wallet while the other one was talking to me about the bullshit reason they stopped me. They'll do a quick flash of your roll when they give it back to you so you'll think they're square. Don't believe them. Count it right then and there. I didn't realize I had been ripped off until I was getting ready to head home.You don't have to give your money to the cops you can keep the bills in your hand.

I never go to the Zona Norte with my wallet on me. I only take the essentials pesos, ID (DL or passport), cell phone, pen and paper.

localbozo
09-28-05, 16:00
I was on my way back from the zona norte after a good time at AC and CC. When the taxi dropped me off at the border (Tuesday about midnight) there were two cops standing around with their thumbs up their ass. One said, "hey, where you going.'?" I replied that I am going home back to the U.S. They grabbed me and said put your hands against the wall.

They proceeded to do a thorough search of my pockets and legs and the fag even grabbed my dick asking if I had viagra. I had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING on me except my travel wallet with license and about $80 remaining. They then asked a bunch more questions about where I live and where I work and if I have any marijuana or other drugs on me. I was then instructed to take my shoes off where they searched also. The cop, much to my surprise, opened my wallet took out the money to look inside the pockets of the wallet, and then put all the cash back. He then asked me how many beers I had. I answered one (a big fat lie to that fuckfaced pig...more like six) and they told me to get out of here.

Are the cops that bored that they have to fuck with someone who is basically paying their salary. What would TJ be without American tourists? I'll tell you. It would be a civil war wasteland. They would have NO chance for survival. I wish there was someway to tell these pigs to fuck off but they know that we will continue to come there for the cheap pussy.

My solution is this. Take the bus back to the border. It drives right across with no hassel. Good luck to all of you staying safe.

LB

Bozology
09-29-05, 22:52
I fully concur with localbozo that returning to la linea is a breeze if you simply board the bus at the tourist terminal at 7th and Revolution. The route is a bit circuituous, but it lands you at the front of the immigration line and there is usually a special line just for bus passengers. Cost is $2.50 each way. No dealing with creative cabbies or entrepeneurial spirited policia.

I usually walk in and bus out, but if you want an option to cabs on the way in just proceed past the cab lot and board the municipal bus kittycorner from the cab lot. The fare is 35 cents and it runs up 3rd and stops at Revolution and Constitution Aves.

Thumperr
09-30-05, 02:25
The sudden rash of reports has me looking for the same thing in each report: a description of you. How old were you. How were you dressed. Did you have six beers as a previous poster did. How does that affect your behavior.

I'm in TJ about 3 or 4 times a year. I'm 50, dress in jeans and a t shirt and yankees hat every time. I speak bar spanish. Never been approached or hassled. Now on the other hand, I'm ex- military, carry myself like I can handle myself and always look the cops, and anyone else on the street straight in the eye. Oh, I'm 5'8" and 185 pounds, not overly intimidating.

Is this an alarming new trend or sudden awareness?

Belgrath
09-30-05, 04:44
Mexicoach is ok if you are leaving by 8:30 pm, last bus to border was 9pm or so unless theyve started running later lately. My prob is my wingman and me often leave La Zona like 3 AM or so :) . Also kinda of a long walk to go from 7th and Revolution to AB,CC, HK accross sometimes unfriendly territory at night especially if alone.

localbozo
09-30-05, 12:51
I also wear jeans and a long sleave tee shirt. I am 6'1" and 200 lbs. and I carry myself well and certainly was not stumbling or showing any signs of being drunk. I don't know if you should look the cops right in the eye or not. In America, looking away tends to be suspicious. In Mexico, it's hard to say whether you should look them right in the eye because it could be taken by the policia to be a stare down. I really don't know what's right. I'm sure it varies for each individual.

BTW, this is the first time in at least 40 visits to TJ that I have been harrassed by the cops. I've always believed it was safe and people who were hassled by the cops were "asking for it." Apparantly this is not 100% true. Maybe my problem was it was late and during the week and they just had no one else to pick on. It won't stop me from banging those chicitas in the near future.

LB

El Juez
10-01-05, 20:01
I'm in the same category and general description as you guys. I've been going to TJ for two and a half years now and never had a problem. I passed those cops at the linea drop off point dozens of times with hardly a glance. But for some reason last month they decided to target me for a scam. Nothing changed in either my appearance or behavior. I don't know if it's a change to a more agressive, greedy attitude on part of the cops or not but I've been hearing a lot more about it recently here and on other sites.

Blue Nose
10-01-05, 20:46
Guys,

Just read a disturbing article in the San Diego Herald Tribune. Apparently, they have passed a law in TJ that cars cannot have tinted windows. This is to cut down on crime as a lot of criminals have their windows tinted darkly. Unfortunatley, a lot of regular people have tinted windows also. From what I read, the law will be applied to both locals and cars from the US.

If ever there was a law that was ripe for abuse, then this is it. That's because there are no set standards. You can have "some" tint to your glass, but it's basically up to the cop who pulls you over. You can bet your last dollar that a car with Cal plates that is driving in or around the zone at night will now be more of a target than it already is. Fine is something like $50, although I am sure that for gringos it is higher.

Another reason to leave the car at the border, unless you really need to bring it over.

If anybody has any experience on getting pulled over for this, please post.

Blue Nose

Thumperr
10-03-05, 02:21
Thanks to those that responded to my questions. Until now it was easy to assume that there was a common thread to those that were being harrased.

Next question for those that might answer. I have also started to use pesos during my visits in TJ. When they say four dollars, I whip out 40 pesos. Sorta boosts my spending cash. The only place I pay in dollars is to get into the hotel and into , well, you know.

It is interesting to know that this hassling can happen to anyone. I might not act with such impunity. I'll be in TJ next Saturday night, I'll get an update on as soon as I get back.

By the way, a "confession". I have taken to sticking with the same girl at AB for over a year now. I may even learn her name this time.

Gropinator
10-03-05, 20:31
Hommies,

Is there a place stateside near the border to exchange dollars to pesos? And do they charge a fee?

Conejito
10-04-05, 03:53
The 'stop-and-search' cops at the Sentri walk-across borderline have now been there for a very long time. They are always the same 4-5 guys.

No one has ever reported them and therefore they have become established and aggressive at that spot. They will now stop anyone, no matter what you look like (usually men who are alone).

Even though it is dark and scary-looking, I seriously doubt they would hurt or kidnap any normal person because that would stop their profitable 'business'.

Do not bring back Viagra or any other drug. Their searches will find nothing and most likely all your money will be given back unless you are drunk.

Heyzeus
10-04-05, 08:16
Hommies,

Is there a place stateside near the border to exchange dollars to pesos? And do they charge a fee?There are many in San Ysidro on San Ysidro Blvd South of the Dairy Mart Exit off the 5. The ones that don't charge commission usually will have a sign out front. Do not buy pesos from anyone that charges commission since there are many that don't a charge commission. A good rate will be within 2 pesos of the going exchange rate. Right now the exchange rate at these exchange places is roughly $1 = 10.7 pesos so 10.5 pesos or above would be a good rate. If you buy in the US and more so in Mexico make sure you look to see where the decimal point is before buying pesos. Some of the rip-off exchange places will add an extra 0 or 2 after the decimal so instead of buying at 10.5 you're buying at 10.05 or 10.005.

One Wing Low
10-04-05, 18:55
Some mongers, who were searched and ripped off by the goons at La Linea Sentri, should be pissed of enough to find ways do them in.

Are we mongers so meek that we will just let the unjust harassment and rip off by these dumb policias go on forever?

The chicas would probably have good laughd and call these mongers losers for submitting to the abuses by the policias and not smart enough to stick it back to them in their stupid asses.

Some victims should gather evidence and witnesses and write to the TJ mayor and teach them lessons in civility.

[QUOTE=Conejito] The 'stop-and-search' cops at the Sentri walk-across borderline have now been there for a very long time. They are always the same 4-5 guys.
No one has ever reported them and therefore they have become established and aggressive at that spot. They will now stop anyone, no matter what you look like (usually men who are alone).
QUOTE]

Rabo Verde
10-04-05, 19:08
we could get a photo of the border thieves so we can identify them and then contact one of the guys in this story... in the meantime they especially like to pick on guys who are walking alone, i have rarely seen them stop a group, guess they prefer less witnesses, your word vs. theirs if you complain. i try to wait and walk through with someone else...

tijuana taking steps to clean up its act, officials say

by will carless
voice staff writer
friday, sept. 2, 2005

tijuana's officials, it seems, are fed up with the city's negative image.

in an attempt to clean up the border city's reputation as a hotbed of organized crime, prostitution and **** drinking, a team of tijuana officials held a press conference in san diego on thursday to present a more positive image of their city.

in addition to touting tijuana's benefits as a place to invest, to manufacture, to dine and to imbibe, the officials described measures that the city's police force has taken to improve safety for visitors.

these measures include a dramatic plan to increase tijuana police officers' pay by 100 percent over the next two years. less spectacular tactics outlined by deputy commander and chief liaison officer for the tijuana police department guillermo gonzalez include the installation of closed-circuit television cameras in certain parts of downtown tijuana and the posting of police at border crossings to turn away would-be **** drinkers.

the officials said they called the press conference to weigh in against some of the recent rhetoric that has been tarnishing tijuana's image. such rhetoric, according to alfonso bustamante, director of bi-national affairs for the city of tijuana, has come from california gov. arnold schwarzenegger, among others. bustamante said that tijuana has its issues, but he's working on them.

"we have a city that keeps on growing that has many problems and some deficiencies," said bustamante. "every city in the world has its violence, and we do too, but we are trying very much to fight that, to make it better for us, the citizens of tijuana and for our visitors."

the officials themselves, however, arguably offered more in the way of rhetoric than actual solid measures to combat security problems.

it was only when pressed about the actual measures they intended to take that gonzalez casually mentioned the huge pay raise for tijuana police officers.

asked about police corruption and the widespread problem of tijuana police taking bribes from tourists, gonzalez said the proposed increases in pay will go some way toward solving a problem that he recognizes is a serious concern for tourists visiting tijuana.

"we've been in this administration for only nine months," said gonzalez. "we're addressing the problem, we're taking forward steps to eliminate that problem and we're hitting it pretty hard."

according to gonzalez, the pay raises will increase the average officer's wage from roughly $800 a month to $1,600 a month. he said the wage increase will take effect over the next two years at a rate of a 4 percent increase every month.

a patrolman for the tijuana police department, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, expressed skepticism about the salary increases.

"yes, it will help a little, but not much," said the patrolman. "it's not going to get rid of corruption."

the patrolman said that he had not yet heard anything about the pay increases. when asked whether he believes that they will materialize, however, he expressed confidence that the city will honor its word.

apart from increasing wages, gonzalez said the police department is also trying to make officers more accountable within its organization. he said that a complaints department has been set up to take "direct action" against complaints of corruption within the police force and to monitor individual officers who have been accused of corruption. he did not offer any specifics about how many times an officer can be found guilty of taking bribes before being fired, but said that some of the complaints received this year have resulted in immediate firings.

gonzalez said that recently officers have been stationed at the mexican side of the border to look out for would-be **** drinkers. during the press conference, he said that under-18-year-olds who were clearly visiting tijuana to party would be turned away. in a later interview, however, he conceded that police officers do not have the right to turn teenagers away simply because they suspect that they may get into trouble.

"we don't actually turn them away, we urge them to leave," said gonzalez. "we show them the way."

contrary to public opinion, gonzalez said, **** drinking is by no means accepted in tijuana. clubs and pubs that serve under-18-year-olds will be fined or shut down, he said.

the city recently installed a series of closed-circuit television cameras in the tourist areas of tijuana, focusing on the infamous avenida revolución. these cameras, gonzalez said, have already helped tijuana police track down several stolen cars and have decreased the amount of vandalism taking place in the area.

key to ensuring that tijuana is as safe as possible for tourists, said gonzalez, is cooperation and coordination between police officers in tijuana and san diego. he said the san diego police department has been working with officers in tijuana to apprehend criminals who have escaped over the border.

"the most important step that we can take is working together (with the sdpd) the way that we have done so far and just keep up what we've been doing," said gonzalez. "not to toot our own horn, but we've been doing a good job in taking the most steps possible to ensure tourist safety."

One Wing Low
10-23-05, 10:56
Hey Rabo,

That's a damn good idea.

Wait for solo gringos and walk with them ,and kick the stupid policia in their brown asses.



WE COULD GET A PHOTO OF THE BORDER THIEVES SO WE CAN IDENTIFY THEM AND THEN CONTACT ONE OF THE GUYS IN THIS STORY... IN THE MEANTIME THEY ESPECIALLY LIKE TO PICK ON GUYS WHO ARE WALKING ALONE, I HAVE RARELY SEEN THEM STOP A GROUP, GUESS THEY PREFER LESS WITNESSES, YOUR WORD VS. THEIRS IF YOU COMPLAIN. I TRY TO WAIT AND WALK THROUGH WITH SOMEONE ELSE...

Tijuana Taking Steps to Clean Up Its Act, Officials Say

By WILL CARLESS
Voice Staff Writer
Friday, Sept. 2, 2005.

John Rain
10-26-05, 05:41
My first and only minor encounter with Policia in Tijuana happened in September 2005.

I was enjoying a Negra Modelo, relaxing with my Street Girl friend Monica in "Bar Salon de Baile La Gloria." La Gloria is on the west side of Constitución just before Coahuila. Monica was not interested in dancing, but I was attempting to coerce her into dancing with me to no avail. She introduced me to a friend of hers that works this bar. Her friend's name was supposedly "America," and Monica said I should dance with "America" while she stepped outside to make a couple of phone calls.

Okay, so I danced with "America," who was a bit older gal that I had never met before this night, while Monica left me alone with her. America spent most of the dance rubbing her loose, ample tits all over my chest. After one dance, I thanked America, gave her a dollar and sat down awaiting Monica's return. After about ten minutes, America asked if I wanted to dance again and I declined. Meanwhile, Monica never returns and I am becoming impatient and a little pissed.

Ten more minutes and I am pissed. So, I leave La Gloria, cross over to the east side of Constitución and hike up to where Monica usually works. I see her there talking to a man and I understand that she needs to make a living, so I walk past her and come to a stop near the top of the hill, almost at Primera.

I was standing outside a bar. I don't know the name of it, but my real purpose is to wait until Monica finishes talking to the man standing next to her. Now, this is late at night, perhaps 10 p.m., and this section of street is not particularly safe. Additionally, I have on occasion smelled the odor of pot coming from this bar in the past. But my focus is on Monica, and not at all on my location in front of this bar.

A Mexican policeman is patrolling and notices that I am standing here. He speaks to me in Spanish, but I don't understand. Then he changes to English and asks what I am doing here. I am a bit startled, and tell him I "nothing." This is a stupid answer.

The policeman gets more serious and asks for my identification. Yipes! I get scared and dig my driver's licence out of my wallet and hand it to him. He asks if I have any drugs with me. Of course, I reply, no. Then he asks where I work. I tell him, but he asks again. Then he asks again if I have any drugs and I figure I am screwed, although, of course, I don't have any drugs. I try to explain that I am waiting for my friend. Another stupid answer, although true. At this point, I am imaging some terrible scenerio is about to take place.

Meanwhile, my SG friend Monica sees what is happening and approaches us. She has a big smile and greets the policeman in Spanish. I don't know what she said, but after a minute or so the policeman hands me my driver's licence and explains to me that this is not a good place to be standing around late at night. I apologize and thank him profusely. Monica thanks him for "helping" me as well. I leave, a bit rattled, with Monica.

Monica explains that this policeman is a friend of hers, and that I was very stupid to stand on this street alone. She said this guy is honest, but some are not and that I am lucky it was him instead of someone else.

I took Monica back to my hotel and f-cked her gratefully that night and learned a lesson as well.

One Wing Low
10-29-05, 07:25
October 27, 2005 latimes.com

Priest's Slaying Shakes Tijuana
A popular cleric's death, blamed on drug trade, gives the border city a record year for killings.

By Richard Marosi, Times Staff Writer


TIJUANA — The execution-style killing of a popular priest in an upscale restaurant district here has touched off an outpouring of grief and pushed the homicide rate to record heights.

At a funeral Mass on Wednesday, about 2,000 people mourned the death of Father Luis Velazquez Romero, 52, an outspoken cleric known for his social activism.

He was gunned down Monday morning in his 1993 Ford Thunderbird in a parking lot. Police found six bullet wounds in his head and neck, and his wrists handcuffed behind his back.

Velazquez's death, along with another slaying over the weekend, pushed the homicide toll in the Tijuana area this year past the record of 355 set in 2004, state police officials said.

The wave of violence in this sprawling Mexican border city has set new standards for brazenness. Masked, black-clad gunmen have abducted businessmen from popular restaurants in front of horrified diners. Their bodies usually appear days later, gagged and showing signs of torture. Many merchants are moving across the border to the San Diego area.

Several police officers have also been killed or targeted. Chief Homicide Investigator Francisco Castro Trenti escaped injury in a shootout a few weeks ago.

Police said the motive in the priest's killing was unclear but that the slaying bore the hallmarks of an organized crime hit.

The violent death of Velazquez, the corresponding sensational media coverage and questions about the police investigation have heightened a sense of frustration in this crime-weary city. Thousands have turned out at Masses to mourn the priest, filing into his hillside church to kiss his coffin and touch his white robe.

"This assassination has touched the most sensitive part of our society," said Carlos Medina Amaro, a longtime parishioner. "If they kill a priest, they can kill anybody."

Authorities said they were investigating whether the killing was related to the cleric's work and whether he was a victim of drug traffickers. Police said they were also taking a close look at the priest's personal life.

State police spokesman Filiberto Martinez said Velazquez was not suspected of being involved in narcotics trafficking, but that the execution-style killing and the .38-caliber handgun used were the calling cards of the drug cartels.

"Castro Trenti says this murder will be solved. But it's too soon to say when," he said.

The police statement inspired little confidence among residents. Some noted that many killings go unsolved and said police often claim victims were involved in the drug cartels as an excuse not to investigate the crimes thoroughly. "What are the authorities doing?" read a sign carried by parishioners at a funeral procession.

Most of the year's killings have been blamed on drug cartels battling for control of the trafficking corridor through Tijuana into the U.S.

Velazquez was described as a dynamic priest with a jovial personality who easily navigated Tijuana's disparate worlds of wealth and poverty. His role model, parishioners and fellow priests say, was Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, slain while celebrating Mass in 1980.

He was committed to social causes and founded an outreach group in poor neighborhoods. His sermons touched on current events and corruption, but he steered clear of politics, parishioners said. Many angrily dismissed media reports that said Velazquez might have been involved in organized crime.

Parishioner Gerardo Rodriguez, 49, said Velazquez was always on the go, fiercely focused on helping the poor, counseling couples, fundraising and building the church.

"He was mobbed up all right, mobbed up with God, and the community," Rodriguez said.

Velazquez, a native of Guadalajara, was a seminary student and missionary in Mexico City and New York City before he moved to Tijuana, where he became a priest in 1988. Within a few years of his arrival at the parish of Santa Maria Reina, in an upper-middle-class area in the hills above a country club, the one-room church overflowed with members.

Velazquez broke ground two years ago on a new church, and was only a few raffles and fundraisers away from the finishing touches: heavy, engraved wooden doors and two statues to flank the entrance.

One Wing Low
11-06-05, 02:43
Was on my way back in my car around 9PM Saturday. All lanes were open. The lines were short, about 20 cars in front of me.

There were 2 border agents walking their dogs around the waiting cars. Suddenly one dog went bananas around a red BMW driven by 2 Asians in the middle lane. The dog was sniffing all around the car, at the trunk, the foot board, the window edges.... She would not leave this car.

The agent made a hand gesture with 2 fingers to the booths, spoke briefly into his mike and drew his gun. Very quickly 4 other agents ran toward and surrounded the car. They started to search the trunk and the car's interior while the 2 Asians continued to sit inside. The line is clear in front of their car. They could run forward but not backward. I felt sorry for the folks waiting in a long line behind them.

I kept craning my neck backward to watch the commotion as my car moved forward. I thought there was a 50% chance that the Asian guys may pull their guns, shoot everyone in sight to make their escape. I was ready to duck out of the car and defend myself with my tire iron. This was the most alarming incident in all my crossings.

At this point, I had to cross the border. The young agent went about his business casually but was obviously very alert and very tense. He looked at my driver license, then my face, and waved my through without asking questions. He could tell that I am an upright, law-abiding citizen. I could be counted on to defend our country when the need arises.

The border agents are well trained. They have lots of experiences as well as updated intelligence to deal with smugglers. Before trying to smuggle anything through the border, remember all the manpower, the experiences, technologies, dogs... stacked against you.

John Rain
11-08-05, 06:53
For lack of a better category, I'll post this here. I was down in TJ this Monday morning chatting with some Street Girls outside Hotel Venecia at the far end of the famous "Alley," when a women wearing some kind of "inspector" identification badge approached my friend. They spoke briefly in Spanish, and my friend handed the inspector her medical record book. This is the little book the working girls all have which shows their medical examination dates, initials from the doctor, and includes their photo and identification. Everything was in order.

Meanwhile, another inspector, this one a man, is talking with a different SG. Now this particular girl is pregnant and her condition is fairly obvious. She has a worried look on her face and she tells my friend that she is being taken away and asks my friend to take care of her stuff. They take her away immediately.

I could not find out what happens in a case like this, just thought it was an interesting event. I know the girl, but don't know the details of her condition, though I assume she has a boyfriend.

Here's a photo snapped the night before. I wasn't "with" her, but she tagged along with my girl for some dinner Sunday night.

TJnightwalker
11-11-05, 01:13
I am attaching a map (with poor quality, sorry) where I try to let you know the sidewalks and streets to avoid, to be careful and the safe to walk.

I will try a better map later.

One Wing Low
11-15-05, 02:36
Hi TJ Night Walker,

That's really helpful to every monger who frequent Zona Roja.

I wonder how you came up with the GREEN vs RED areas? By previous crimes? Witnessed, reported or documented?


I am attaching a map (with poor quality, sorry) where I try to let you know the sidewalks and streets to avoid, to be careful and the safe to walk.

Dinghy
11-15-05, 06:00
About the Map - actually pretty accurate based on personal experience in TJ (but I stopped going once I discovered southeast Asia).

The main thing (for the ratings) is relative amount of light as well as accessibility (as in "hiding places") for the bandito. I generally stayed at Alaska just down the hill from calle primera on Revolucion - the "way out" was generally up the hill and turn right on primera but that right side of the calle isn't free from "baddies" either (even though coded "green"). I had girls tell me to avoid any road going north of Chicago because it wasn't safe AT ALL - too many "drogas" - so Pollo bar is the limit of night exploration north.

I'm no small person but even with my size I didn't feel all that safe in the yellow areas - watch your back and stop, back to a wall every now and then and see if there is any activity that is in your locality. I adopted the term "Crazy Ivan" from Red October for that move. Sometimes you just need to check the surroundings - but only where it is lit. Check your 6 and move on. The gringo frequented areas are relatively safe.

TJnightwalker
11-16-05, 01:54
I wonder how you came up with the GREEN vs RED areas? By previous crimes? Witnessed, reported or documented?All 4 choices. As a local and thinking in your safety, I thought this map could prevent a bad moment for you guys.

I must add a note: use the map as a night guide.

As dinghy wrote, even in daylight, better stay away from walking north from El Pollo or Chicago. Also avoid walking east from New York. The south part is safe enough.

I'll make a better and clear night map, also a day one.

Teraygon
11-20-05, 03:27
I hope you continue to inform everyone about threats in Tijuana, such as the robber-cops that lurk at the Sentri location near the border. Definitely, the Sentri gang of cops may rob you even if you have done nothing wrong, you are not intoxicated, and you behave respectfully. I know of a case like that. The victim was later told by the US Consulate that the police and other criminals will rob any easy target who seems to have money. Someone who speaks poor Spanish and walks alone late at night is an easy target. Still, the cops aren't always there, and they don't rob everyone that they search.


The 'stop-and-search' cops at the Sentri walk-across borderline have now been there for a very long time. They are always the same 4-5 guys.

No one has ever reported them and therefore they have become established and aggressive at that spot. They will now stop anyone, no matter what you look like (usually men who are alone).

Even though it is dark and scary-looking, I seriously doubt they would hurt or kidnap any normal person because that would stop their profitable 'business'.

Do not bring back Viagra or any other drug. Their searches will find nothing and most likely all your money will be given back unless you are drunk.

Gilgamesh
11-25-05, 09:26
So I went to TJ again. I've gone many times and this time was horrible. I got across the border and found Eltorito was out of Absinth. I walked to get a beer at a place I liked and they were closed too. I started walking the SG and went into AB for a min. but I had no buzz so I went looking for another place(Taco Bell) On my way I saw a policeman searching a guy against the cop car. I was watching from the corner of my shades when he called me over. He started asking me questions and searched my pockets. He and the other policeman started speaking Spanish and finally let me go. They drove off quickly and I counted my cash. I was missing 40.00 and I was pissed. It was 1:30 pm, the middle of the day for crying out loud. I was happy that I still had the majority of my cash, but this had never happened to me before. I walk around there alone all the time and I feel safe because I'm decent sized. I have friends coming in two weeks and the plan was to cruise TJ. Now I'm unsure if it's a good idea. I was told by a local to get their name and plaque number and report them next time. Personally, I'd rather deal with it in another manner. However in another country I'm casturated and don't want an extended stay. Let this be a warning to all mongers. It's not safe in the day as I once believed. Be safe on many levels.

Jimmy Tj
11-25-05, 23:42
I have lived in San Diego the past 16 months, rented a house in Playas de Tijuana for 6 months, dated a bar girl for 15 months and I visit Zona Norte anywhere from 1 to 4 times a week. I have been stopped by the Policia 60 times over this time period just walking (I always go by myself). I have been stopped in my car 6 times all around Revolution and Calle Coahuila. I have paid off the Policia only twice in all my dealings with them once for $60 and another for $40 just because I did not feel like playing their games both times I was in my car.

When I go to Zona Norte I always walk it or take Taxi Libre. I prefer to leave my car at the white hotel to the left of the fast food restaurant at the border. Pay the $4 for 8 hours of parking (collect 10 tickets and you get a free 8 hours of parking). I have never had any problems leaving my car here. If the lot is full, I will park behind the fast food restaurant for $5 for 8 hours and never had a problem with my car.

When I cross the border and it is before about 8pm I will always walk to Zona Norte. This is not recommended for everyone to do but I have been doing this for awhile. If I am standing at the McDonalds I look down the plaza and if I do not see anyone walking towards the pedestrian bridge over the Tijuana river or my spidey senses tell me not to go then I will take Taxi Libre for $3. The only problems I have had in the past have been on the pedestrian bridge they may have Policia on either end. I have been stopped and searched many times by the Policia here and asked what or where I was going. I never tell them I am going to Zona Norte. I will tell them I have a date with my girlfriend in Las Plugas. Always walk with a purpose, do not talk to anyone on the way and get to Zona Norte ASAP especially at night during the day you can take a more leisurely stroll.

I never bring anything to TJ that I am not willing to lose so only pack the essentials. In my wallet I only have my driver license, $10 or $15 and my business cards ( If I like a girl I will give her my cell number or have her write her number and name on the card for me). I always bring a pen with me and gum. Sometimes I will bring my cell phone. I put all my money in zip lock bags and stash the money under the foot pads in my gym shoes. In summer I wear shorts, t-shirts and baseball hats and in winter jeans, sweatshirts and baseball hats. I try and fit into the population as much as possible even though I am 6 foot tall and very white.

Once I arrive at Zona Norte, I will never leave the area bounded by Chicago Club, the alley and Bar Tropical especially at night. If it is during the afternoon and still light out I will walk back to the border otherwise I will take Taxi Libre back to the border. At night Taxi Libre will usually charge you a flat $5 but I usually try and get them to the actual rate of $3. I always have them drop me off at the McDonalds or Caliente Sports book La Linea and I specifically say no La Linea Sentri. I walk over the bridge and avoid the shake downs at La Linea Sentri. I have run into the Policia on the bridge before and I was searched. I never have any drugs on me legal or illegal. I always play stupid with Policia and force them to speak to me in English even though I know Spanish. When walking across the border at night it is never more than a few minutes waiting in line.

Jimmy TJ

One Wing Low
11-27-05, 08:27
Dial this number from the US and complain about the shakedowns and harassments by TJ cops, and robberies/rip offs by thugs. Don't let the assholes win this war.

If no improvement, call same number up again and claim you are screwing the wives of TJ's mayor and police chief in revenge.

One Wing Low
11-28-05, 06:54
hi jimmy,

you sure are attracted to policia. i went to many places all over mexico and have never been hassled by the policia.

i was ticketed for running a stop sign in ensenada. i told the judge who sat inside the policia station (how convenient) to give me a break and he did. fine was $25 paid in cash to the judge. he probably pocketed and spent it on the chicas.

on the way back midway between ensenada and tj, i was stopped by the army guys, armed to their teeth, and the car was searched for drogas. by their sly smiles, i know they were looking for propinas. i acted firmly like i would never give them anything, and they let me go. every car was searched midway between esenada and tj. if you show any fear or weaknesses, the assholes will be burrowing in for some shit.

on friday i went to the nice seafood restaurant with the thatched roof at the corner of coahuilla and ninos heroes. haven't been there for months. the waitress came out and greeted me by my first name. i was surprised that she remembered. had some great seafood coctails between sessions with the fine chicas.

after a few hassles with the cabbie assholes, i have been driving over in my onw car. it's like a batmobile. i can outrun any car in mexico if i need to. i am tired of the walk back and forth, inhaling the dust and the [CodeWord109] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord109) along the way. if i have to wait in my car, i would be in comfort, listening to radio and music, not exposing myself to the muggers, banditos and bad policias. the round trip time to clear the border is about the same as walking and taking the sweaty cabs. on friday night, the long return line stretched back to near chicago club. but it only took 45 minutes to clear the border.

between fine food and fine chicas, it's good to be a monger in tj. life is good.



i have lived in san diego the past 16 months, rented a house in playas de tijuana for 6 months, dated a bar girl for 15 months and i visit zona norte anywhere from 1 to 4 times a week. i have been stopped by the policia 60 times over this time period just walking (i always go by myself). i have been stopped in my car 6 times all around revolution and calle coahuila. i have paid off the policia only twice in all my dealings with them once for $60 and another for $40 just because i did not feel like playing their games both times i was in my car.

specifically say no la linea sentri. i walk over the bridge and avoid the shake downs at la linea sentri. i have run into the policia on the bridge before and i was searched. i never have any drugs on me legal or illegal. i always play stupid with policia and force them to speak to me in english even though i know spanish. when walking across the border at night it is never more than a few minutes waiting in line.

jimmy tj

Rush 2112
11-29-05, 00:22
On Friday I went to the nice seafood restaurant with the thatched roof at the corner of Coahuilla and Ninos Heroes. Haven't been there for months. The waitress came out and greeted me by my first name. I was surprised that she remembered.
Are you sure she called you "One" and not "Juan"???

Sorry, couldn't resist

:D

Jimmy Tj
11-29-05, 07:23
Hi One Wing,

The restaurant with the thatched roof is called “La Perla”. I have eaten there several times and I think the food is really good and I have never gotten sick. I have eaten in the little diner attached to Chicago Club and I had stomach problems both times. I will never eat there again. I don’t eat any of the food from the street vendors – I don’t have an iron stomach.

My problems with the Policia seem to run in streaks. I can go two months without any problems and in one week I can be stopped four times. When I lived in Playas de Tijuana I would park my car at Levya Hotel and walk to the border to get to work. I would get stopped just as much at 7am as I would at 7pm.

When my girl used to work at Chicago Club I would sometimes drop her off at her house in Colonial Hildago and head for the border. It was 2:30am in the morning and I was in Taxi Libre and the Policia pulled us over. The Policia thought I just scored some drugs. The cab driver was a good guy and explained to the Policia I just dropped off my girlfriend and we were heading for the border. The Policia still searched me and the front passenger seat where I was sitting but as usual they find nothing. I always introduce myself to the Taxi Libre drivers and ask them their name. Make small talk with them because you never now when you will need them.

One night I was crossing the new pedestrian bridge that takes you over the highway to get back to the US (La Linea Sentri) and I was stopped by two Policia. I asked why are you stopping me and searching me. They guy said many Americans come down and buy drugs. I told him I don’t have any drugs and this is why I no longer live in Playas de Tijuana. They both walked away from me after searching me and finding nothing. I am thinking about renting an apartment in Zona Rio in a few months but not sure.

I think I will be heading down to Hong Kong on Wednesday and/or Thursday night so if you are around let me know.

Jimmy TJ

El Juez
11-30-05, 04:36
La Perla is my favorite restaraunt in La Zona. Clean, good service and great fish tacos.

I never had any problems with policia for two and a half years of mongering until a couple of months ago when they ripped me off for $100 during my first and only stop and search by them at La Linea Sentri. After reading One Wing Low's story I guess I shouldn't complain. At least they didn't send the damned Army after me.

One Wing Low
12-01-05, 10:59
Hi Jimmy, El, Baltimonger...

La Perla is my favorite restaurant also. It's nice and clean, the beer is only $1. I usually order the $7 Botana de Camarron y Pulpos, which is spicy seafood coctail, then the $5.00 Burrito de mariscos, which gives me 3 juicy burritos filled with shrimp, octopus, fish ... topped with salsa sauce and chesse, fresh, juicy and delicious. You should try their marlin taco. Marlin is tough and chewy, but perfect with a slice of melted cheese.

I had a major diarrhea eating at, not the diner, but the taco diner next to Chicago Club. I never came back. The taco stand at the corner has good tacos and delicious birria, which is a beef stew. Across the street is the ice cream store. Damn Mexican icecream is good. They have not heard of cholesterol.

I will be in TJ this weekend and hope to meet you guys. I prefer to meet in Chicago Club where it's quieter and has more room. Will PM you for date, time, place and signal to recognize and meet. Perhaps you veterans can show me around TJ. I had some of the best and funnest conversations with the bro mongers in TJ bars.

Life for us mongers is so good in TJ, I have a hard time justifying going anywhere else, well, except may be Buenos Aires with Captain Jackson. Argentinian chicas are probably some of the prettiest, sweetest, kindest and most honest people anywhere.

One


Hi One Wing,

The restaurant with the thatched roof is called “La Perla”. I have eaten there several times and I think the food is really good and I have never gotten sick. I have eaten in the little diner attached to Chicago Club and I had stomach problems both times. I will never eat there again. I don’t eat any of the food from the street vendors – I don’t have an iron stomach.

I think I will be heading down to Hong Kong on Wednesday and/or Thursday night so if you are around let me know.

Jimmy TJ

RenoGeorge
12-01-05, 22:34
Tomorrow I leave for Tijuana. I have been a long time observer of this board and of others. Going all the way back to Paranoia.com and Redsnake.com. I have been to Tijuana now 3 times and this will be my forth expedition. I have never had any problems with law enforcement down there in the past. But, by reading all the posts, it is starting to sound scary. When I return, I will give a good detailed report of my adventure. If anyone is planning on coming down, please feel free to private message me.

Mr Stein
12-07-05, 06:40
How much would it cost to catch a taxi upon depature from the TJ border onward to lets say to Mira mesa blvd area in San Deigo?


Any inputt would help greatly.

Tks guys.

Lascivious
12-08-05, 01:54
Call yellow or another company and ask for an estimate. They can give you a pretty good idea of the faire.

Gilgamesh
12-22-05, 04:03
On 12/10/05 at around noon. I took some friends of mine who were visiting San Diego across the border. We stopped and got my friend some perscriptions and then filled them. We went to AB and were enjoying ourselves when my friend wanted to go get a V pill. I told him I'd take him to a nearby pharmacy. As we were walking a local started talking to my friend. I encouraged him to move his ass so we could get back to AB. After getting him a pill, and he took it there at the pharmacy we stepped outside and the guy was distracting my friend again. Then the Polica drove up and I started to walk away. We left our other friend at AB and I wanted to get him quick. The next thing I know they're talking to me and they grab me. They handcuffed me to my friend and started harrassing us about his perscribed meds. They threw us in the back of a truck and took us to a little questioning house. I was asking for the guys name and badge in the back of the truck and he looked nervous. He kept telling me to be quiet, but fuck that. I've been through this before and I want names. My friend was freaking out a bit and asked me to chill. I finlly waited to see what was going to happen. In the booth by Rev just under the arch is where they took us. They said we could give them 500.00 or go to jail and pay 1,000.00 I kept saying take me to jail, I've done nothing wrong. My friend and I were there for about a half hour and in short, they took all our money. I had about 285.00 and my friend just over 200.00. As we were leaving I pleaded to the guy to give me back 20.00 so I coulsd at least get a street girl. He actually did, and that was cool, but the whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth for T.J. We went back to AB and explained what had happened to us to our other friend. He let me borrow 60.00 so I could take a hottie upstairs. I offered her 50.00 and she jumped on the offer. She said she remembered me from another time, but if I fucked her before I was too drunk to remember. I hate to repeat.(lol) We took a cab back to the border, but returned later that night. Another night just me and one of my friends were walking to A.B. at about 10pm and two red jacketed guys tried to stop us and get our attention. We jumped into the nearest cab and said Fuck T.J. for the rest of the trip. Be safe with your money and your life.

Rimbaud
12-31-05, 03:12
Has anyone been to the red light district, (zona de tolerancia) in Manzanillo? Heard stuff about it, but can't find an exact address- locale. Where should I take a cab to? is there a specific bar to start off at? Any advice on Manzanillo girls.

One Wing Low
01-04-06, 07:17
damn this sounds serious. you should call 866 tj3 info and complain about those cops. don't get raped up your ass and let the apes go free.

i avoid the tj cops like shit. they drive around in their paddy wagons and seem to enjoy roughing up and arrresting people.


on 12/10/05 at around noon. i took some friends of mine me. they handcuffed me to my friend and started harrassing us about his perscribed meds. they threw us in the back of a truck and took us to a little questioning house. i was asking for the guys name and badge in the back of the truck and he looked nervous. he kept telling me to be quiet, but fuck that. i've been through this before and i want names. my friend was freaking out a bit and asked me to chill. i finlly waited to see what was going to happen. in the booth by rev just under the arch is where they took us. they said we could give them 500.00 or go to jail and pay 1,000.00 i kept saying take me to jail, i've done nothing wrong. my friend and i were there for about a half hour and in short, they took all our money. i had about 285.00 and my friend just over 200.00. as we were leaving i pleaded to the guy to give me back 20.00 so i coulsd at least get a street girl.

Headache
01-04-06, 08:31
This is what you do if you get robbed by the Tijuana police. It happened to me 2 years ago.

Report the police crime to the US consulate in Tijuana. The consulate in Tijuana is by the racetrack and $10 by taxi. I don't know their email address. When I was there, many American victims contacted the embassy by email. The Tijuana US consulate has an emergency phone number (google search). There is a consulate lawyer that talks to you if you get thrown in jail anywhere in Baja.

The consulate told me to go there on the day in which they take American victims to the Tijuana Police Internal Affairs department and then to the District Attorny.

At the Internal Affairs, they have pictures of all the police on duty at the time you of the crime. The consulate lawyer helps you fill out a police report there and at the DA. If you have names, police car numbers or badge numbers, it helps.

When I was there, one young American reported the police took his group to a special room to question them, and then to the ATM machine, the DA reported that case as kidnapping.

Please report the crime, eventually they will correct the problem.

Rabo Verde
01-05-06, 04:09
I have never had any serious problems, but it always cracks me up when someone says you just have to know how to handle yourself, etc.
Even Police Commanders are not safe in T.J.


Tijuana agents shot, killed while guarding commander

By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 17, 2005

TIJUANA – Two state preventive police agents were gunned down yesterday while guarding the home of the agency's Tijuana commander shortly after he had killed a man in a shootout, Mexican authorities said.

Early yesterday, three cars drove to the home of commander Carlos Gómez Miguel, who was standing outside, according to a news release from the State Attorney General's Office. Shots were fired at Gómez, and he shot back.

Gómez and other state police agents pursued the assailants. About 12:45 a.m., they got in another shootout and pursued a car downtown, where the driver lost control and crashed. When the driver continued shooting at police, Gómez shot and killed him, according to the news release.

The person's identity wasn't available.

Afterward, two agents were sent to guard Gómez's home. Yesterday morning, the agents were ambushed. Juan Hernández Gutiérrez, 30, and Jesús Noe Rosas Zúñiga, 27, were found dead inside their patrol car, according to Mexican authorities.

The state preventive police agency is an intelligence-gathering force that focuses on crime prevention. It operates independently from the state's regular state police force.

Yesterday's shootings were the latest in an unusually high number of assaults over the past three months against members of the state preventive police force.

An officer was shot three times Oct. 5 as he was returning to his Tijuana home, but survived. Another officer escaped injury after being shot at Oct. 26 while traveling by car to Mexicali. Two other officers survived an ambush Nov. 15 in Tijuana.

One Wing Low
01-05-06, 08:02
and noone would dare put a few holes in your chest...


I have never had any serious problems, but it always cracks me up when someone says you just have to know how to handle yourself, etc.
Even Police Commanders are not safe in T.J.

Double
01-06-06, 21:02
out in force,

i was down in old t town last night. the police were out in force. they were all over the place. lights flashing, sirens, mask over their faces, and speeding all over from the revolution to the zona norte. they were walking the side walks pulling people over on the revolution. the first time that i have seen that. when i saw that guys in the truck with mask over their faces, i jump into a cab and fast.

one of the cab drivers told me that the police are in a tense situation with the narcos and that they have been displaying alot of presence and power. another said that they are out protecting the visitors from the street thugs and to prevent the sale of drugs on the streets. the last cab i took said that they are out robing, pulling people over for bribes. i think that there is truth all the stories.

tijuana is not the same place that it was 10 or even 5 years ago. but the ladies, and still working so i still brave the trip....

i had at least 3 different guys offer to sell me drugs, which made me feel very uncomfortable. whenever i hear someone say drugs i pick up my pace to a near jog...........:-), to get the hell out of there.

One Wing Low
01-06-06, 21:33
they were running in teams of 4 and 5 near the alley. they wrestled down and arrested a guy, handcuffing him on the ground in front of chicago. i ran away from the area fast.

last year, there were a few times i was there at night that the army was brought in in truck loads. these guys were in black uniforms and armed with sub machine guns. they surrounded la zona, closed chicago and other clubs, and searched the people there. they also went into alleys searching for people.

i was surprised at the heavy fire power they brought along on raids. they must have anticipated major gun fight. that was when i beat a hasty retreat. it would be no fun getting thrown into their paddy wagons while they sort out their shit. everytime someone approached me with offers, like massage or whatever, i just walked away fast. i would not even answer them because the undercover policia may become suspicious.

the drug trade will make it too dangerous and will kill off a lot of other wholesome activities, like mongering, in tj.


out in force,

i was down in old t town last night. the police were out in force. they were all over the place. lights flashing, sirens, mask over their faces, and speeding all over from the revolution to the zona norte. they were walking the side walks pulling people over on the revolution.

i had at least 3 different guys offer to sell me drugs, which made me feel very uncomfortable. whenever i hear someone say drugs i pick up my pace to a near jog...........:-), to get the hell out of there.

Gilgamesh
01-07-06, 01:39
One Wing Low, thanks for the advice. I talked to my friends, and they just want to let it rest because they are both married and wives didn't know they went to TJ. I was in TJ on 1/4 and I walked to get over the fear of last time. I forgot to say that later on the night before we had guy's wearing red on bikes try to "get our attention." Anyways it was a day trip and I walked the safe path that I'd seen on a map on this site. All clear to AB, which I can't wait until it picks back up. On the way back to the border I saw a van and a bunch of activity by the muesium, so I back tracked and took a less safe route. No police encounters, but I think I'll stay away for 6-8 weeks until AB picks up and polica calm down. Good luck and be safe.

One Wing Low
01-07-06, 20:12
hi gilgamesh,

the charges against those fucking policias are kipdnapping, false imprisonment, threats of bodily harms, extortion, robbery ... under the color of authority, which are very serious crimes.

you guys should not let it slide. if you do, these assholes policias will pull the crimes again on you and others. their abuses will only get worse with victims' submissive attitudes.

you can report the crimes anonymously by calling that number. with more complaints, they will have to do something against those crooked policias. you have the evidences and witnesses, and will be doing your monger bros, as well as the chicas big favors. we all only want to enjoy our lives peacefully without being molested by the drug dealers and the policia thugs.

don't let these dumb policias [CodeWord123] (http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123) you up your ass then laugh at you like they are a lot smarter...


one wing low, thanks for the advice. i talked to my friends, and they just want to let it rest because they are both married and wives didn't know they went to tj.

Double
01-08-06, 07:43
It is a damn shame when the biggest concern for someone is the police. I have never seen such an out of control group of thugs running wild in any city I have ever travelled to. The Mexican border cities are overrun with corrupt police.

Traveler X
01-10-06, 13:24
I'd have to agree with your map in terms of relative danger. But I've seen people get 'arrested' by police in the big green area of Constitution.

Cops have been kidnapping tourists for as long as I can remember. I stopped going to TJ years ago because of all the shakedowns. What everyone has been reporting recently is nothing new. It's sad being at a friend's party and meeting yet another person who had been to TJ, who was also kidnapped by LE. I encourage people to report crimes, but even as a few policeman are replaced each year for corruption, more corrupt ones fill their place. If other member's posts are accurate, the gang of five at the border crossing are the same as I knew three years ago, only more brazen. I don't know that things have gotten worse, but they've definitely not gotten better.


I am attaching a map (with poor quality, sorry) where I try to let you know the sidewalks and streets to avoid, to be careful and the safe to walk.

I will try a better map later.

One Wing Low
01-15-06, 12:19
That's the number to call to report crimes and policia abuses.

The damn TJ policia are supposed to focus on fighting crimes and protect the tourists, NOT preying on tourists and protecting crimes.

We all have to do our part to make sure the system works for the common good.

TJ Bob
01-15-06, 23:37
I am attaching a map (with poor quality, sorry) where I try to let you know the sidewalks and streets to avoid, to be careful and the safe to walk.

I will try a better map later.

thanks for the good map. There are two "hot spots" that need to be known. tag-team piggies dressed in red can be seen shaking down Americans at the wall next to bar Z and right around the corner of ninos/alley opposite the side of HK. this seems to be nightimes mainly.

Conejito
02-03-06, 13:42
I think half the force is waiting for you now at the Sentri walk-back borderline! Thursday night (Friday 2 AM actually) there were at least 8 of them there including females. I think they must have put their whole families in police uniforms, I thought I was being searched by a maid! Don't expect any more peaceful walk-backs this year, the big hunt for Viagra is on!

One Wing Low
02-09-06, 08:19
You can walk along the road's median until you come close to the US border patrol. When you are within eyeshot of the fine US agents, you are safe.

The fucking vendors do it all day, all night, so don't tell me it's illegal.


I think half the force is waiting for you now at the Sentri walk-back borderline! Thursday night (Friday 2 AM actually) there were at least 8 of them there including females. I think they must have put their whole families in police uniforms, I thought I was being searched by a maid! Don't expect any more peaceful walk-backs this year, the big hunt for Viagra is on!

Dark David
02-17-06, 21:55
These recent reports of increased police corruption are very disturbing. I took my one and only trip to TJ on a Sunday night last April 2005, visited Adelitas and neither had nor observed any problems with entering or exiting TJ. I've been thinking about making a few return visits, being single again, but these reports of persistent police shakedowns at the sentri point and unprovoked arrests are giving me pause. I'm thinking that if I need to indulge, it might just be better to stay up here, pay a little extra, and on the off chance that I have to deal with LE, deal with American LE that I know won't go too far and that I know how to handle. It's just starting to sound like TJ isn't worth the hassle and risk if the you know you're gonna have to deal with police shakedowns on virtually every trip.

El Juez
02-19-06, 04:16
These recent reports of increased police corruption are very disturbing. I took my one and only trip to TJ on a Sunday night last April 2005, visited Adelitas and neither had nor observed any problems with entering or exiting TJ. I've been thinking about making a few return visits, being single again, but these reports of persistent police shakedowns at the sentri point and unprovoked arrests are giving me pause. I'm thinking that if I need to indulge, it might just be better to stay up here, pay a little extra, and on the off chance that I have to deal with LE, deal with American LE that I know won't go too far and that I know how to handle. It's just starting to sound like TJ isn't worth the hassle and risk if the you know you're gonna have to deal with police shakedowns on virtually every trip.

I, too, have been becoming increasingly annoyed by recent police stops ( for me, always occuring at the Linea Sentri). A total of three incidents in about three years of going to TJ that all occured within the last four months. Only once did they slip some cash secretly out of my wallet during the shakedown. Otherwise, they sent me on my way with no problems. If you are sober and not carrying anything illegal like some kind of weapon or illegal drug they really aren't going to take you in. ( although, they may try to bluff). All in all, the annoyance has not been enough to turn me off to the place because when TJ is good, it's really good. The inexpensive sex without fear of arrest for the simple sex act itself is immensely rewarding.

I, for one, would be too paranoid to enjoy myself trying to hook up with an American hooker. The LE here can't be bought off with $20 to $40. But, for guys who are experienced at it an confident of their LE detection skills, the risk is manageable. The legal stuff in Nevada is, of course, ridiculously expensive.

For what it's worth, I think in your case if you stuck to Adelita Bar and picked up a cab in front of the bar to go straight to the border, the only concern you would have to face during the whole trip would be an encounter with TJ's finest at the border. If you had a good night, you should have spent most of your money on pussy and not have that much left. Leave a few dollars in your wallet so as not to raise their curiousity and put the rest of your cash in your sock under your foot. More likely than not, they won't even bother with you. In the end, your choice of where you get your action will have to guided by what makes you feel individually the most comfortable.

One Wing Low
02-20-06, 00:43
TIJUANA POLICE SUPPLY INFO FOR ASSASSINATION OF COMMANDER
by Kelly Simmons and Ana Ruiz-Brown

Gunmen from the Tijuana based Arellano Félix drug cartel assassinated a top level drug enforcement commander in Mexico City last September using information supplied by the federal police in Baja California, according to a recent report in Reforma.

According to testimony by the assassins who were arrested in connection with Ernesto Ibarra Santes's murder, they were given information to aid them in the killing by members of the Federal Police (Procuraduría General de la República, PGR), the same force that Ibarra helped command.

According to a series of articles in Reforma, the Arellano cartel had long held animosity for Commander Ibarra because he was responsible for arresting one of the Arellano brothers, Francisco Rafael Arellano, in 1993. F. Rafael is the only Arellano family member in prison at the moment. In addition, Ibarra had reported that he also captured another brother, Francisco Javier Arellano, in March of 1994. However, F. Javier inexplicably escaped while in the custody of the State police, (Procuraduría Justicia del Estado, PJE) after he was captured during a shootout in which Ibarra's best friend, federal commander Alejandro Castañeda, was among seven people who died. The PJE countered that it was not F. Javier who was captured but another drug trafficker by the name of Ismael Higuera Guerrero and that there was no escape. Then on March 1st of last year, Ibarra coordinated an operation in Tijuana called "Operation Scorpion" (El Alacrán) to capture the remaining Arellano brothers. In the operation, which failed, hundreds of policemen and military personnel were used. The failure of the operation has been blamed on the allegation that corrupted police officers tipped off the cartel to Ibarra's plans.

Five days before he was murdered, Ibarra publicly announced the names of operatives in the Arellano cartel, denounced the family and contradicted claims by the PGR in Tijuana that the Arellano family was no longer operating there. In fact, he claimed at least one brother was still in the city and he vowed to hunt him down and capture him. Ibarra was apparently aware of the danger posed by the cartel and had a personal bodyguard of five hand-picked policemen with him at all times.

According to the testimony of those captured in Ibarra's murder, five gunmen associated with the cartel flew from Tijuana to Mexico City on September 15 and checked into a hotel to wait for nightfall. At midnight, the gunmen followed Ibarra's taxi in two vehicles and opened fire as they passed, killing everyone in the taxi. The details of Ibarra's whereabouts and his movements, the gunmen have stated, were supplied by members of the Baja California federal police force based in Tijuana.

The assassination appears to affirm allegations that the Arellano cartel has infiltrated or corrupted numerous branches and levels of Mexico's drug enforcement operations and law enforcement. Articles in the Washington Post and in Reforma report that the Arellano Felix family pays hundreds of Mexican law enforcement officials for protection, information and assistance in moving drugs overland and into the United States. The cartel allegedly has the illicit assistance of officials in the National Institute of Immigration, the National Institute to Combat Drugs, commanders and officers in the federal police force, and the state highway police which form a national network enabling the cartel to move huge shipments of cocaine through Mexico to the lucrative market in southern California. The Arellano family has allegedly forged an alliance with the notorious Calí cartel in Colombia, and with the assistance of agents of the Mexican military in Oaxáca, agents of the federal police at the Tijuana airport and highway police in the towns of Ensenada and Rosarito just south of Tijuana, the family moves tons of cocaine, worth tens of millions of dollars, to San Diego.

In response, the chief of the military regiment stationed in Baja California, Brigadier General Raul Acuña Garcia, has countered that the media reports of collusion by military personnel with narcotics traffickers is a sensationalist story. While not familiar with the details of the allegations reported in the Reforma story, General Acuña discounted the published reports. However, the military command stationed in El Cypres, Ensenada has recently begun operations in Tijuana to assist in drug enforcement.

It is estimated that Mexico's drug cartel families transport between 50 and 70 percent of the cocaine originating in South America for sale in the United States.

Sources: Reforma, El Norte, AP Report in El Paso Times

http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/old_1997/mar97/397drug.htm

One Wing Low
02-20-06, 00:49
2 policias in their squad car stopped my car for no reason. They both carried loaded semiauto rifles when they approached my car.

They demanded to see my driver license and registration. I produced all my papers which were in perfect order. But they did not let me go. They were looking inside the car for shit, but did not find any.

They bluntly demanded cerveza money a few times. I declined, saying I did not drink beer.

While haggling over their demand for cerveza, I took all their information down. I will deal with these assholes soon.

One Wing Low
02-20-06, 09:04
http://www.sindicatura.gob.mx/complaints/complaints.asp

One Wing Low
03-04-06, 09:34
I was driving out from Constitution towards the highway back to San Diego. A policia car spotted us and pulled over across the intersection, waiting. I just turned right and took a different way back.

Fuck the stupid policia assholes. Their wives are probably home fucking their neighbors for 10 pesos. I will report their harassments and pressure their Internal Affairs to kick their balls in for good measure.

Ball Snot
03-09-06, 16:14
http://www.sindicatura.gob.mx/complaints/complaints.asp

This looks like a phishing expedition. They're asking for way too much info. While phone and address are acceptable why do they need "ID numbers" before any kind of corespondence?.

Use with caution.

Ball Snot

One Wing Low
03-11-06, 00:50
Only give them info that will not jeopardize your safety.

But do give the Internal Affairs guys some work to do in kicking the balls of the bad policia.


This looks like a phishing expedition. They're asking for way too much info. While phone and address are acceptable why do they need "ID numbers" before any kind of corespondence?.

Use with caution.

Ball Snot

Logdog
03-21-06, 22:25
as i was pulling into the parking lot at the duty free store i met a few guys searching there car trying to scrape up $1.25 to pay there parking. they had been stoped and robed by the tj police at the taxi drop by the border. and when i was heading out later that night i saw the same thing happeing to some other poor basterd.

take care.

One Wing Low
04-02-06, 18:11
drove out of chicago friday night at about 10:00pm. stop at the stop sign looking both ways to find the right way to the border. there were no cars, definitely no policia.

turned right. suddenly there was a policia car on my tail, flashing light, screaming sirene. 2 young, intense porks approached my car. dumb porky told me in spanish that i did not stop at the stop sign. i said i did. he disagreed. he wanted to see my license. he asked me if i drank beers. i said no. he asked if i was sure. of course i was sure, dumb fucks.

his partner kept saying 20,20... in spanish, like beggars begging for shit. porky looked at my license, kept asking me where i work. i told them i work for san diego sheriff department, as personal bodyguard for the sheriff himself. porky was impressed. he asked me for my police id. i said i did not bring it. porky started backing down. his partner kept begging, 20,20.... porky seemed worried. he handed back my license. they got in their porky wagon and peeled off fast. their patrol car number was 066. i will make an official complaint with tj's internal affairs about this shake down incident.

http://www.sindicatura.gob.mx/complaints/complaints.asp

looks like tj policia are using their squad cars to harass and shake down tourists full time, rather than preventing crimes and protecting their citizens. they are probably fucking their chief's wife on the job too.

fuck the useless, dirty brown pork.

Webcams
04-04-06, 16:47
2 policias in their squad car stopped my car for no reason. They both carried loaded semiauto rifles when they approached my car.

They demanded to see my driver license and registration. I produced all my papers which were in perfect order. But they did not let me go. They were looking inside the car for shit, but did not find any.

They bluntly demanded cerveza money a few times. I declined, saying I did not drink beer.

While haggling over their demand for cerveza, I took all their information down. I will deal with these assholes soon.
This is one of the reasons I have not been brave enough to travel south of the border, I for one would never fuck with the cops south of the border, it is way to easy to make someone disappear for them, and jus tthe fact they could charge you and keep you in jail for so long is reason enough not to fuck with them.

One Wing Low
04-08-06, 01:21
Fuck their wives and daughters instead...

Let TJ Internal Affairs fuck the bad policia up their asses with a big seguarro cactus.


This is one of the reasons I have not been brave enough to travel south of the border, I for one would never fuck with the cops south of the border, it is way to easy to make someone disappear for them, and jus tthe fact they could charge you and keep you in jail for so long is reason enough not to fuck with them.

One Wing Low
04-08-06, 08:40
That's where the retarded little policia shits ambush gringos for beer money.

Park further South and go back to the border via Coiahuilla. This street is brightly lit and crowded. The policia snakes are not crawling there.

Don't let the retarded policia catch you drive drunk. They may torture you by making you fuck their ugly wives.

One Wing Low
04-15-06, 18:36
Friday midnight, policia set up a road block on the major street back to the border, near the Artesian Market. There were 4 patrol cars with 8 porkies hanging around making dumb asses out of themselevs.

They were checking every car for who knows what. I was in a cab and they did not even look inside.

Don't let them catch you drive drunk.

USASexGuideHo
04-29-06, 04:39
Mexico poised to allow small amounts of drugs

Congress decriminalizes possession of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, pot

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12535896/

John Rain
05-02-06, 02:53
Hey, guys! Next time you find yourself down at the far end of the alley (Callejon Coahuila) be sure to comb your hair and put on a big smile. Why? There is now a 24-hour surveillance camera pointed at the new, bright red emergency help call box in front of Bar La Golondrina. The call box is a large red post at the southeast corner of the alley at Niños de Heroes.

The sign posted on it warns of the camera. It also promises to bring help within 30 seconds, but it could bring you fame for life.

Hammer_G
06-17-06, 18:04
6/16 night. I and My friend were stopped by the police at 2 blocks away from Adelita, and taken for a joy ride. We stopped at a remote area. They tried very hard to want us using ATM to withdraw $1000. Both I and my friend said “We don't have ATM card. All the cards we have are credit card.” Those pigs could not recognize the ATM card. Eventually, they took the money in our wallets (total $80) and left 12 dollars for us to pay the parking fee and gave us a ride back to the Red Light district.

Conejito
06-17-06, 22:23
6/16 night. I and My friend were stopped by the police at 2 blocks away from Adelita, and taken for a joy ride. We stopped at a remote area. They tried very hard to want us using ATM to withdraw $1000. Both I and my friend said “We don't have ATM card. All the cards we have are credit card.” Those pigs could not recognize the ATM card. Eventually, they took the money in our wallets (total $80) and left 12 dollars for us to pay the parking fee and give us a ride back to the Red Light district.More detail please. Did you have any Viagra or other drug? What location were you at that was 2 blocks away from Adelitas? Were you guys drunk, etc.

Hammer_G
06-18-06, 09:04
More detail please. Did you have any Viagra or other drug? What location were you at that was 2 blocks away from Adelitas? Were you guys drunk, etc.
I had one Vitamin V for prepare. That's it. Both of us are cheap ass. We did not "waste" any penny on drinks.
It is the same street where Adelita located, but closer to the river. A $5's parking lot right there.
Pigs said I would be in jail for 48 hours for 1 Vitamin V. They checked my friend's cell phone but did not find any chica's pic inside. However, pigs said to him "You go to jail too." Never mentioned what the charge was.
Pigs showed me an American's passport and said, "This guy just fucked a 17 years old girl." I think he is in deep shit.
One hour ago outside Adelita, a desperate American was yelling “Any one speak English ? Speak English ?” He told me he was arrested last night and cleaned up by policia. His friend had gone back to the US. He needed $4 to go back. I should give him the money. Pigs took it all anyway.
The chica quoted for $50, but asking $60 after the job. She insisted that I did not hear it clearly. I paid $13 for the room + 2 towels. I gave $1 tip to the asshole in hotel. Now it seems not so bad. The money will be gone anyway.
Those pigs spent 40 minutes driving around with us asking $1,000, did not care about the crime in TJ. Well, maybe they ARE the major criminals in TJ ?

I had one Vitamin V. We had $92. $80 was taken. We kept $13. Pigs gave us a ride back to the parking lot. In a place like TJ, are those 2 pigs considered “Good Cop” ? It could be worse ?
The pig said "Any drug without Mexican prescription is illegal". So, is Asthma inhaler also illegal ?
If LA is not such a John-unfriendly city, I wouldn’t bother driving all the way down to TJ.
I miss the days in Texas. Drinking in the bar watch good quality working girls (with affordable price) come and go.

Hizark21
06-18-06, 10:40
The best way to handle the cops is to tell them to take you to the police station if they ask you for a bribe. There was a report of a hotline to report dirty cops, but I am don't know the ph #.

One Wing Low
06-18-06, 18:16
I was pulled over at night, a few times for no reasons, on Constitution, near the river, by Mexican pigs, loudly demanding cerVeza money. That area is dark and quiet, so they think they can get away with crimes.

There is a web site for reporting police abuses. Check this forum and file a report. You should also report the abuses to US Consulate.

The phone number to report is painted on the large banner on the way back to the border: 888 INFO TJ3. However when I called, it was a bad number.

Of the tens of thousand Gringos who cross the border everyday, and the thousands who hang out at the Zona Roja, you must have done something unusual to be targeted by these Mexican cop assholes. We need to know to avoid it. Please spill it out here.

When you are abused, you must fight back, or you forever lost to the abusing assholes.


I had one Vitamin V for prepare. That's it. Both of us are cheap ass. We did not "waste" any penny on drinks.
It is the same street where Adelita located, but closer to the river. A $5's parking lot right there.
Pigs said I would be in jail for 48 hours for 1 Vitamin V. They checked my friend's cell phone but did not find any chica's pic inside. However, pigs said to him "You go to jail too." Never mentioned what the charge was.
Pigs showed me an American's passport and said, "This guy just fucked a 17 years old girl." I think he is in deep shit.
One hour ago outside Adelita, a desperate American was yelling “Any one speak English ? Speak English ?” He told me he was arrested last night and cleaned up by policia. His friend had gone back to the US. He needed $4 to go back. I should give him the money. Pigs took it all anyway.
The chica quoted for $50, but asking $60 after the job. She insisted that I did not hear it clearly. I paid $13 for the room + 2 towels. I gave $1 tip to the asshole in hotel. Now it seems not so bad. The money will be gone anyway.
Those pigs spent 40 minutes driving around with us asking $1,000, did not care about the crime in TJ. Well, maybe they ARE the major criminals in TJ ?

I had one Vitamin V. We had $92. $80 was taken. We kept $13. Pigs gave us a ride back to the parking lot. In a place like TJ, are those 2 pigs considered “Good Cop” ? It could be worse ?
The pig said "Any drug without Mexican prescription is illegal". So, is Asthma inhaler also illegal ?
If LA is not such a John-unfriendly city, I wouldn’t bother driving all the way down to TJ.
I miss the days in Texas. Drinking in the bar watch good quality working girls (with affordable price) come and go.

Hammer_G
06-18-06, 19:20
The pigs have kept abusing Americans for a long time. I heard the similar stories 15 years ago. I think the "Hot line", whatever the phone or website, does not work. Well, maybe they feel that “You abuse Mexicans in America. Now it’s my turn.”
I guess pigs are well paid in the Red Light district. As long as you are not fucked up, they won't bother you. But pigs outside that area also want a cut.
That’s what I recommend if you have to go for chicas.
Take a cab. Don't drive your own car. Stay in that Adelita/Chicago blocks. Don't take ATM card with you. Just take $20 more than you expect to spend. If shit happens, you still have something to pay the pigs and show them "That's all I have." Leave some money in your car at US border. If you are washed up, you can walk back to US and still got money on you.
I am tired to go to TJ for girls. It would be appreciated if someone can provide info to my member’s mailbox. Searching for SW in LA is exhausted. AMP, expensive but not too many girls to choose. The good old days on Sunset is gone.
Why the US can’t be like the rest of the world, have the controlled Red Light Districts ?
I’ve been to many countries. They all have controlled Red Light districts, whatever prostitution is legal or illegal there.
For those illegal red light districts in other countries, police is paid by the *****house/night clubs to protect tourists. I’ve never heard anything like Mexican police do, robbing tourists.
When I was in Macau, those Russian girls gathered outside the casinos are illegal prostitutes. Every time when the police car coming over, everybody fans out for 10 yards. After the police car passing by, everybody walks back to where they stood. Never seen police stopped to harass those foreign prostitutes or tourists. An interesting scene.

One Wing Low
06-18-06, 21:19
The politicians in the US love to play the hipocrisy game of stamping out the oldest profession in the world. It creates fulltime jacking-off careers for them.

I am particularly disappointed that George Bush Jr. has edicted that US soldiers are forbidden to engage prostitutes. They can be court martialed for it. That's going way too far in pushing his particular brand of morality down the throats of those virile young men and women. They are also strictly governed by the military codes against fraternizing between men and women in the service. What the hell are they going to do? Jacking off like the old perverts on Capitol Hill?

The other side of the coin is that a lot of those so-called UN peace keepers are known to be purveyors of child prostitution in war-torn countries, which is very sad.

The US should recognize their citizens' constitutional rights to buy and sell whatever they want, as long as they don't infringe upon the rights to liberty, privacy and decency of others.


Why the US can’t be like the rest of the world, have the controlled Red Light Districts ?
I’ve been to many countries. They all have controlled Red Light districts, whatever prostitution is legal or illegal there.

Hammer_G
06-19-06, 18:49
The politicians in the US love to play the hipocrisy game of stamping out the oldest profession in the world. It creates fulltime jacking-off careers for them.

I am particularly disappointed that George Bush Jr. has edicted that US soldiers are forbidden to engage prostitutes. They can be court martialed for it. That's going way too far in pushing his particular brand of morality down the throats of those virile young men and women.
Bush did drugs when he was young. I bet he would engage prostitutes if he was in those soldiers' shoes.

Naked Gunz
06-19-06, 23:23
as was stated previously, you have to have done something to draw attention to yourselves, unless you just look like real easy pickins for a shakedown!. in my constant travels across "la linea", when i did have trouble i brought it on myself: like peeing in the parking lot -$20 bucks to the cop; driving buzzed-$40; my idiot friend stealing a cheap pair of shades-$40. when i had a rental car in tj, i was pulled over twice for shakedowns. that last cop was really pissed, but i was just flat broke and he walked back to his car steaming.

now i just park on us side and walk/take taxi, and it's just pure fun. i've even walked to adelitas somewhat buzzed quite a few times late at night. no problems. my logic is- they know we are coming to spend money. why f*ck with the income. when you bring attitude you get it back times ten.

also try some afternoon delight. i switched from nights to going to zona norte in the afternoon. girls are fresh, not sweating your time, still good pickings and less hassle all the way around. my 2cent.

mrc

John Rain
07-05-06, 02:08
I was stopped by La Policía on Monday morning, July 3 at about 9:50 am. I wake early was just killing time walking around Zona Norte. At the moment, I was walking down Calle Coahuila from Revolución toward Constitución. A squad car traveling up Coahuila slowed as it came up to me and the officer sitting on the passenger side yelled out form me to stop and come over to him. I wasn't even sure he was really addressing me since I wasn't doing anything and continued a few more feet until he hollered again.

Crap, I thought—it's my turn to get the TJ hustle. They got out of their squad car quickly and approached me. The were both young guys in their twenties and dressed in complete uniforms looking very professional. The officer who had called out to me was a bit irritated that I hadn't immediately stopped and pointed to his ear and yelling in Spanish something about was I hard of hearing. He asked if I spoke Spanish, I said no.

He asked what I was doing, I said walking to my hotel. He said no, what are you doing in this area. I told him again I was walking to my hotel. He said he needed to see my ID. I thought crap I have to take out my wallet to get my ID. I opened my wallet and handed him my driver's license and he asks me where I am from. I tell him LA. He asked what I was going to do after going to my hotel. I said maybe go to a club or bar. I don't know what he was expecting me to say. Now, I suppose he was just getting a sense of me as a person.

He asked if I knew what kind of neighborhood this is and I said yes and I told him I just had some trouble a moment ago when a guy stopped me asking for money. He said this is a bad area. He handed me my license and said, "Be careful around here. You can go, sir." I returned the courtesy saying "Thank you, sir!" and I quickly headed back to the alley.

There are definitely some honest cops in Tijuana. Later that morning, I saw an unusual amount of cops up on Revolución and they were stopping some Mexicans and checking ID's.