Article: What I learned after being robbed at gunpoint in Mexico.
" . . . It happened at a cooking class outside of Oaxaca in southern Mexico that had been recommended to us by family friends. One minute we were eating homemade mole, and the next minute men with guns had rounded the whole class up in a storage closet, tied our hands with zip ties and demanded our valuables.
Decisions born of sheer luck turned out to make a huge difference. Our passports, which we usually carry with us, were nestled safely in the hotel's lockbox. Once my wallet was stolen, carrying a credit card separately from it turned out to be a lifesaver. Only one of our family's cellphones had been taken, so we were able to get in touch with family and friends back home. Then, at the packing stage, be intentional about what you're bringing. "I tell folks, 'You should pack your luggage as if you'll never see it again,' " said Kevin Coffey, a retired Los Angeles Police Department detective-sergeant and travel safety consultant who speaks to Fortune 500 companies about travel security. Take an inventory of your valuables for insurance purposes. Homeowner and renter insurance policies should cover vacation theft, but the policies are subject to certain limitations, especially on cash, jewelry, computers and other higher-value items, which should be insured separately, Montgomery-Baisden said. You will need a police report and receipts for the items in question to make a claim with your insurance company, she added.
Another crucial item to protect: your passport. Make at least one physical copy of your passport and, to be extra careful, encrypt a digital copy of it, too, McElroy said. Also consider "sanitizing" your wallet and / or purse of everyday items that aren't needed on vacation, Coffey said. If you lose your wallet or purse, you should know what was in it, Coffey said; limiting the contents also mitigates the potential damage.
Financial steps need to be taken, too. It's good practice to set up and fund a bank account that's separate from your main one, McElroy said. You can then take a debit card for that account out, and, should anything happen, your other cards will be locked in the hotel safe and you won't lose access to your main bank account. (And, in the event you were forced to withdraw money from an ATM, even at home, you could use that card.) Also think about how you would get emergency cash if your wallet were stolen, Coffey advised. This could involve a precautionary call to your bank to iron out those details. Some banks may be able to get a credit card sent to your hotel, he said.
Getting a phone stolen can cause a good deal of damage, especially if it has banking apps or passwords on it. Travelers should set passwords for their devices, turn on the encryption setting — which will "help minimize what happens when someone gets your device" — and turn on apps like Find my iPhone, so they can delete a phone's data in case of theft, McElroy said. Back up camera memory cards and anything on a laptop that's being taken on vacation, Coffey said. . . [URL]https://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-i-learned-after-being-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-mexico-2017-08-18[/URL].
Carry a throwaway wallet. When thieves robbed me, they ran off as soon as they found the throwaway wallet with about $5, leaving me with the passport, credit cards that was hidden elsewhere etc.
Mexico now leaning towards legalizing illicit drugs.
Mexico is now aiming to legalize drugs and making opium poppies a legal crop citing that the current policy has resulted in more than a quarter of a million murders (250,000) in the country. Check out this November 1, 2018 article:
[URL]https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/11/01/Shift-in-Mexico-drug-policy-would-focus-on-legalization-health/1641541080953/[/URL]
Another bullshit policia pull over.
After midnight took the car from HK's valet, heading back to the border via the old taxi route, ie Medico lane, rotary then Pueblo Amigo, SENTRI lane ect.
At the rotary you turn, a policia car was ahead of us, but slowed down, waiting for us to pass, so I know the stupid bastards were going to pull me over. Near Caliente / Pueblo amigo, they turned on their flashing beacon. I continued on and stopped in front of the casino for the extra street light.
2 unidentified porkers came over, shining flash lights into the car. They asked to see driver license and registration. I tried a new tactics, asking them a pleasant "Hola, como esta?" and gave them the business card from Tijuana's Internal Affairs' attorney. They asked me out of the car in front of their bright head lights. They were looking at that business card, talking among themselves, looking shaky. They asked me what my profession; I said abogado. They looked even more shaky, actually scared.
They asked me a couple perfunctory questions:
Were you drinking alcohol? Are you sure? I said I was not drinking, I was sure, my breath reeking of Chicago's beers.
Do you carry any drugs? No I carry no drugs.
Did you break any laws? No I did not break any laws. I always respect mexico's laws, like I was going to tell them if I did any crime!
I took back my license and got back in the car, memorizing their car number. Meanwhile I wingman had been briefed about holding money and wallet in hands if searched. They never asked him to get out of the car as they knew they could not fuck with us. They could not rob or steal from us unless we are weak and stupid to let them steal. I urge the bros to stand firm and stay cool to protect their rights in Mexico.
One of my wingmen went down to Tijuana only his third time, driving his own car for a body repair job. He got to Tijuana at 5 AM and had nowhere to go but HK. The shop does not open until about 10, after Rubin Carrillo finishes a few BB sessions with his hot novia in Playas. HK meseros gave him copious directions to get to the cheapest body shop in Tijuana, IE Carrillo on Calle 3rd, on the way into Centro, but he got lost in downtown Tijuana. A motorcycle cop was very nice, giving him directions, but he got lost again. Finally the cop just led him to the shop. He tried to tip the cop but he declined. That was the first positive news about Tijuana policia I heard in all 18 years hehe.
Avoid problems by not driving at night in Tijuana.
The policia, like ladrones, prefer the night when the local public can't see what they are doing. My problems with policia have been at night while driving and from your article, so do you. Solution: get a hotel room for the night and stop driving when the policia are watching the streets to and from Zona Norte for quick tourist shakedowns from guys who are carrying a heavy burden of dollars. Try to park your car for the night before dusk. Like vampires, the policia will start hunting for tourists with California license plates when the night arrives. Don't let them drain your wallet!
[QUOTE=CaptainSolo;2244367]After midnight took the car from HK's valet, heading back to the border via the old taxi route, ie Medico lane, rotary then Pueblo Amigo, SENTRI lane ect.
At the rotary you turn, a policia car was ahead of us, but slowed down, waiting for us to pass, so I know the stupid bastards were going to pull me over. Near Caliente / Pueblo amigo, they turned on their flashing beacon. I continued on and stopped in front of the casino for the extra street light.
2 unidentified porkers came over, shining flash lights into the car. They asked to see driver license and registration. I tried a new tactics, asking them a pleasant "Hola, como esta?" and gave them the business card from Tijuana's Internal Affairs' attorney. They asked me out of the car in front of their bright head lights. They were looking at that business card, talking among themselves, looking shaky. They asked me what my profession; I said abogado. They looked even more shaky, actually scared..[/QUOTE]
Avoid problems by not driving at night in Tijuana.
To Travv,
I hear you about avoiding driving at night, but policia will also pull cars over and rough up pedestrians in day light. So what do you do? Stop walking and driving altogether? The bigger threat is not the policia, but the junky rateros who hold knives to your throat to rob your wallet, then probably just slash it for fun. Also far worse is the occasional policia alcohol check point on Benito Juarez on Friday after midnight. I passed the alcohol checks 3 times in the last 5 years that I drove.
Gotto admit Tijuana policia seems to target California cars at night. The stupid policia assholes were always following me, but more likely because I drive a bright-red sports car that looks exotic and expensive, that was not sold in Mexico. More than once groups of Tijuanasens have stopped my car on the street, asking me what kind of car, and where I bought it. So the polica retards really thought they found Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos cruising Tijuana for street meats hehe.
I don't like to sleep in Tijuana due to the loneliness factor of the night and the disgust I feel for filthy streets and crumbling buildings in the day light. I would spend the night if I have the company of pretty, young, fun girls who can speak sweet English and are hot for sex anytime of the night, like the students I bagged in Manila. Damn. Tijuana would be so much sexier If I could find pretty escorts who would do all day dates, going out for food and staying out in bed all night for sex, without breaking the bank hehe.
The policia, like ladrones, prefer the night when the local public can't see what they are doing. My problems with policia have been at night while driving and from your article, so do you. Solution: get a hotel room for the night and stop driving when the policia are watching the streets to and from Zona Norte for quick tourist shakedowns from guys who are carrying a heavy burden of dollars. Try to park your car for the night before dusk. Like vampires, the policia will start hunting for tourists with California license plates when the night arrives. Don't let them drain your wallet!
