The military checkpoints or roadblocks can be very intimidating. Young
men, often under 20, in full army fatigues and automatic rifles stop you
vehicle. Often there is a sandbag hut with armed security guards to the side
of the road. YIKES! This sure doesn't feel like home.
 The checkpoint military are primarily looking for drugs and firearms.
Carry neither unless you want a do not pass go card to a Mexican prison. The
soldiers will stop your car and want to talk to you. We immediately produce
our passports and hand them to the guard.
The soldiers will
unlikely speak much English. If you cannot speak Spanish, I strongly suggest
you prepare what you are
going to say before you go.
The questions they will ask include:
Where are you from?
Where were you today?
Where are you going?
Do you have drugs or
firearms?
Get an English/Spanish
dictionary (or a translator program on the net) and prepare for the checkpoints. Write out your reply in
Spanish. Tell them no guns. “No drugs.”
Sometimes they will ask
to enter your vehicle to look around. Usually only one guard will enter your
vehicle and will likely spend less than 5 minutes opening doors and drawers.
We have found that it
is best if I handle the military. A woman is less threatening. I wave at
them as we stop - almost like I would a long lost relative. I laugh with
them and tell them I wish I could speak better Spanish. I invite them to see "My
Casa." They come in and are impressed. They smile if I smile. I am not
afraid of them and they have never been a problem.
You can expect, for
example, to be stopped about 5-6 times on the way down to Cabo. Treat it as
a safety precaution that is benefits you. We have never been asked for
bribes or articles from our rig. Only once when I stood outside and was
joking with some of the guards did one young man ask very nicely if we had
any salsa as he had just run out.
Sandbags and AK 47's are disturbing sights, but in the end the military
road blocks are there to look for drugs and guns....illegal items that
hopefully RVers are not carrying.
Other Checkpoints
You may also be
checked for fruit and vegetables at various spots usually on state lines. Sometimes they want to
look in your fridge. They are searching for fruits, vegetables and sometimes
meat and eggs that their particular state doesn't want entering their area.
There is one vegetable checkpoint going south just
before Guerrero Negro. Stock up on veggies after this location and you are home free
both to Cabo and back to the US border. Meat and vegetable checks were made
the last time we entered Campeche. They confiscated bacon, eggs and all our
pork products.
Police
We have been "fined" three times in 16 years on the road by Mexican police.
Both times we actually committed an infraction.
Mexican police are supposed to take away your license and take you to the
police station if you have broken a law. You would be required to pay your
fine in cash.
About 14 years ago in Todos Santos we ran a red light. Regardless that it
was small and completely unwarranted at that particular intersection; we ran
it accidentally. The police stopped us and told us that we were being fined
approximately $20. The policeman also told us we would have to go to the
police station and pay the fine. Unfortunately for us, he said that the
police station was closed and we would have to wait until Monday morning to
pay the fine.
When we complained that we must be in La Paz that evening, he shrugged
and said "Maybe I can help you. I will pay the fine for you on Monday."
In June 2002, we rented a car and were driving on the outskirts of Mexico
City. Before we knew it we were being pulled over. The policemen couldn't
speak English but they did have a translated piece of paper that indicated
that we were being fined because our license plate number was banned on that
particular day with DF's attempt to cut back on air pollution. We were
clearly in the wrong, all-be-it a rented car with no warnings from the
rental agency.
The young police officer made it very clear from the beginning that he
wanted $200US for the infraction. He was not interested in taking us to the
station or to the bank. He wanted the money now. We only had $35 cash in our
"phony wallet" and he took that and escorted us to the end of town. (We had
the license number of his car and descriptions but nothing to our knowledge
was done about it. We complained to our consulate, the Mexican Ambassador,
the tourist agency etc.)
Most experienced travelers we know say that in general,
municipal police over the years have greatly improved their practices. The
exception to this rule is Mexico City police who have still continue to stop
tourists with real or imagined infractions.
No discussion about Mexican police would be complete
without a mention about the kindness and compassion of many officers. On a
trip with my kids into
Mexico's interior, my RV broke down. I had police - both municipal and
federal trying to help me. A farmer gave my kids tours of his farm so they
wouldn’t be bored. A woman who went to the nearest town to buy my daughter a
piece of cake because it was her birthday - and we all - including the police
sang "Felix Compleanos".
There was a rancher who
eventually towed us to Leon with a police escort because it was dangerous to
drive at night AND THEY ALL...ALL OF THEM, THE 20 OR SO PEOPLE THAT STOPPED
FOR 5-8 HOURS TO HELP OUR FAMILY, REFUSED TO TAKE A DIME. Including the
farmer that towed us. Including the police that escorted us and guarded or
rig all night in Leon.
Advise for interactions with police? Don't try to bend
the rules. Discretely take down their license numbers and names on their
uniforms if you are stopped. Be friendly and respectful.
Tourist Police like this one in PV are there
to assist you.
Bandido
We have never been stopped or robbed by a bandido. Maybe they are nothing
more than a Hollywood Myth. I don't know.
We know that in our country, when someone breaks into your house or
vehicle it is called a burglary. If the criminals detain and otherwise
secure people
for money, it is called a home invasion. In Canada home invasions are
unfortunately common enough. Kidnappings seem to be increasing world-wide.
We
wonder if we call these criminals banditos in Mexico because we are in
Mexico. We am not sure how to compare apples to apples and if we could we are
not sure what the answer would be.
Never-the-less, we do take precautions. Sound silly? We don't drive at
night. We carry a phony wallet. We hide what little cash we have on us. We
have made plans in case we ever did see an unauthorized "road block."
If someone out there has experienced Bandidos...and has a police report
to prove it wasn't the peyote, then contact us. We'd like to know.
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