I remember visiting Matamoros years ago.

[Abraham]

From High School days and well into my forties, Mexico was a country I often visited.

Not only did I visit the various border towns, but over the years, I made 9 trips to Cozumel for scuba diving and fishing with a minimum stay of a week or more.

Occasionally, I'd go to Cozumel by myself.

At this point, I see no possibility of EVER visiting again.

Too bad to as I love the country, but the overall crime and violence isn't something I'm willing to risk.

Mexico is losing out on the tourist dollar they came to depend on.

[birdman253]

After what Mexico did to Tommy Bean (from Vidor) in the late 1990's I vowed never to visit Mexico again. The corruption there is sickening and I have absolutely no use for the place.

I live on the border, and any time a U.S. citizen ends up in jail for firearms or ammunition, people seem shocked and incensed that it happened.

Mexico is a sovereign nation, and their laws are different from ours. There are huge signs at every border crossing warning of the consequences of taking any firearms or ammo across the border. Yet people ignore them, get caught, and then are shocked that they are handled as per the laws of Mexico, instead of being sent back with an admonishment to "sin no more."

While jail in Mexico is certainly terrible, and I certainly would not want to end up there, I will defend the government of Mexico's right to establish their laws and legal system, and to enforce them as per their law. If you do the crime, you gotta do the time.

End of rant.

Rant? Just why are you ranting? and just what method did you use to deduce that Tommy Bean ignored warning signs? You are confused if you think extortion equals a nation of laws.

Short story:

Tommy Bean was at a gun shot in Laredo and told an employee to clean out his suv as he was crossing over for lunch.

At the border there was some loose .22 shells that had spilled under the back seat that the employee missed.

Tommy was arrested and told to pay $10K bribe. He told them to jump in a lake. Just before his trial he was once again hit up, that time for $40K. Told em to jump in a lake.

He ended up in prison and paid close to $100K before he was traded for a real felon.

You have made my point. Perhaps he didn't ignore the signs. Whether he did or not is not material to the situation. He did cross into Mexico with live ammo. Under Mexican law, that is a crime. He was arrested, and handled in their legal system.

The solicited bribes, in my opinion, are a separate issue. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mr. Bean for refusing to go along with that, in the face of continued imprisonment, and, as it turned out, substantially higher total cost.

But, with that said, my opinion of the original offense has not changed. He crossed with ammo. Whether he intended to or not, doesn't matter. Whether his employee failed to remove it from the vehicle doesn't matter. If a person is crossing into Mexico, it is their responsibility to insure they are complying with the law. He clearly was in violation. It was a raw deal, but he was guilty, under their law.

[Oldgringo]

My wife and I spent a week in the Acapulco Princess some three dozen years ago. If you looked closely, there were armed guards patrolling the compound's perimeter after dark every night. During daytime, the Mexican Navy had armed patrols on the compound's beaches. Back then, the Acapulco Princess was a Five Star international resort.

Is there nothing new under the sun?

[Saffron]

After what Mexico did to Tommy Bean (from Vidor) in the late 1990's I vowed never to visit Mexico again. The corruption there is sickening and I have absolutely no use for the place.

I live on the border, and any time a U.S. citizen ends up in jail for firearms or ammunition, people seem shocked and incensed that it happened.

Mexico is a sovereign nation, and their laws are different from ours. There are huge signs at every border crossing warning of the consequences of taking any firearms or ammo across the border. Yet people ignore them, get caught, and then are shocked that they are handled as per the laws of Mexico, instead of being sent back with an admonishment to "sin no more."

While jail in Mexico is certainly terrible, and I certainly would not want to end up there, I will defend the government of Mexico's right to establish their laws and legal system, and to enforce them as per their law. If you do the crime, you gotta do the time.

End of rant.

It's true that Mexico has the right to turn their cesspool of a country into an even more fetid cesspool. It's also true that Jim Beaux and other Americans have a right to avoid that hole and spend their vacation dollars somewhere else.

[Jim Beaux]

After what Mexico did to Tommy Bean (from Vidor) in the late 1990's I vowed never to visit Mexico again. The corruption there is sickening and I have absolutely no use for the place.

I live on the border, and any time a U.S. citizen ends up in jail for firearms or ammunition, people seem shocked and incensed that it happened.

Mexico is a sovereign nation, and their laws are different from ours. There are huge signs at every border crossing warning of the consequences of taking any firearms or ammo across the border. Yet people ignore them, get caught, and then are shocked that they are handled as per the laws of Mexico, instead of being sent back with an admonishment to "sin no more."

While jail in Mexico is certainly terrible, and I certainly would not want to end up there, I will defend the government of Mexico's right to establish their laws and legal system, and to enforce them as per their law. If you do the crime, you gotta do the time.

End of rant.

Rant? Just why are you ranting? and just what method did you use to deduce that Tommy Bean ignored warning signs? You are confused if you think extortion equals a nation of laws.

Short story:

Tommy Bean was at a gun shot in Laredo and told an employee to clean out his suv as he was crossing over for lunch.

At the border there was some loose .22 shells that had spilled under the back seat that the employee missed.

Tommy was arrested and told to pay $10K bribe. He told them to jump in a lake. Just before his trial he was once again hit up, that time for $40K. Told em to jump in a lake.

He ended up in prison and paid close to $100K before he was traded for a real felon.

You have made my point. Perhaps he didn't ignore the signs. Whether he did or not is not material to the situation. He did cross into Mexico with live ammo. Under Mexican law, that is a crime. He was arrested, and handled in their legal system.

The solicited bribes, in my opinion, are a separate issue. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mr. Bean for refusing to go along with that, in the face of continued imprisonment, and, as it turned out, substantially higher total cost.

But, with that said, my opinion of the original offense has not changed. He crossed with ammo. Whether he intended to or not, doesn't matter. Whether his employee failed to remove it from the vehicle doesn't matter. If a person is crossing into Mexico, it is their responsibility to insure they are complying with the law. He clearly was in violation. It was a raw deal, but he was guilty, under their law.

I wont bother to ask you how I made your point, but if you live near the border than you well know that extortion is not a separate issue from Mexican "Morbita" Justice. The fact is the country is corrupt and governed by grifters.

[wheelgun1958]

The most I recall about Mexico (Acuna) was while at Laughlin AFB. Something about a 'boys town.' That, and the guy who wanted to sell me a teenage girl for a wife.

[Oldgringo]

Summer before last, we were invited to visit new friends in British Columbia. Knowing Canada's feeling towards handguns, ammo, etc., our truck was clean as a whistle before we left our park.

The Canadian Border Guard, upon spying our front bumper Texas license plate, asked how many guns we had with us. I said, 'no guns, no bullets'. The Canadian Border Guard said, 'I can search your vehicle'. I said, 'please do'. He said, 'please enjoy your stay'.

The point is: we knew the rules; i.e, "my house, my rules"....comprende?

[StewNTexas]

In reference to the 'extortion' part, I made the decision to never again take my vehicle into Mexico when the local 'cops/crooks' started carrying pliers and screwdrivers as part of their uniforms.

See any USA plate, pull it off the vehicle. Keep it with you until someone calls it in, go and sell it back to them for lots of $$. No paperwork, no trail.

[philip964]

http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article ... 863764.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Investigating a police connection to the murders.

Would this be the final result of strict gun control, only the evil have guns.

This is important to us because they were Americans. However, earlier 43 Mexican college students "disappeared".

[jigglypuff]

After what Mexico did to Tommy Bean (from Vidor) in the late 1990's I vowed never to visit Mexico again. The corruption there is sickening and I have absolutely no use for the place.

I live on the border, and any time a U.S. citizen ends up in jail for firearms or ammunition, people seem shocked and incensed that it happened.

They do the same thing when a Western journalist is beheaded in the Middle East.

[VMI77]

Way back in the 70s when I was in high school police shakedowns were a "feature" of Matamoros. It's long been part of life in Mexico. Our family was friends with a Mexican family who had a home next door to ours and whenever they went back to their place in Mexico they made sure they had plenty of American dollars to pay the bribes they had to pay on the way back (due to the Texas license plates on their car). While it may be arguably more dangerous now, it's always been dangerous if you stepped outside the areas frequented by Americans.

[VMI77]

After what Mexico did to Tommy Bean (from Vidor) in the late 1990's I vowed never to visit Mexico again. The corruption there is sickening and I have absolutely no use for the place.

I live on the border, and any time a U.S. citizen ends up in jail for firearms or ammunition, people seem shocked and incensed that it happened.

Mexico is a sovereign nation, and their laws are different from ours. There are huge signs at every border crossing warning of the consequences of taking any firearms or ammo across the border. Yet people ignore them, get caught, and then are shocked that they are handled as per the laws of Mexico, instead of being sent back with an admonishment to "sin no more."

While jail in Mexico is certainly terrible, and I certainly would not want to end up there, I will defend the government of Mexico's right to establish their laws and legal system, and to enforce them as per their law. If you do the crime, you gotta do the time.

End of rant.

Rant? Just why are you ranting? and just what method did you use to deduce that Tommy Bean ignored warning signs? You are confused if you think extortion equals a nation of laws.




Short story:

Tommy Bean was at a gun shot in Laredo and told an employee to clean out his suv as he was crossing over for lunch.

At the border there was some loose .22 shells that had spilled under the back seat that the employee missed.

Tommy was arrested and told to pay $10K bribe. He told them to jump in a lake. Just before his trial he was once again hit up, that time for $40K. Told em to jump in a lake.

He ended up in prison and paid close to $100K before he was traded for a real felon.

You have made my point. Perhaps he didn't ignore the signs. Whether he did or not is not material to the situation. He did cross into Mexico with live ammo. Under Mexican law, that is a crime. He was arrested, and handled in their legal system.

The solicited bribes, in my opinion, are a separate issue. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mr. Bean for refusing to go along with that, in the face of continued imprisonment, and, as it turned out, substantially higher total cost.

But, with that said, my opinion of the original offense has not changed. He crossed with ammo. Whether he intended to or not, doesn't matter. Whether his employee failed to remove it from the vehicle doesn't matter. If a person is crossing into Mexico, it is their responsibility to insure they are complying with the law. He clearly was in violation. It was a raw deal, but he was guilty, under their law.

In the case of the Marine released last week a Mexican attorney has been quoted as saying that the law does specify "intent" as a necessary component of violation. But whether it does or not, any civilized notion of justice considers intent a necessary component for defining a criminal act.

[Cedar Park Dad]

I don't think you need intent for a speeding violation, just saying.

Honey mooned there. Would not go back, even to "safe areas." The craziness is out of control.

[talltex]

Way back in the 70s when I was in high school police shakedowns were a "feature" of Matamoros. It's long been part of life in Mexico. Our family was friends with a Mexican family who had a home next door to ours and whenever they went back to their place in Mexico they made sure they had plenty of American dollars to pay the bribes they had to pay on the way back (due to the Texas license plates on their car). While it may be arguably more dangerous now, it's always been dangerous if you stepped outside the areas frequented by Americans.

Yep...back in the 70's a group of us would make a "run for the border"a couple of times a year...load up in 2 or 3 vehicles and head south on a Saturday afternoon to Nuevo Laredo from central Texas. We had learned from our predecessors not to drive our vehicles into Mexico, and that it was best to get a motel room in Laredo and then call a cab to pick us up and take us across the border to our destination. Paid the drivers well and promised a good tip if they came back and picked us up at a specified time and got us back across the border without any hassle. Never had a problem and the drivers would speak to the border guards and we would be waived through without any delay. I wouldn't dream of trying it nowdays.

[VMI77]

I don't think you need intent for a speeding violation, just saying.

Honey mooned there. Would not go back, even to "safe areas." The craziness is out of control.

Yeah, but a speeding violation is not a criminal act, it's a civil violation.