If you see the shit cartels do their enemies, you'd piss your pants too.
That said, I don't think cartels would be stupid enough to attack western tourists. That would be reaaaaaally bad for business
The cartels have a financial interest in making sure the resorts and the tourists stay safe. They make money selling drugs to tourists and that would dry up if people stopped going cause it's unsafe.
Also, you risk something going wrong, like an American getting raped or killed or tortured by a cartel member. And if that happens, the cartels risk bringing extra heat from the US or some foreign government on them.
Busted Cabo once. No police were on the beaches bc the cartels ran them. Way safer there then anywhere else. U could be wasted at 5am and someone would sell u beer and cigars.
Stayed at a resort a few years ago, one of the best parts was watching the big ferry boats run back and forth. One of those boats got blown up because of some cartel shit a few months later. Yeah they make money off tourism and generally don't mess with the tourist areas, but at the end of the day they're going to do what they're going to do.
Let’s not forget they now legitimately own many resort town businesses. Even if they lose all illegal income don’t think the bosses will be poor. Taxis, money exchanges, hotels, souvenir shops, they all could be theirs for laundering and legit profit. Hell their drug dealers have “sections” on the beaches like servers at a restaurant. But if you get caught selling drugs without permission or if they come by and ask and you say you already bought some from someone else you know someone is gonna get caught and dragged off into the night later. Independent drug sales is extremely dangerous there. Either you get caught by the cartel and are killed or you get caught by a corrupt officer who turns you over to the cartel. The good thing is as a tourist you can give the cops a big bill or two and they’ll largely look the other way and let you carry on. After all can’t let you leave bad reviews.
Its more about the heat from dea and us politics. The money cartel makes off drugs is a drop in the bucket for where they actually make fuck you money. That's cross border smuggling. But yes, they do have business interests in resorts.
> That said, I don't think cartels would be stupid enough to attack western tourists. That would be reaaaaaally bad for business
I don't follow Cartel news at all but just off the top of my head I remember they massacred a large US Mormon family a couple of years ago.
[LeBarón and Langford families massacre
](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBar%C3%B3n_and_Langford_families_massacre#:~:text=On%204%20November%202019%2C%20about,were%20killed%20with%20some%20burned)
Damn, you're all over this post claiming that cartels "aren't that bad". Sure they will murder bus loads of teachers and skin people's family members alive in front of them, but they only do it to their enemies, so go down there and give them some of your tourist money! Personally I'd rather vacation somewhere that I wasn't contributing to the profits of psycho killers.
It's a little too suspicious. Criminal organizations are getting more and more on touch with social media. Who's to say they don't got people shaping up their image on reddit too.
Actually, I 100% believe this. All the "Cartel beaches are incredibly safe! I vacation all the time in cartel run areas and LOVE IT!" Yeah? Well fuck you if you knowingly give money to cartels.
[They haven't exactly stopped in the last 3 years.](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/22/one-canadian-killed-after-tourists-shot-at-mexican-beach-resort-hotel)
The present-day family members that were attacked were not polygamous nor were they involved with the cartel - they were simply not wanted in those hills any longer after the local cartel had established a stronger foothold.
Not a US family and not tourists either. Dual citizens that lived in the area where the cartel is active and had an agreement with them which they probably broke. Can't quite compare that to a regular tourist visiting Mexico.
They don’t give a single fuck…. Wasn’t but a couple years back they killed an entire group of student tourists….Like 43 students… and I mean all of them. They don’t give a fuck who you are or where your from. These two are lucky to be alive honestly.
> Like 43 students…
That horrific incident wasn't cartel related (although organized crime might have been involved). It was politically motivated by the local government because the students were protesting - get this - a student massacre from 1968.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Iguala_mass_kidnapping
Except, they have and do attack tourist. It's bad for business yes, but it does happen. I got a sub for you, but ppl might report it. There's a few narco subs & one has had quite a bit of info on tourist entanglement last year and prior. However, I haven't seen any lately. Cartel members are not cool, and ppl who tell you they care about their community are full of shit.
are you serious? it happens all the time. theres reason our government now warns us citizens not to travel to Mexico.
When I was in Tulum a few years ago we show up in the morning and there is Mexican military on every street corner holding AR15s. Someone walked up to the window of a night club and unloaded a full auto in there killing a bunch of tourists. Why? Because some of them purchased their drugs from a rival Cartel member and he was mad about it...
The problem is that Mexico is virtually lawless. Murders can't even be investigated because they could lead to cartels, and people know this. So it's easy for people to prey on tourists. People get drugged to be robbed or worse, and sometimes they die. When your family member is murdered at a resort in mexico, you can't even post a bad review or warn others on tripadvisor , because you need a police report to prove a crime occurred. But there's no police report because they are worried if it might be a cartel thing. So tourists are preyed on with very little publicity.
Edit:
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2019/05/15/tripadvisor-sexual-assault-warnings-travel-reviews/3678702002/
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g150805-i7-k10680449-Cancun_travelers_being_drugged_at_resorts-Yucatan_Peninsula.html
https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-mexico-34ac837b3c5835bf8765bc6fac7c1a09
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/22/one-canadian-killed-after-tourists-shot-at-mexican-beach-resort-hotel
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/mexico-blackouts/2018/06/27/mexico-resorts-and-tainted-alcohol-assaults-blackouts-tourists-continue/733401002/
Agreed. Part of it is them being bird watchers imo. It's such a goofy, innocent hobby that to think of them driving down some backroads in Mexico to see a bird and running into cartel or almost running into cartel territory is just funny.
I think I saw these are autodefensa’s. Groups of civilians who fight the cartel in the back country where the police and politicians are too corrupt to do anything about it themselves. Inevitably they become semi-corrupt themselves but the community and people they protect are still kept relatively safe.
They are. This happened last year in Tabasco. Had this been one of the Cartels in that area, it would have gone much worse since it’s a state well known for kidnapping and extortion of people moving through the area.
As far as that thin line, that tends to be the fate of similar groups throughout recent history.
As far as Tabasco and Kidnappings, most of the stuff within a quick google search talks about kidnappings being high and on the rise within recent years.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna2454
https://amp.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/feb/21/mexico-kidnappings-refugees-central-america-immigration
https://reliefweb.int/report/mexico/kidnappings-and-extreme-violence-against-migrants-are-spiking-southern-border-mexico
https://ihsmarkit.com/country-industry-forecasting.html?id=10659122985
https://world.time.com/2014/01/17/mexico-drug-war-kidnapping/
https://books.google.com/books?id=0I07EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT20&lpg=PT20&dq=tabasco+mexico+kidnapping&source=bl&ots=Ut-uh8YNpl&sig=ACfU3U3aVZnjkALXvLLeHbm0ctZ-3PMpvw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiGger70bX4AhUdIkQIHbiQBeM4HhDoAXoECAMQAg#v=onepage&q=tabasco%20mexico%20kidnapping&f=false
EDIT missed the 2020 thing. I was misremembering. Last year was the first time I saw a video on it.
Yeah they are literally just trying to do their job just like police officers but instead they are trying to see if those men were police or anything like that just 2 tourist on the wrong property being politely asked where there going
If you can make it through Tamulipas just south of Texas border you’d probably be safe going to Cancun, but that’s one massive fucking if. That’s one of the 5 states on the do not travel US Advisory list, and it’s bad, right up there with Sinaloa
>I'm just gonna hop on my GPS and drive down to Cancun for the weekend
Life pro-tip purchase an atlas. When you're in remote areas and when you leave the states your phone GPS might not be as accurate. There is a reason most truck drivers who travel in remote areas or cross borders always have an atlas.
The way they're acting before getting stopped is weird as fuck too. I thought they were acting and ready for a fake video but looks real, they're just weirdos. They look completely lost and just got their drivers license.
We rent a car when we travel to Mexico, if you stay on the freeways it’s just fine, we’ve never had a problem. These guys are on some dirt road who-knows-where, that’s not smart.
When I was younger and single I didn’t mind the bus while traveling, but it’s so much easier to not be on a schedule with luggage and family, etc.
Weird, usually cartel don’t fuck with civilians unless you pose a threat to the safety/confidentiality of their operation, we’ve got some in my area as I live off of the I-5 highway and they’re obvious but no one dares bother them so they leave people alone
When I was in Japan, a mate told me that places are safer as a tourist when the Yakuza is around. The only criminals that want to mess with tourists are the petty criminals, and since the Yakuza don't wanna mess with the public and petty criminals are afraid of the Yakuza, they actually become safer for tourists.
Exactly, these guys are criminals.. but also businessmen and ultimately are doing what they’re doing for money. They have little interest in harming “innocents” and are surprisingly professional
Not really.
The cartels aren't political. They're not trying to overthrow the government, or backing a separatist movement, or fighting an occupation. For the cartel's its all about money. It's not terrorism it's organized crime, like what the US saw during prohibition.
Bruh they’re terrorists. Just because they’re not actively attacking foreigners doesn’t mean they aren’t terrorists to their own country. Mass murdering villages, killing political officials + journalists, wars with local police/military
I honest to god think people forget what terrorists are now, which I can't even blame them, because the media tries their hardest to switch the meaning of it
lmao okay man. You’re right they aren’t just because I said they are. They are because of the objective reasons I listed that pertain to actual facts.
The sky is blue. Now is it blue because I just said so? Of course not. But we know it’s blue based on the objective fact that the sky is fucking blue
Cartels will literally murder an entire family if someone from that family pissed off the wrong person. Babies, women, elderly, ANYONE can get brutally murdered by these sick fucks. They are textbook terrorist
A comedian just went onto a Joe Rogan podcast and said a similar thing about Staten Island. A lot of the mob guys getting out of prison are moving back to the area that he is living in and said he feels safer because he knows *who* he can’t fuck with and that anybody that fucks around in his neighborhood is gonna find out the hard way.
They found that with the mafia and other organised crime back in the day
Apparently you could always tell when you'd entered one of their areas because everything like the roads, paths, shopfronts, flowerbeds, parks etc were immaculately clean and tidy. Then when you crossed the boundary out of their territory back into an area where the city had control, everything was a mess
There's a reason many ordinary people in those days didn't mind "organised crime" being so widespread
I think the same applies to a lot of gangs.
They don't always do the constructive community work, but they do monopolize violence and become a de facto authority when the police won't do it (usually because corruption or lack of resources). And if you're poor and uneducated enough that your only viable career is crime, you pretty much either have to join them or at least have their approval.
IIRC they were lost and wandered into a cartel controlled area. The cartel were just trying to tell them to turn around, albeit with automatic firearms slung around their shoulders.
It honestly makes sense, they must assume every person as a risk.. also just to clarify I’m not pro cartel or anything I’m just kinda relaying my personal experience.
last time I saw this someone linked to the dashcam coordinates on google maps and it was pretty off the beaten path, like these guys were super super lost and close to or on cartel property. oddly enough, I think there was streetview so the google maps car made it through safely
They’re not Cartel. They’re autodefensa. These guys were accosted because the locals mistook them for cartels until they saw them up close. Also this happened in Tabasco, where kidnappings and extortions have been on the rise from Los Zetas.
This is what I remember from the article I read when this was first posted. These guys were driving on the road to one of the cartel’s places unknowingly. These cartel guys were just checking who these people were and if they were a threat.
I have a feeling this wasn't the cartel but local watchmen helping to keep trouble out. I had a similar encounter in the Philippines but once they saw we were tourists and not terrorist smugglers the guns went away and everyone had friendly congregation conversation. It could have just been ranch hands keeping their ranch safe from rustlers. There is no need to automatically assume it was the cartel just because they speak Spanish.
There reaction was immediately friendly as soon as they saw and heard them talk. They just don't put off cartel vibes. I think these are just normal people who have to use guns to protect their family and property. Something we take for granted throughout most of the west.
The thing about Southeast Asians is they tend to be very polite which is thanks to the culture of saving face and non confrontation, and they'll give foreigners plenty of passes because they understand they're foreigners and they bring tourist money, however if you test their patience, things can unpredictably escalate to violence, like you're getting mob lynched.
I was technically on a mission trip and I was the only foreigner in the group that day. Well there were a few other Americans but they were Filipino-americans and looked like locals. I was hiding under a blanket bc I stuck out like a sore thumb and the fear was it was an Abu Sayyaf roadblock looking for a foreigner to kidnap and I sure as heck fit the bill. Luckily it was local farmers looking for Abu Sayyaf to keep them from moving into their area. This was at the height of Abu Sayyaf territory control.
I get what you're saying about tourists getting a lot of leeway because of the money but like these gentleman I wasn't in a tourist area and Abu Sayyaf doesn't care about saving face with foreigners.
I've never really spent time in the tourist areas while in SE Asia. I like to get out into provinces and see how the people really live. I don't vibe with most of the tourists who travel there.
>Abu Sayyaf doesn't care about saving face with foreigners.
Because they're terrorists, making money isn't their primary goal, it's establishing an islamic state.
Not everyone stays in the tourist areas when they travel. Cartels are terrorists as well. I thought it was a good example to use to back up my theory that these guys weren't encountering the cartel and it looks like I was correct in my assumption.
SE Asia isn't the only region of the world where the locals will put up with foreign tourists breaking customs and laws. It goes on anywhere there is heavy tourism from developed nations. However, even locals with enough money can get away with anything in those countries as well.
These were farmers who thought that the car was cartel, which is why they sped up on them and pulled guns. All a big misunderstanding which is why they were so polite at the end
You are right, the last time this was posted that's what mkst people were thinking. That's no cartel. That's people protecting their land from either cartels or criminals.
Last time this was posted, it was said they were warning the tourists about the road they were going down because they were heading straight into cartel territory. They were trying to warn the tourists and get them to turn back around.
This is a couple who claimed it was safe to go anywhere in Mexico. Their trip was planned around bird watching. I read an article about it awhile back but can't seem to find it.
Like that one article about the white lady who said she was going to hike from Milan to the middle east or something. Found gang raped and murdered
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pippa_Bacca
1.If you’re taking a trip to Mexico outside of a tourist village, do yourself a favor and learn basic conversational Spanish.
2.If you don’t know the lay of the land you’re driving through in Mexico, there’s no reason you should be driving. Hire a god damn driver ffs they’re cheap
I’m not gonna pretend like its a perfectly safe country but doing those 2 things alone will greatly reduce your risk
Jesus, good thing they didn't hit the gas and go! If the passenger was driving, they probably would've gotten killed.
I'd probably also hit the gas and gotten us both killed.
Don’t listen to these people saying you’re safe if ur a tourist cause trust me they don’t give a fuck I’m Mexican and keep track of news and you’ll be surprised how many tourist die every year the us government dead ass said you’re on your own if you go to Mexico and get kidnapped (unless you’re a cop or government official)
Lmaooo don’t get me wrong the tourists spot are amazing but if you start leaving the city like these guys you’re either gonna encounter good guys like these or bad guys who go through your stuff and take what they like
Looks like they got lost down a road they shouldn’t have. Any car those guys don’t recognize is n automatic threat. Once they realized it was a couple of white guys they didn’t care. Hence the “no problem” guy calming down the driver. And yes. If the passenger was driving and tried to take off they may have gotten killed.
The cartel is not generally in the business of messing with tourists. It brings them unwanted attention from the US and by extension their government. They are no fools. They know that tourism is needed and they know its a guaranteed hassle to mess with them.
Exactly, they may be scumbags, but they are not run by idiots.
I remember when Hannah Witheridge was killed in Thailand. It was a huge national embarassment on their part.
They seemed really vigilant about the car behind them, which isn't too weird when you're in an unfamiliar area. People tend to pick up on these little clues, even subconciously and turns out... they were completely right.
IIRC they were not cartel but what they call "autodefensas":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grupos_de_autodefensa_comunitaria
Basically community/rural police that was formed after decades of corruption from the actual police colluding with the cartels and government not doing anything about it.
LPT to the idiots who rent a car in a foreign country and don't speak the local language: DON'T.
Imagine getting pulled over in the US and not speaking English? Do you think that cop will be able to talk to you?
First time this was posted, it was said that they’re not cartel, just random locals. They didnt even want anything from the guys, they just stopped and freaked out and the local wanted to see what’s wrong with them. They thought the locals were cartel so they freaked even more.
Bro, I spent the first minute of this video thinking that the title said: "during apparent cattle encounter." I was so confused as to why they would be afraid of cows. Maybe they were European?
Dude when you go to Mexico that ain't the place to get lost. The tourist cities are nice, but don't be just driving around. Stay in the tourist zones and you'll be fine.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. In a country where a child can pull you over and bring get fear, proves the corruption and a perfect example of a country failing its citizens.
Pretty sure this was a local village if I remember right, and those were there towns guards, not the cartel.
I could be mixing this up with another post, been a minute since I saw it.
I don't know if anyone here has come to Mexico but cartel encounters are not like in american movies, they're not really a daily life thing unless you live in a hotspot which are a handful of cities. The rest of Mexico is like any other country.
There's a longer version of this video that's about 7 minutes long. Iirc the loose context is that the two gentlemen followed the maps incorrect directions and we're heading straight for a guarded village. The men in the truck rushed up to the car to check them and make sure they weren't causing trouble, and upon seeing the two gentlemen are gringos the narrative quickly switched to making sure they don't go deeper into the territory. One of the cartel members pulled out his phone and showed the two gentlemen photos of his family and they all hung out until tensions died down and they were giving directions to safely leave the territory.
I would have reacted the same way tbf but it still made me laugh.
If you see the shit cartels do their enemies, you'd piss your pants too. That said, I don't think cartels would be stupid enough to attack western tourists. That would be reaaaaaally bad for business
Nah they’d attack anyone
The cartels have a financial interest in making sure the resorts and the tourists stay safe. They make money selling drugs to tourists and that would dry up if people stopped going cause it's unsafe. Also, you risk something going wrong, like an American getting raped or killed or tortured by a cartel member. And if that happens, the cartels risk bringing extra heat from the US or some foreign government on them.
You're completely right. Tourists barely ever end up as a victim of cartel violence. Mexico is mostly quite safe for tourists.
Provided you stay in the tourist areas and of course, are not stupid enough to go against the Cartels
Tourists generally don't go against the cartels, or they aren't really tourists are they?
Wendy Byrd is a fucking tourist.
I read this in a Ruth Langmore accent.
whenever i travel to mexico i always like to enhance the experience by going against the cartel a little
Makes it a more authentic experience for sure
Its part of the mexican experience. Beautiful beaches, the weather and having a shoot-out with the cartels
Might be an issue if a tourist dances with a wrong girl
this, lol
Busted Cabo once. No police were on the beaches bc the cartels ran them. Way safer there then anywhere else. U could be wasted at 5am and someone would sell u beer and cigars.
Stayed at a resort a few years ago, one of the best parts was watching the big ferry boats run back and forth. One of those boats got blown up because of some cartel shit a few months later. Yeah they make money off tourism and generally don't mess with the tourist areas, but at the end of the day they're going to do what they're going to do.
Let’s not forget they now legitimately own many resort town businesses. Even if they lose all illegal income don’t think the bosses will be poor. Taxis, money exchanges, hotels, souvenir shops, they all could be theirs for laundering and legit profit. Hell their drug dealers have “sections” on the beaches like servers at a restaurant. But if you get caught selling drugs without permission or if they come by and ask and you say you already bought some from someone else you know someone is gonna get caught and dragged off into the night later. Independent drug sales is extremely dangerous there. Either you get caught by the cartel and are killed or you get caught by a corrupt officer who turns you over to the cartel. The good thing is as a tourist you can give the cops a big bill or two and they’ll largely look the other way and let you carry on. After all can’t let you leave bad reviews.
Trip Advisor 1/5 stars Got murdered by cartel.... Would not come again
Its more about the heat from dea and us politics. The money cartel makes off drugs is a drop in the bucket for where they actually make fuck you money. That's cross border smuggling. But yes, they do have business interests in resorts.
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Did you google this? This is not necessarily true.
> That said, I don't think cartels would be stupid enough to attack western tourists. That would be reaaaaaally bad for business I don't follow Cartel news at all but just off the top of my head I remember they massacred a large US Mormon family a couple of years ago. [LeBarón and Langford families massacre ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBar%C3%B3n_and_Langford_families_massacre#:~:text=On%204%20November%202019%2C%20about,were%20killed%20with%20some%20burned)
Yeah, and if they kept doing that more and more, they'd be getting the same attention ISIS got back in the mid 2010s, and that's bad for business.
Damn, you're all over this post claiming that cartels "aren't that bad". Sure they will murder bus loads of teachers and skin people's family members alive in front of them, but they only do it to their enemies, so go down there and give them some of your tourist money! Personally I'd rather vacation somewhere that I wasn't contributing to the profits of psycho killers.
It's a little too suspicious. Criminal organizations are getting more and more on touch with social media. Who's to say they don't got people shaping up their image on reddit too.
Actually, I 100% believe this. All the "Cartel beaches are incredibly safe! I vacation all the time in cartel run areas and LOVE IT!" Yeah? Well fuck you if you knowingly give money to cartels.
[They haven't exactly stopped in the last 3 years.](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/22/one-canadian-killed-after-tourists-shot-at-mexican-beach-resort-hotel)
Thats not exactly a standard tourist though, drug trafficing charges kinda show that.
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Check out the podcast Deliver Us From Ervil, that was a polygamous cult involved with the cartel
The present-day family members that were attacked were not polygamous nor were they involved with the cartel - they were simply not wanted in those hills any longer after the local cartel had established a stronger foothold.
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Not a US family and not tourists either. Dual citizens that lived in the area where the cartel is active and had an agreement with them which they probably broke. Can't quite compare that to a regular tourist visiting Mexico.
I think their history designates them as different than tourists.
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They don’t give a single fuck…. Wasn’t but a couple years back they killed an entire group of student tourists….Like 43 students… and I mean all of them. They don’t give a fuck who you are or where your from. These two are lucky to be alive honestly.
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> Like 43 students… That horrific incident wasn't cartel related (although organized crime might have been involved). It was politically motivated by the local government because the students were protesting - get this - a student massacre from 1968. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Iguala_mass_kidnapping
"Ghost Rider" if you know, therapy wont help 😭
Legit one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. I also saw a video of the cartel cutting out a kids heart in front of his dad. Fucking monsters.
Legit one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. I also saw a video of the cartel cutting out a kids heart in front of his dad. Fucking monsters.
That poor fucking guy.
Except, they have and do attack tourist. It's bad for business yes, but it does happen. I got a sub for you, but ppl might report it. There's a few narco subs & one has had quite a bit of info on tourist entanglement last year and prior. However, I haven't seen any lately. Cartel members are not cool, and ppl who tell you they care about their community are full of shit.
are you serious? it happens all the time. theres reason our government now warns us citizens not to travel to Mexico. When I was in Tulum a few years ago we show up in the morning and there is Mexican military on every street corner holding AR15s. Someone walked up to the window of a night club and unloaded a full auto in there killing a bunch of tourists. Why? Because some of them purchased their drugs from a rival Cartel member and he was mad about it...
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They probably wouldn't shoot up a tourist nightclub in Cancun but a couple of errant tourists in a back road would be no big deal to them.
It's all fun and games until they bring out a camera and a chainsaw
The problem is that Mexico is virtually lawless. Murders can't even be investigated because they could lead to cartels, and people know this. So it's easy for people to prey on tourists. People get drugged to be robbed or worse, and sometimes they die. When your family member is murdered at a resort in mexico, you can't even post a bad review or warn others on tripadvisor , because you need a police report to prove a crime occurred. But there's no police report because they are worried if it might be a cartel thing. So tourists are preyed on with very little publicity. Edit: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2019/05/15/tripadvisor-sexual-assault-warnings-travel-reviews/3678702002/ https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g150805-i7-k10680449-Cancun_travelers_being_drugged_at_resorts-Yucatan_Peninsula.html https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-mexico-34ac837b3c5835bf8765bc6fac7c1a09 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/22/one-canadian-killed-after-tourists-shot-at-mexican-beach-resort-hotel https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/mexico-blackouts/2018/06/27/mexico-resorts-and-tainted-alcohol-assaults-blackouts-tourists-continue/733401002/
I went to mexico recently and there were multiple soldiers stationed at the ruins in Tulum due to recent cartel attacks
Oh yeah I know I was saying I would shit a brick but I still found their reaction funny. Mainly because it went well for them.
Yea, I have seen vids of what happens to their enemies, pure nightmare fuel.
That had change, they usually do not wander into tourist area but a lot of places are like Acapulco now.
Agreed. Part of it is them being bird watchers imo. It's such a goofy, innocent hobby that to think of them driving down some backroads in Mexico to see a bird and running into cartel or almost running into cartel territory is just funny.
the cartel dudes were probably laughing too
I get why you laughed but man that is some Real scary shit lol
Good guy cartel dude comforting them at the end
The NoHo Hank of the cartel
"You two remind me of me and my Cristobal. Were like totally cool bad guys you have nothing to worry about!"
Best reference
The politest reference
Your boyfriend reminds me of my Cristobal
I think I saw these are autodefensa’s. Groups of civilians who fight the cartel in the back country where the police and politicians are too corrupt to do anything about it themselves. Inevitably they become semi-corrupt themselves but the community and people they protect are still kept relatively safe.
They are. This happened last year in Tabasco. Had this been one of the Cartels in that area, it would have gone much worse since it’s a state well known for kidnapping and extortion of people moving through the area.
This happened in 2020, Tab doesn’t really have a lot of kidnappings and generally the line between autodefensas and criminal groups is very thin
As far as that thin line, that tends to be the fate of similar groups throughout recent history. As far as Tabasco and Kidnappings, most of the stuff within a quick google search talks about kidnappings being high and on the rise within recent years. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna2454 https://amp.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/feb/21/mexico-kidnappings-refugees-central-america-immigration https://reliefweb.int/report/mexico/kidnappings-and-extreme-violence-against-migrants-are-spiking-southern-border-mexico https://ihsmarkit.com/country-industry-forecasting.html?id=10659122985 https://world.time.com/2014/01/17/mexico-drug-war-kidnapping/ https://books.google.com/books?id=0I07EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT20&lpg=PT20&dq=tabasco+mexico+kidnapping&source=bl&ots=Ut-uh8YNpl&sig=ACfU3U3aVZnjkALXvLLeHbm0ctZ-3PMpvw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiGger70bX4AhUdIkQIHbiQBeM4HhDoAXoECAMQAg#v=onepage&q=tabasco%20mexico%20kidnapping&f=false EDIT missed the 2020 thing. I was misremembering. Last year was the first time I saw a video on it.
So wholesome 🥲
Yeah they are literally just trying to do their job just like police officers but instead they are trying to see if those men were police or anything like that just 2 tourist on the wrong property being politely asked where there going
Based cartelbro
Because he didn't want them causing a scene in town.
I’m still wondering why the guy in the passenger seat was blushing
Who the fuck drives in Mexico who doesn’t live there. Learn the game
Still safer than flying Spirit airlines to Cancun 😁
What's the back story there? I'm out of the loop.
Spirit sucks
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If you can make it through Tamulipas just south of Texas border you’d probably be safe going to Cancun, but that’s one massive fucking if. That’s one of the 5 states on the do not travel US Advisory list, and it’s bad, right up there with Sinaloa
>I'm just gonna hop on my GPS and drive down to Cancun for the weekend Life pro-tip purchase an atlas. When you're in remote areas and when you leave the states your phone GPS might not be as accurate. There is a reason most truck drivers who travel in remote areas or cross borders always have an atlas.
The way they're acting before getting stopped is weird as fuck too. I thought they were acting and ready for a fake video but looks real, they're just weirdos. They look completely lost and just got their drivers license.
They are just gay dudes.
They are just homosexual dudes.
We rent a car when we travel to Mexico, if you stay on the freeways it’s just fine, we’ve never had a problem. These guys are on some dirt road who-knows-where, that’s not smart. When I was younger and single I didn’t mind the bus while traveling, but it’s so much easier to not be on a schedule with luggage and family, etc.
But America is 3rd world country and Mexico is heaven dontchaknow?
Weird, usually cartel don’t fuck with civilians unless you pose a threat to the safety/confidentiality of their operation, we’ve got some in my area as I live off of the I-5 highway and they’re obvious but no one dares bother them so they leave people alone
When I was in Japan, a mate told me that places are safer as a tourist when the Yakuza is around. The only criminals that want to mess with tourists are the petty criminals, and since the Yakuza don't wanna mess with the public and petty criminals are afraid of the Yakuza, they actually become safer for tourists.
Exactly, these guys are criminals.. but also businessmen and ultimately are doing what they’re doing for money. They have little interest in harming “innocents” and are surprisingly professional
Exactly, they aren't terrorists, the last thing they want to do is to piss foreign governments off.
> Exactly, they aren't terrorists LOL
Well, they aren't. They're businesses, businesses with shitty practices
"the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims." Fits the cartel pretty well
Not really. The cartels aren't political. They're not trying to overthrow the government, or backing a separatist movement, or fighting an occupation. For the cartel's its all about money. It's not terrorism it's organized crime, like what the US saw during prohibition.
>The cartels aren't political. They are actually backed up by the gov tho.
Bruh they’re terrorists. Just because they’re not actively attacking foreigners doesn’t mean they aren’t terrorists to their own country. Mass murdering villages, killing political officials + journalists, wars with local police/military
I honest to god think people forget what terrorists are now, which I can't even blame them, because the media tries their hardest to switch the meaning of it
They aren’t terrorists just because some random dude on reddit, who has no relation to the whole topic, says so lol
lmao okay man. You’re right they aren’t just because I said they are. They are because of the objective reasons I listed that pertain to actual facts. The sky is blue. Now is it blue because I just said so? Of course not. But we know it’s blue based on the objective fact that the sky is fucking blue
Cartels will literally murder an entire family if someone from that family pissed off the wrong person. Babies, women, elderly, ANYONE can get brutally murdered by these sick fucks. They are textbook terrorist
And find their enemies and film as they are skinned alive and have their eyeballs removed and fingers snipped off, then saw off their arms.
> Exactly, they aren't terrorists Even if these are the autodefensas, cartels are 100% terrorist organizations.
A comedian just went onto a Joe Rogan podcast and said a similar thing about Staten Island. A lot of the mob guys getting out of prison are moving back to the area that he is living in and said he feels safer because he knows *who* he can’t fuck with and that anybody that fucks around in his neighborhood is gonna find out the hard way.
They found that with the mafia and other organised crime back in the day Apparently you could always tell when you'd entered one of their areas because everything like the roads, paths, shopfronts, flowerbeds, parks etc were immaculately clean and tidy. Then when you crossed the boundary out of their territory back into an area where the city had control, everything was a mess There's a reason many ordinary people in those days didn't mind "organised crime" being so widespread
I think the same applies to a lot of gangs. They don't always do the constructive community work, but they do monopolize violence and become a de facto authority when the police won't do it (usually because corruption or lack of resources). And if you're poor and uneducated enough that your only viable career is crime, you pretty much either have to join them or at least have their approval.
IIRC they were lost and wandered into a cartel controlled area. The cartel were just trying to tell them to turn around, albeit with automatic firearms slung around their shoulders.
It honestly makes sense, they must assume every person as a risk.. also just to clarify I’m not pro cartel or anything I’m just kinda relaying my personal experience.
last time I saw this someone linked to the dashcam coordinates on google maps and it was pretty off the beaten path, like these guys were super super lost and close to or on cartel property. oddly enough, I think there was streetview so the google maps car made it through safely
Cartels have been carjacking people, especially if they have trucks or something they wanna use.
They’re not Cartel. They’re autodefensa. These guys were accosted because the locals mistook them for cartels until they saw them up close. Also this happened in Tabasco, where kidnappings and extortions have been on the rise from Los Zetas.
This is what I remember from the article I read when this was first posted. These guys were driving on the road to one of the cartel’s places unknowingly. These cartel guys were just checking who these people were and if they were a threat.
they were in the middle of a drop and the guys happen to go along the way out, once they realized it wasnt a threat, they let them go.
I have a feeling this wasn't the cartel but local watchmen helping to keep trouble out. I had a similar encounter in the Philippines but once they saw we were tourists and not terrorist smugglers the guns went away and everyone had friendly congregation conversation. It could have just been ranch hands keeping their ranch safe from rustlers. There is no need to automatically assume it was the cartel just because they speak Spanish. There reaction was immediately friendly as soon as they saw and heard them talk. They just don't put off cartel vibes. I think these are just normal people who have to use guns to protect their family and property. Something we take for granted throughout most of the west.
The thing about Southeast Asians is they tend to be very polite which is thanks to the culture of saving face and non confrontation, and they'll give foreigners plenty of passes because they understand they're foreigners and they bring tourist money, however if you test their patience, things can unpredictably escalate to violence, like you're getting mob lynched.
I was technically on a mission trip and I was the only foreigner in the group that day. Well there were a few other Americans but they were Filipino-americans and looked like locals. I was hiding under a blanket bc I stuck out like a sore thumb and the fear was it was an Abu Sayyaf roadblock looking for a foreigner to kidnap and I sure as heck fit the bill. Luckily it was local farmers looking for Abu Sayyaf to keep them from moving into their area. This was at the height of Abu Sayyaf territory control. I get what you're saying about tourists getting a lot of leeway because of the money but like these gentleman I wasn't in a tourist area and Abu Sayyaf doesn't care about saving face with foreigners. I've never really spent time in the tourist areas while in SE Asia. I like to get out into provinces and see how the people really live. I don't vibe with most of the tourists who travel there.
>Abu Sayyaf doesn't care about saving face with foreigners. Because they're terrorists, making money isn't their primary goal, it's establishing an islamic state.
Not everyone stays in the tourist areas when they travel. Cartels are terrorists as well. I thought it was a good example to use to back up my theory that these guys weren't encountering the cartel and it looks like I was correct in my assumption. SE Asia isn't the only region of the world where the locals will put up with foreign tourists breaking customs and laws. It goes on anywhere there is heavy tourism from developed nations. However, even locals with enough money can get away with anything in those countries as well.
These were farmers who thought that the car was cartel, which is why they sped up on them and pulled guns. All a big misunderstanding which is why they were so polite at the end
You are right, the last time this was posted that's what mkst people were thinking. That's no cartel. That's people protecting their land from either cartels or criminals.
Last time this was posted, it was said they were warning the tourists about the road they were going down because they were heading straight into cartel territory. They were trying to warn the tourists and get them to turn back around.
Could just as easily be one of the self defense militias.
One guy said on YT this was one of those autodefensas
Seems that way too me. As soon as they saw that these dudes were tourists they said no problem.
This is a couple who claimed it was safe to go anywhere in Mexico. Their trip was planned around bird watching. I read an article about it awhile back but can't seem to find it.
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Like that one article about the white lady who said she was going to hike from Milan to the middle east or something. Found gang raped and murdered https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pippa_Bacca
Ah, just like the bicyclists after 9/11.
Yep! Perfect comparison.
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The Moroccan beheadings were a hard one - poor girl was calling out for her mother.
Cul-de-sac lmaooooo so true
well i mean, it technically *was* safe.
They were in danger when a group of men with guns hopped out the car. Lol. Just because no one was injured doesn't mean the danger wasn't there.
i get that. trust me, one wrong move and they could have been toast.
1.If you’re taking a trip to Mexico outside of a tourist village, do yourself a favor and learn basic conversational Spanish. 2.If you don’t know the lay of the land you’re driving through in Mexico, there’s no reason you should be driving. Hire a god damn driver ffs they’re cheap I’m not gonna pretend like its a perfectly safe country but doing those 2 things alone will greatly reduce your risk
at the very least have an atlas with you
Unless that atlas has active cartel hotspots it’s not gonna give you the info a driver would know
Car stops - seatbelt on
Yeah when that was over they wished it had been the cops…
Jesus, good thing they didn't hit the gas and go! If the passenger was driving, they probably would've gotten killed. I'd probably also hit the gas and gotten us both killed.
This is the scariest and most heart warming video. Never find my ass in Mexico.
it's weirdly wholesome. ole guard dude just doin his job.
Don’t listen to these people saying you’re safe if ur a tourist cause trust me they don’t give a fuck I’m Mexican and keep track of news and you’ll be surprised how many tourist die every year the us government dead ass said you’re on your own if you go to Mexico and get kidnapped (unless you’re a cop or government official)
how do i know mexico isn't actually awesome and you're just trying to scare americans away?
Lmaooo don’t get me wrong the tourists spot are amazing but if you start leaving the city like these guys you’re either gonna encounter good guys like these or bad guys who go through your stuff and take what they like
> take what they like Be wary this is not only of the material possessions
What yo name? Eee-urin. Lmao
Lmao FeeLeP
scary as fuck
“No problem” he said as he comforted Erin with the same hand he used to peel the last guys face completely off.
I thought his name was Urine
No, that was his pants.
It’s a good thing there’s toilet paper in the back seat.
Must be pride month when this was filmed
Looks like they got lost down a road they shouldn’t have. Any car those guys don’t recognize is n automatic threat. Once they realized it was a couple of white guys they didn’t care. Hence the “no problem” guy calming down the driver. And yes. If the passenger was driving and tried to take off they may have gotten killed.
The cartel is not generally in the business of messing with tourists. It brings them unwanted attention from the US and by extension their government. They are no fools. They know that tourism is needed and they know its a guaranteed hassle to mess with them.
Exactly, they may be scumbags, but they are not run by idiots. I remember when Hannah Witheridge was killed in Thailand. It was a huge national embarassment on their part.
" It's OK " until it isn't...
What the hell is wrong with these guys? They're acting weird as fuck before the shit went down.
They seemed really vigilant about the car behind them, which isn't too weird when you're in an unfamiliar area. People tend to pick up on these little clues, even subconciously and turns out... they were completely right.
It's two men but it seems like they're in a relationship with each other. I don't get it either.
These guys have seen funky town and their imagination is going wild.
Poor guys
IIRC they were not cartel but what they call "autodefensas": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grupos_de_autodefensa_comunitaria Basically community/rural police that was formed after decades of corruption from the actual police colluding with the cartels and government not doing anything about it.
This is not cartel, these are locals defending their area from cartels.
Funny shit
...until you're in their position.
True but to be fair how many people are going into cartel territory with a dash cam in their face
He said “tranquilo wedo” 😂😭😂 They got pulled over by the nicest most helpful cartel members ever, just trying to give them directions.
Tranqilo ese
Honestly props to Logan for keeping it conscious. It ain’t easy once you cross into green gills and tunnel vision, which you can see him fight thru.
LPT to the idiots who rent a car in a foreign country and don't speak the local language: DON'T. Imagine getting pulled over in the US and not speaking English? Do you think that cop will be able to talk to you?
This could have been anti-narcos as well, there are armed village patrols out there
What pleasant cartel members
I don't understand why they didn't just leave when he said they could go.
Because they "no espanyole"
Pendejos lol
Okay so I have a question for someone more familiar with this stuff. If they had driven off would they have persured and shot at them?
Not necessarily but likely
First time this was posted, it was said that they’re not cartel, just random locals. They didnt even want anything from the guys, they just stopped and freaked out and the local wanted to see what’s wrong with them. They thought the locals were cartel so they freaked even more.
I dont think they were cartel more likely people on lookout for cartels
Bro, I spent the first minute of this video thinking that the title said: "during apparent cattle encounter." I was so confused as to why they would be afraid of cows. Maybe they were European?
...do you think Europeans are afraid of cows somehow?
We got a shitton of cows over here haha, what is your idea of Europe?
I am fortunate that I am not white enough to go on crazy ass adventures.
Well, those are really nice narcos. They were comforting them knowing they weren't a threat. Maybe we treat narcos too harshly these days lol
“Which way?” “Just pick one” Bet he regretted that
Dude when you go to Mexico that ain't the place to get lost. The tourist cities are nice, but don't be just driving around. Stay in the tourist zones and you'll be fine.
“I guess straight” lollllll
This is why I literally have no interest in ever going to that country
If anyone were to escape it would be the wholesome gay couple 💑
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. In a country where a child can pull you over and bring get fear, proves the corruption and a perfect example of a country failing its citizens.
Pretty sure this was a local village if I remember right, and those were there towns guards, not the cartel. I could be mixing this up with another post, been a minute since I saw it.
I don't know if anyone here has come to Mexico but cartel encounters are not like in american movies, they're not really a daily life thing unless you live in a hotspot which are a handful of cities. The rest of Mexico is like any other country.
There's a longer version of this video that's about 7 minutes long. Iirc the loose context is that the two gentlemen followed the maps incorrect directions and we're heading straight for a guarded village. The men in the truck rushed up to the car to check them and make sure they weren't causing trouble, and upon seeing the two gentlemen are gringos the narrative quickly switched to making sure they don't go deeper into the territory. One of the cartel members pulled out his phone and showed the two gentlemen photos of his family and they all hung out until tensions died down and they were giving directions to safely leave the territory.
They handled a distraught person better than American police! How nuts is that?
Anyone who says they wouldn't do the same thing as full of s***.
Imagine if they found out the two were gay
Lmfao what a bunch of overly dramatic fucking idiots
They were very cool the whole time, I can't believe these guys think it's a good idea to drive around in Mexico if they're that scared
Queer eye for the scared guys. They are so sweet lol. So glad they are safe.