#862 – The Expat Files: Life, Safety, and Misinformation in Mexico and Beyond

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play and now I wonder Hello there all you ex-pad wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started All right, we're back again. You might get a little bit of the irritable pissed off Johnny today. You'll see I'm having that kind of day, you know Anyway at the end of the last show we were talking about Mexico why many gringos you talked to who've been there or even have property and maybe are even retired there

[00:49] They mostly think it's a okay because they live in gringoized areas or resort areas Though most have never really visited other Latin countries to compare it with the same goes for everyone who's vacationed at one of the Mexico Tourist spots Cancun Playa del Carmen Casa Mel Tulum, etc Gringos are out there having fun. They think it's a okay. Hey, I've found it myself It really is a great vacation Now when you're in a lot of those towns and villages that are fully gringoized and places like Cancun Which is the prime example you realize soon enough that they're pretty much not go free zones It seems like they're a world apart from the other Mexico. We've all heard and read about so what's that all about and how'd it happen? Oh and here's something that seems a bit odd when you're in one of those tourist areas

[01:35] They've always got an English language rag or two or ten Specifically aimed at gringos why because gringos and expats rarely speak Spanish So reading the papers and magazines that locals read is out of the question now if you're bilingual and pick up both Versions a local and the gringo version you'll find they're completely different in their news content For one thing you'll find in all the English language rags lots of real estate ads Then there will be local news about gringo groups and gringo club get together It's like the equestrian club the orchid club cooking clubs cigar clubs wine tasting clubs arts and crafts and Doily knitting clubs. Yes, that's gringos and expats love to import our hobbies and foibles No matter how ridiculous they might seem to the locals after all

[02:22] We've got tons of time on our hands and we have to have something to do Oh and do check out the announcement for Tuesday night bridge and chess club Wednesday poker and malt whiskey night and Thursday night gambling and AA meetings Hmm probably in the same room with the same people. Yes when you're on the tourist trail and in gringo wise town Americans have kind of transformed those places into a home away from home for better or worse Usually for the worst now aside from that you'll find in almost all English language rags very little crime reporting Nope, nothing much about what's really going on in some of the adjacent towns and villages where people are getting extorted and whacked practically every day Remember we're talking about Mexico here. So when it comes to English language gringo rags

[03:09] Most of the real nasty news is suppressed That's logical if you're gonna put out a gringo newspaper in the town you lived in and you catered to tourists and gringo business owners You're probably not gonna say much about the shootout that just happened in the adjacent town that left three young Latino gang members dead Or mentioned the three decapitated bodies that washed up on shore just 20 minutes down that beautiful white sand beach you see the only way you're gonna get the real news is by word of mouth or gossip and you know what that's worth or If you know enough Spanish to be able to read the local newspapers Which believe me in Mexico will scare the hell out of you By the way, you guys and gals listening to this show who are living in Mexico or somehow invested in Mexico

[03:54] Let me ask you the same question. How many of you read the local newspapers in Spanish? I bet not one out of 50 because not one out of 50 gringos knows enough Spanish to be able to Slag through one of those things except maybe for the classified ads meanwhile You've got those glossy local English gringo rags. Most of them free for the taking in every little coffee shop restaurant and supermarket They're great. If you're like fluff good news gringo prices and ads and If occasionally they do print some bad news, they really polish the turd. They know how to spin it Owen did you ever stop to wonder why those English language rags and magazines are always free Because they're making their money on the ads not the content and a business especially that's catering to tourists

[04:42] It's not gonna advertise if they print true and graphic articles that will hurt tourism So just remember if you pick up a free English language newspaper or magazine the articles are bound to be upbeat happy and well Let's just say extremely light on the crime reporting and devoid of the real dirt That's not to say they won't report on certain crimes in the local area if they're perpetrated on gringos That's always hot news You can bet if it's a gringo or gringo getting kidnapped or hijacked if there's local outrage gringo outrage Especially if European Canadian or US Embassy gets involved then it'll pop into the news cycle for a couple of days But if an extortionists were to kill a tuk-tuk or chicken bus driver in the town next door It might not rate a single mention in the local gringo rags

[05:31] The fact is there are some crimes against gringos and expats that don't get reported either I've heard stories and I've talked to many gringos and expats who've told me they know personally About certain crimes against expats and gringos in Mexico that never show up in the English or Spanish language papers Of course, there are crimes and misdemeanors against gringos and expats in other Latin countries too But nothing like in Mexico But it is true that most gringo tourist areas throughout Latin America and was talking specifically about Mexico now are pretty much narco free Zones. So for example, if you never go out of the city limits of let's say Playa del Carmen or Cancun You're very likely to have a nice trouble free uneventful vacation That's true of almost all Mexican tourist destinations except for Acapulco with its long-running crime sprees

[06:20] Perpetrated by narcos, of course now for those of you old enough to remember Acapulco had its day But it's passe it was the thing in the 60s the rat-pack days with snatcher Dean Martin the rest of them But it's pretty run down now and it lost its sheen long ago Now here's the thing and you have to have boots on the ground to see this if you go to any of the resort Towns in Mexico, especially Acapulco If you start driving out from the center strip and take a ride to the edge of town where the neighborhoods get trashier and trashier I guarantee it you won't have to go far before you start seeing military squads and guys dressed in camo Stationed permanently at certain selected entrances and exits. So what's that tell you now? Here's my point if you go to Guatemala El Salvador Belize Panama Costa Rica

[07:10] Practically any of the other cities and towns in the rest of Central America even South America You'll see almost none of that heavily armed military stationary checkpoint stuff unless you happen to be driving by a military base And sure, it's a fact once in a while You'll be driving along and you'll see a troop carrier Whatever or a couple of army guys well over five foot tall Standing on a corner or walking down the street But you won't see a heavily armed group of guys with half tracks and 50 cals stationed at strategic checkpoints at the major causeways Hey, these countries have their militaries and their guys have to be somewhere, right? But the point is in other Latin American countries when you see military guys, there's only a few of them generally They're on the move So for all you listeners who just can't get the idea of Mexico out of your head that should paint a pretty grim picture

[07:59] Now you've probably read or heard the rumors that the reason why places like Playa del Carmen Porto Vallarta San Miguel Allende Tulum Cancun, etc. Etc Our sort of narco crime-free zones is because you've heard the Mexican government has a heavy hand in it The government protects those places Those are the tourist jewels of their economy and they can't let their international Reputations get tarnished by too much crime and violence. Well, I'm here to tell you that's wrong The real reasons why those first world tourist destinations are as you heard pretty much cartel and narco free Is because the cartel kingpins owned tons of land in real estate in those tourist towns They've legitimized their dough. It's part of the narco business model

[08:45] Just like the mob infiltrated and owned practically all the big casinos in vegas in the 50s 60s and 70s No one would dare mess with the properties or legitimate cash cows of the mob or the narcos So it's more than narco capos Not the Mexican government that have the order out to leave the tourist and the tourist destinations alone So how you feel about that? Does that make you feel safe? Well until the next narco war anyway, huh? But you know even then if those prized tourist properties change narco hands You or we will never know about it because the real war will take place in areas not designated for tourists Which brings us back to jeff burwick and the anarcha polko story. You've heard of anarcha polko, right?

[09:30] It's a big event once a year lots of libertarians and gold bugs and bitcoin and crypto bugs Well once a year crowds of people head for the once famous hotel strip in acapulco And for a while at least a couple years ago. Jeff burwick famous for that newsletter the dollar vigilante Which is a good read by the way Well, he's the organizer of the anarcha polko events And he was putting on the push a few years back for people to move permanently to the same touristy hotel area and tourist strip Where he lives the idea was to get like-minded libertarian slash anarchists to live in sort of a free and open community Well a couple of years ago when burwick first put out the call Some people did ditch the states and ended up moving there. They say there were around 50 200 people in the first wave

[10:19] But it turned out to be a hell of a bumpy road There have even been some pretty good youtube tell-alls and testimonials from people who moved there At first all so upbeat and excited when they first got down Then there are youtube's documenting what happened some months later when reality set in and the rose colored glasses came off When it came to pass that there were a few assaults some disappearances even a gringo murder Of course these guys and burwick and his crew were never good at keeping a low profile and they did like their partying and drugs So they really stuck out Well in the end the whole idea of having an anarchist stronghold there kind of backfired and fizzled out And there's not much talk about that anymore Though the big yearly event anarcha polko still takes place and it's pretty popular

[11:08] They get some really good speakers there though. It does have kind of that slimy backstory It's even much worse than you've heard or the rumors You've heard if you want to hear the real down and out dirt on this situation Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com and i'll send you a link to the true Sorted backstory behind this anarcha polko thing. Oh and just one more thing about aca polko Remember on the last show. I mentioned that in tijuana The cops were so corrupt that the mexican federal police came in and took all their guns away from them Something like 2,600 cops were relieved of their guns in one day Well, it happened in a number of mexican cities including Acapulco turns out wednesday september 26 2018

[11:54] A little over half a year ago The mexican federales the federal police and the military swept in to take over acapulco as the entire police force of that particular famous faded resort town Was accused of being in the pockets of the drug cartels every last one of them with acapulco a city of 600,000 people considered to be the second most dangerous city in mexico behind tijuana and one of the top five most dangerous cities in the world So when they sent the army and the feds in did it work? Nope, and it didn't work in tijuana either But you don't have to believe me. Let's hear it from the mouth of ed cauldron the security specialist and combat instructor Who gave a terrific two-hour long interview just two weeks ago on the joe rogan podcast? He talked about how he was in the mexican government narco squad lost federales work in the mexican side

[12:44] He was trained by the usfeds But in the end he had to quit main reason stress and fear for his life and his family, of course, by the way Where do you think he lives now? In the states. So here's the rest of what he had to say about mexico and i'll paraphrase a bit He said when the federales and the army arrived in tijuana to take over from the police and relieve them of their guns They were overwhelmingly welcomed by a terrorized public But the mexican feds of which he was part of and the military Were corrupt to the core themselves and had no luck in stopping narco and related violence In fact, it was continuously on the rise and getting worse Then he said local mexican police chiefs who annoyed the cartels with harassment and arrest Were simply killed or tortured

[13:29] He said it happened to the police chief in tijuana and in the next largest border town tecate Yep, like the beer and where it originated from He said the tecate police chief was murdered in bed while laying next to his wife With 50 shots to his face and chest. They got the deputy police chief of tijuana, too In fact in that case They got a large contingent of gunmen surrounding his house then they killed him and his wife and his two daughters Then he said there are cartel signs everywhere in mexico He said you'll find around all the non gringo eyes towns and cities in mexico frequent dead bodies Hanging from over passes and bridges and the many Decapitated corpses and gunny sacks washing up on the beach happens all the time in places like acapulco

[14:16] Those he says are favorite cartel messages to one another So that means if you're in mexico and you're screwing around a bit and someone says don't do that or heads will roll Well, it may not be a joke Once again, I repeat no matter what you've heard that kind of violence Just does not happen not on that scale Anyway in other latin countries south of south of the border like guadamala honduras salvedor costurica panama belize ecuador bolivia Sure, there's violence if you choose to hang out in crap neighborhoods Or if you like going out getting blitz and looking for drugs That'll bring you into crap neighborhoods too and in contact with some pretty low life characters Funny thing though many backpackers hang out in crap neighborhoods because hell the hostels are dirt cheap

[15:05] Why wouldn't they be yet for all the backpackers taking their chances? You hardly ever hear of them getting assaulted or kidnapped Well robbed on occasion penny ante stuff usually then there's backpacker on backpacker crime Yeah, I've heard about that But still for the amount of cheap ass backpackers to see in really iffy places They have some kind of luck. Actually, they say god protects babies drunks old people and backpackers, right must be true Unless those backpackers happen to be tall translucent white scandinavian women hitchhiking in pairs You see those all the time hitchhiking even on desolate roads. I've seen it myself a number of times Yes, an idiotic move to be sure but who's not gonna pick them up The and they love hiking through the jungle and up volcanoes and such

[15:54] Alone and sometimes in pairs a very stupid thing to do Unless you're in the colorado or canadian rockies or the austrian alps and even then you hear stories So what i'm saying is when you're south of south of the border south of mexico There's crime, but it's on a much much lower and different scale You don't read or hear about police chiefs getting drilled full of holes by narcos or getting decapitated A new flock of bodies hanging from overpasses and bridges every morning. Nope, that seems to be a mexican thing However, I do have to say there are an awful lot of shootings muggings and stabbings during the election season in any latin country Thank god, it's only politicians slaughtering each other and that's a good thing, right? In latin america, that's the normal way politicians will cull the herd

[16:43] And that just shows you really how important those political jobs are Yep, politicians are willing to kill each other just to move up a notch in their polling position Of course, you know why that is It's because when you get elected to politics in latin america you your friends and your family are set for life That is the life of the politician patriarch in the family. That's why a lot of these guys get bumped off But in the end that does not affect us gringos and expats It seems it's only politicians and people who are in the wrong place at the wrong time who are in the line of fire Yet so many people send me emails saying oh johnny. I really do prefer mexico I hear it's so dangerous in guatemala honduras el solvador panama. You name the country Well, the bottom line is so many of you are just not getting good info

[17:29] You're reading too many conflicting blogs and seeing too many youtubes. You're just not getting quality boots on the ground or Sandals or flip-flops on the ground if you're a backpacker. So anyway, once again mexico Nice place to visit go on vacation, but I wouldn't want to live or invest there I know I know i'm gonna give emails from people saying johnny, but I have it swell down here Got my condo apartment homestead, whatever the living's cheap and easy and there really isn't much crime at all Not where i'm at. Well, I say okay good i'm happy for you But just remember one thing as the us canada europe and the other parts of the first world Start legalizing cannabis and other drugs that's starting to affect the narco bottom line So they're changing their business model. That means in mexico

[18:15] They're replacing the marijuana crops with poppy fields for the heroin trade They're producing massive amounts of amphetamines and they're mixed up in the oil pipeline and tanker theft process Then there's the extortion and kidnapping racket and that's where gringos and expats come in And since as you've heard practically all the cops and politicians are on the take no matter How you feel about your little paradise in mexico? Things will not get better nor will they remain the same now if that was just my opinion Sure, I could be wrong. But with 28 years of boots on the ground here in latin america now Well, who are you gonna believe but don't take my word for it. Send me an email the expat files gmail.com And i'll send you a couple links to articles and youtubes that well You wish you to come across long before you selected mexico as part of your plan b

[19:04] Speaking of moving along on your plan b. How would you like to get your plan b turbocharged? Well, just sign up for my july 2019 expat insider seminar Come down join me and the rest of my crew drink from the fire hose as they say Just go to www.thenewexpat.com and click on johnny's seminar link All right now along the same line since people are always talking about those caravans coming up through mexico to texas and california There's lots and lots of misinformation out there. I hear people talking and writing and I see them on the news Feeling sorry for the mothers and the kids and the plight of illegals coming across the border Well, if you believe what those bleeding heart californians and the mindless media is telling you about the so-called immigrant refugees You really must listen to the second half of the same youtube interview of that mexican cop ed calderon

[19:56] You have to hear a mexican border patrol cops boots on the ground Eyewitness view from the trenches. You just won't believe it. It's contrary to almost everything you've heard if you want the link Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com It's a real shocker. Meanwhile, you've got yet another interview from a very high placed us Government source his name is mark morgan former border patrol chief Under obama the head guy under obama this you gotta hear and i'll paraphrase He says when anyone opines that the apprehension numbers are at a historic low to support the claim that there is no crisis along Our border they're leaving out one critical factor the demographics of those illegally entering our country

[20:44] In the early 2000s when apprehensions were around 1 million a year The overwhelming majority were mexican male adults They were processed and returned to mexico within days through an expedited removal process But since 2014 we have seen a significant shift in who is illegally entering through our southern border today Family units and unaccompanied minors seek an asylum account for more than 60 percent of those apprehended The essential difference is they are not removed. They remain in the u.s Through our country's broken asylum system This new demographic of illegal aliens are caught and released into cities throughout the country So even though last year in 2018 the apprehensions dropped to 400,000 the number of illegal aliens allowed into the united states has actually increased from a decade ago

[21:36] Then he says in recent months even the overall numbers are climbing back to the dangerously high levels of the past And almost none of these are coming here and getting deported He says back during the years when there were over a million apprehensions a year all but a hundred thousand were returned Expeditiously now over a half million a year will get to stay Then in this article, there are some statements from customs and border patrol agents One says you can imagine the confusion when these illegals land in o'hare in chicago And have to find the gates for their connecting flights to newark dullest etc because they're being shifted around for weeks They've been following orders from coyotes south of the border

[22:22] Then the customs and border patrol agents do a catch and release and suddenly they're on their own and become completely lost another customs agent said A father from honduras sat next to me on the plane He said his 14 year old son and he had been routed by customs and border patrol to harrisonburg, virginia They had crossed into el paso and were picked up and put on a plane in less than 48 hours The customs and border patrol people have to move people around to distant cities Because there's no place or holding centers for the huge number of people they're seeing hundreds of thousands a month All right, then we have this report from todd benesman He's from the center of immigration studies and border intelligence for the texas department of public safety

[23:09] In his interviews with u.s custom agents and u.s asylum officers They talk about the magic phrase on the immigration forms called quote credible fear Unquote he says that agents repeatedly tell him we are under orders to grant credible fear In the high 90 percentile to all migrants with children and release them within 10 days The fraud coaching you got that now fraud coaching is so rampant and obvious That 75 of my team has quit in disgust It's catch and release catch and release in full swing Then he said migrants with kids first tell border patrol agents. They're coming to the u.s for work That's a deportable claim

[23:57] We can send them right back, but then pro migrant group lawyers who arrive on the scene Give them fake stories to tell of government persecution in their home countries to get us to check the credible fear box on the asylum form Then we have another u.s asylum officer quoted as saying elective lasix Surgery is offered to all female migrants in family detention centers and their children are given braces at no cost Then because of the catch and release protocol they're released into the interior of the states Migrants then call home with the news of these incredible benefits and the rush goes on Then we've got another u.s asylum officer saying they've learned a script that works

[24:44] Then they tell us the same persecution details over and over again Goes like this a hometown cop made me sell drugs and then beat me that represents government persecution So we check the credible fear box Then he says we have hundreds of latina moms all suddenly gay The credible fear box is checked. Yes every time With he says the vast majority of central americans coming through the texas office Totally illiterate or with no or very low education with get this large numbers of indigenist Central american indians who don't even speak spanish No interpreters for their language and there's dozens of languages So it's catch and release for them with no interview at all

[25:29] Not to mention many of the poor indigenous people are coming from countries that are dealing with major outbreaks of diseases We eradicated a long time ago. All right enough said about that depressed yet Okay, let's yank the steering wheel a bit here. We have this email from kimmy She says dear johnny been reading that costa rica supplies a hundred percent of its own geothermal energy If that's true, it's a very progressive country. They seem to be ahead of most first world countries. What's not to like about that? All right, kimmy. Here's my response. Yes, it's true costa rica provides all its own hydro thermal electric energy It's great p.r and because of that they like to spread their press releases far and wide But here's what you didn't know the costa rican state company that holds the monopoly on energy production

[26:17] Called the costa rican institute of electricity Ice ice Now where have you heard that acronym before? Anyway, the costa rican government owns all electric production and distribution because they don't have the investment capacity or know-how necessary For development of the latest generation of solar and wind renewable energy processes Even though it has all the necessary primary conditions sun wind thermal etc And though costa rican people and the government love to boast in their ads and promotions that they are world leaders in renewable energy What they avoid telling you is they've got the highest electric rates in all of latin america and the highest gas prices In fact costa rica's own investment promotion agency cinde says in the last five years

[27:05] costa rica was to receive more than a billion dollars in direct foreign investments from companies interested in partnering up with Renewable electric plants wind and solar however due to the fact that the costa rican government owns the electric power generation and the grid Private investors are not allowed to build large-scale generation plants and sell electricity to the public Hmm, you know, I could be wrong, but it almost sounds as if socialism doesn't work You've been listening to the expat files living in latin america If you need some help with your own plan b, you can schedule a one-on-one phone call with me But first download my free plan b questionnaire at New expat.com better yet if you want to get your plan b going from right up there in the states Just sign up for my nine-hour expat essentials course

[27:52] Get the perfect plan b blueprint by going to the expat files.com slash academy most famous