#1022 – The Expat Files: Driving Risks, Legal Challenges, and Secure Communication in Latin America

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 up to play and now I wonder Hello there all you ex-pat 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 got some spot-on emails today like this one from one of our many Dave's So Dave to the X power says I have some suggestions about a new expat report You might consider doing now that we may need vaccine passports for flying

[00:46] I'm considering driving to Central America specifically Guatemala from now on if you can put together a report Johnny That maybe outlines the safest roads to drive from the border states southward. That'd be great I personally have the unique ability to go through any of the US states as I deliver motor homes from the manufacturer in Northern, Indiana to points all over the US I told my Honda element behind so after the units delivered I hop in my car and drive home So I can easily pick up a dealership close to the border town and head south for a while Anyway, Johnny if you had a report like that and how you could drive down safely I'd pay for that info and I'm sure others would too signed for Toad Jones Aka one of the many Dave's that writes into the show

[01:35] Alright Dave funny. You asked that question because I have a couple of reports. I think two or three at least They've got precisely what you're asking for complete descriptions from listeners who actually made that trip down mostly from Texas They were very detailed about their trips in the paperwork necessary where they stayed which roads they went on, etc Etc. How many times they got stopped and hit for bribes more Dita's, you know, of course All this was before the covid it stuff. It had to be right people write occasionally asking me What are the best routes to take down and you know having never done that drive myself? But knowing many people who have I just send them those boots on the ground stories from the people who have But the thing is, you know when you drive down you're taking a chance For example when Bitcoin Dan drove down his mobile home from Canada all the way to Guatemala for one of my seminars

[02:22] I believe he got hit up three or four times for bribes more Dita That is got robbed twice to buy Banditos Not just cops and he also got into two fender benders along the way Of course, he was pulling a big old motor home So it couldn't have been very easy though He reported most of the roads around the cities anyway were in pretty good condition though out in the boonies You could sometimes find potholes bigger than Volkswagens and do remember if you drive down You'll be going through lots of mountainous country and some hairpin turns, too And Latin Americans, you know have a habit of passing on curves and blind spots Even though the roads are painted with a double yellow line, which means don't pass that means nothing to Latin American drivers Especially truckers and chicken buses. They always pass on curves In fact, I can't tell you how many times I've seen flipped trucks chicken buses and destroyed motorcycles

[03:11] You can bet it's almost always their fault, too That means you have to be an extremely defensive driver Oh and you have to be aware if you drive down Mexico's got states like the US has 50 they have 32 They've got their own version of state patrol cops, too And they're all corrupt meaning they're all taking bribes Fact is most of them consider bribes part of the job the extra tips they get besides their regular pay Well, that means if they see an obvious gringo with gringo plates on his car Plates from California, Texas, Nevada, etc. That's who the cops are gonna pick on Why pick on the locals when they can hit up rich gringos on vacation who are out of their element and don't speak Spanish So they really can't defend themselves. Yep. You're a target. All right, and they'll squeeze you They'll ask to see your papers in license. Of course, they'll find something wrong with them

[04:00] They'll make something up to try to trap you because your Spanish will never be good enough to go through the documents Know what they're actually saying you'll end up paying a bribe of 50 or a hundred bucks Get waved on through with a smile only to be stopped some hours later when you cross the border to the next Mexican state Because the cop will have called ahead and said hey I've got a mark for you a gringo in a green Mitsubishi Montero license plate so-and-so was good for a hundred bucks. Just saying. Yep I've heard that story many times. Of course, there's always a chance nothing at all happened to you It'll be smooth sailing especially if you're driving a normal kind of non glitzy car now Like I said, I've never made that drive But I have made the drive plenty of times from Panama City Panama all the way up to Mexico driving the other way on the

[04:45] Pan-american highway that is driving north and I've been pulled over a number of times, too So I've paid bribes in lots of Latin countries Nicaragua Honduras, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize Although in Nicaragua and Honduras, it wasn't exactly a bribe It just was a cop asking even pleading for something whether it was they didn't have enough money for gas or Christmas was coming And the kids needed presents. Yep They used a Christmas present bit too But believe me in Mexico when it comes to more detail the cops give you the hard sell nothing soft about it They've been kind of conditioned over the years to the fact that Gringos and expats will fork out dole rather rapidly other than risking having their cars towed away Even though 98% of the time the threat is really BS But as they say they've got you by the short ones, especially if your Spanish sucks now, don't get me wrong

[05:35] I'm not against driving down from the states to any place in Central America But you know you are tossing a coin because almost no one gets through completely unscathed Oh, and by the way when Bitcoin Dan got in those two fender benders one was in Guatemala and one was in Mexico He didn't want to argue whose fault it was. In fact, the cars he was involved with were rusted out Rex So he shelled out. I think it was a hundred bucks to each of them and everyone was happy I mean really what's one more dent and I rusted out completely banged up 1982 Nissan Centra Oh, and by the way, just to give you an idea how bad things can get when you're on the gringo tours trail I remember once I was in Costa Rica as the Canadians say in a big supermarket parking lot I had the basket in the parking lot I'm loading the groceries into the trunk and you know how carts have a way of kind of taking off and

[06:22] Rolling away from you. Well mine did and touched this guy's piece of crap car and get this the guy He's probably 30 years old. He walked over and said I owed him I had to pay money for the damage I did to his car with a shopping car now his car was not new In fact, I think was more like seven or eight years old and had a number of dings bangs and scratches in it And I could tell he didn't have a garage because the Sun had baked the hell out of his paint job and upholstery You know how cars get especially in the tropics when they're continuously in the Sun day after day And you know in that moment when that guy came up to me and said I owed him for damages to his car I thought this guy's your typical jaded Costa Rican and you know those shopping carts can get away from you That's why they have plastic bumpers on them So you really have to slam into another car having intent to actually do any damage

[07:10] But since I was an obvious gringo in the most gringo eyes Latin American country The mindset there is that every gringo is a dollar sign Oh, and he could speak in broken English too because you know practically all Costa Ricans know some English That's the other legacy of too many gringos in the country. So anyway, we got into it a little bit I told him he was crazy his car was a junk Show me how the scratch wherever it was was any different than the 30 or 40 other scratches in his car But he wasn't but she was trying to sink a hook into a gringo So he called over the parking lot reticot who also spoke a bit English I said would you look at this guy's car and tell me which scratch I'm Responsible for and get this the rent a cop took the guy's side and said how much do you think it's worth and the other Guy said oh around a hundred bucks Hmm, it figures. Isn't it funny that a hundred bucks seems to be the bandage that cures all wounds

[08:00] So what I do I said, well, why don't you write down my plate number and sue me and I even walked over the front Of the car and read off the numbers on the plate for him Then I said let's call our insurance companies. We'll have them come over here and fight it out Okay, and that's when the conversation ended because you see the guy had no insurance and believe it or not in most Latin American countries It's illegal not to have car insurance So basic liability for something like a hundred to two hundred bucks a year But almost no one with a dinged out junk car ever gets it But the thing is you see you're supposed to have it if you get into an accident You're automatically in the wrong you're guilty. So you got to fork out the damages again Almost no one with a junk car ever does that's why there are so many court cases where a judge has ruled in one guy's Favorite in an accident because of no insurance and the other guy's been ordered to pay but he just never does and there's no

[08:46] enforcement to go out there to make them pay so as it turns out there are Thousands of people driving the roads in every big and small Latin American City who got court judgments against them for some amount They're supposed to pay though Most never fork out a cent and the only time a guy like that will ever go to jail even though he doesn't have The required insurance is if someone in the car accident died or someone was injured enough to end up in the hospital but for simple fender benders people with shit boxes and no insurance just walk away and Sometimes repeat offenders will abandon their junk car and leave the scene and it's the people with decent newer cars that suffer which is reason 2426 why it's not a good idea to have a brand new high-end car here in Latin America

[09:31] The fact is it'll cause you a lot of stress You'll end up worrying about it all the time because no new car ends up staying new for long Not with all the dickhead drivers down here Oh, and if you factor in that up to 50% of motorcyclists don't have valid drivers licenses That should be reason enough not to get a nice new car, but I digress. What were we talking about? Oh, yeah driving down from the States to Central America Well again, I've got some nice very thorough boots on the ground stories from people who've done just that So if you're interested in looking at stuff over send me an email the expat files at gmail.com All right now comes an email from the altiplano drifter. We haven't heard from him in a long time He was expat insiders seminar alumnus. He says Johnny I want to buy two specific handguns that are widely available in the States

[10:17] Does Guatemala City have a good selection of handguns at reasonable prices or should I buy them here and ship them by? Reppity to express or other courier service cheers signed the drifter. All right, mr. D You say you've got two specific handguns in mind that are widely available in the States Well, I'll tell you this if they're widely available in the States They're available in Guatemala because you see Guatemala City alone I think's got something like 50 gun stores without very wide selection and once you're a resident You can buy as many guns as you want Problem is though you see the Guatemalan government and all Latin American Governments that allow guns put about a hundred percent tax on your gun So whatever you can buy up on the stage You'll pay probably around twice as much for it down here

[11:03] The other catch 22 is that even if you own those guns up in the States and you try to ship them down They're likely to be stuck in customs for months even years and then you'll pay a hundred percent import tax on those Shipping them down is just no easy process at all I'd advise highly against it my advice if you have guns up in the States Sell them and once you get down here buy something similar locally, so then you might ask why it's such a huge gouge Well again, that's because governments have a hell of a time collecting taxes down here Almost no one pays income tax and if they do pay it It's a tiny amount below 10 even 5% so then lard ass corrupt Latin governments Have only a few other ways to pick your pockets legally number one is through the value-added tax You know that 10 15 20 depend on which country you're in tax that supply it to everything you buy

[11:51] Number two the gas tax they hit you heavy there too Extremely heavy. There's usually a hundred to two hundred percent tax on gas That's why here in Latin America It's usually three to four bucks a gallon Depending on which Latin country you're in and the spot price of a gallon of unleaded gas today is a dollar forty So whatever you pay over that is pure thievery pure tax and the third way Latin governments collect money to eventually steal is through stupid brain-dead first-world government Donations grants and joint failed programs like the failed war on drugs in fact It's been estimated by various think tanks that at least 20% is stolen right off the top By Latin politicians and bureaucrats with an additional 50% of that money wasted or squandered along the way But you knew that already right maybe not the exact numbers

[12:38] But you knew it was completely out of control bottom line mr. Drifter buy your guns when you get down here sure You'll get gouged, but you'll have your guns. They'll be legal, too All right now an email from Brett a gentleman who's signed up for the next expand insider seminar who my seminar logistics lady Rita set up for a series of dental appointments in Guatemala City So even though I postponed the seminar which is supposed to kick off this week Brett decided to come down and get the dental Work done, so he's reporting and he says Johnny. It's a beautiful day here in Guatemala I went to see dr. Alex yesterday, and he was great probably the best dentist I've ever been to he did the x-rays exam cleaning came up with a treatment plan and scheduled my visits with him over the next Couple of weeks thing is I've got some friends who need serious dental work, too

[13:25] And they've been just living with it because it's so expensive in the US when they found out what I was doing Naturally they want a full report on my return So there's a good chance that dr. Alex may be getting several more Delaware gringos in the next few months Thanks so much for the recommendation Johnny signed Brett by the way You know a lot of people who come down to my expat seminar They've got other missions on their bucket list like for example Brett and the dentist others are looking for health care insurance Apartments they need to see other specialists, or they might be checking out helicopter schools for their kids Everybody's got their own wish list And we're here to help the thing is you see when you make plans to come down for the seminar You've got the option of hooking up with the rest of my network Which is really one of the huge advantages of coming down in other words you don't have to reinvent the wheel

[14:14] We've got it all covered for you and by the way. I don't get a cent for the referrals I just want to see you get settled with the right people so anyway I just thought I'd read that email from Brett who told me before he came down But I'd made contact with dr. Alex that the money He was saving on the cost of his treatment would pay for his entire flight his lodging and the seminar How do you like that? Oh wait a minute. There's a PS to the earlier email the drifters email he says Johnny Forgot to ask you about the travel situation currently in Central America and Guatemala I heard it may be partially or totally shut down once again. Is that true well drifter? I'm glad you asked that question in fact I've got a boots on the ground story that just came in from Chris who made that flight last week He says hey, Johnny just this Thursday. I flew from O'Hare to Guatemala laying over in Houston and back on Friday

[15:04] I was just popping into Guatemala for that one-day residency requirement. All right, let me stop here for a second You know in Guatemala once you get permanent residency You only have to stop back in the country one day a year to maintain it though I got to say they're pretty lax about it with this covid it thing So for all you guys and gals out there who've got residency and are worrying about that one day popping in During this covid it thing. Well not to worry. You will be accommodated. All right, then Chris says Johnny I was worried about the covid it test because if I got a false positive Not only would I not be able to fly into Guatemala, but I would miss work for no reason So I took a PCR test Monday at noon and got a negative result on Tuesday morning However, I waited for that negative result before I booked my flights For now the rule state the test must be done within 96 hours of arrival in Guatemala

[15:55] Though I had heard 72 hours from multiple sources Thing is they don't seem to care at all about social distancing on the flights anymore Just wearing a mask if you're not eating or drinking ridiculous, of course, but dems the rules Anyway, when I got to the United Airlines desk at O'Hare They said they had to make sure I got the test also it has to be a certain kind of PCR test now I don't know if someone could get a test that's not exactly on the approved list I don't know the worst part of it was I had to go through a body scanner when I left Guatemala First time ever on any flight and they wouldn't let me opt out There were only two Guatemalan agents running the scanner and they didn't speak English I made a scene and a bilingual passenger helped me translate but to no avail Then as I boarded the plane, I was pulled aside for another inspection

[16:44] Maybe because I made a stink for the scanner However, when I arrived at customs in Houston several people in front of me got facially scanned there Fortunately, I asked and the agent said it wasn't exactly required But if you don't ask wonder how long that'll last now lastly I had a vented n95 mask with me Did you know they don't allow vented masks on flights? So I had to wear a second regular mask over my n95 mask. What the Why not another mask to put over that mask to protect me from the original mask? Then what happens if there's an emergency in the oxygen mask in the plane drops down you put that mask over the second mask that Went over the first mask. I suppose the mask police will let us know about that Oh and the flight attendants even said no vented masks during their safety

[17:33] Demonstration man. Is there anybody in control whose brain has not turned to mush signed Chris man Talk about being ruled by imbeciles and nitwits no social distancing on the planes, but you gotta double up on a mask You know, I still love that joke where the guy walks into a doctor's office and says doc When is this covid you think gonna be over and the doc says don't ask me. I'm not a politician Then comes this email from Brian. He says Johnny I just listened to your show that came out on Sunday January 10th You are absolutely right about the fact that Latinos don't know or care about online privacy and security Case in point a year ago. I had to help a friend a Latina by an airline ticket Before we began to discuss how to pay I received a photo of

[18:20] The front and the back side of her credit card by what's up speaking of what's up Did you hear what's up users are now required to agree to share all of their data with Facebook? Or maybe that suck a turd guy that owns Facebook got cold feet from stealing user data So he decided to force users of what's up to click on that button that says yes You can take my data and use it against me or sell it to the highest bidder Now the fact is this new news about what's up has made millions begin to migrate to similar messenger apps like telegram Owned by a Russian named Pavel Durov Apparently privacy and security are better with telegram signal and viber. They're much more secure alternative What's up like apps? Oh and about the covid it thing

[19:07] I live in Denmark and the prime minister here is beginning to run out of new covid restrictions for our country The latest is that you're not allowed to enter Denmark if you don't have a negative covid it test and the tests can't be any More than 24 hours old that means if your front Denmark and have a positive test You're not allowed to enter your own country anymore And me who thought that always being able to go to your home country for security etc was part of your human, right? But apparently not if you cough a few times or have a sore throat Anyways, thanks for all the show is Johnny I've heard them all and it's really amazing how everything you tell is so much like what I experienced in Paraguay Where I lived for six years in the 80s and traveled to back and forth most every year signed Brian

[19:53] Well Brian, thanks for the update on how crazy things are getting in Europe now about that What's up thing? You've heard me say many times before that. It's the lifeblood of Latin America Everyone has it that means you better have it too or you won't be able to get a plumber or order a pizza or even talk to Your bank representative. Yep. That's right You know when you go to a bank and sign up for an account you'll be assigned a bank representative Well the other day I tried to get a hold of my bank representative I called you know the central telex number gave the person's name and guess what they gave me the person's What's up number and I said that's it. That's all only the what's up number. They said yeah, that's how everyone even Professionals are communicating with people these days and it's absolutely true that every single Latina and Latino

[20:39] I know has no problems with sending their credit card or passport scans Contracts hospital data doesn't matter. They just take a video or photo and set it off on what's up Then again 95% of Americans do exactly the same thing with fake book and twaddle So most Americans are just as clueless Oh and for all the idiots out there addicted to Facebook Twitter and tick-tock any social media platform including Instagram And of course, you all know I'm not on those platforms. Here's how I look at it Tell me if you agree or not being popular on social media. It's like being rich in monopoly money I think you're with me on that However, the problem at hand is what's up now if you've been keeping up with the news what Brian said about what's up? Changing their rules and handing over all your debts and stats to fake book

[21:25] You may have noticed that what's up stock has dropped something like 13 to 15 percent after that announcement Well, it certainly wasn't latinos that were canceling the service in favor of one of the other more secure platform It was Americans and Europeans dropping it now as for me I have what's up because I'm forced to like I said can't get a plumber of pizza without it Not that I eat pizza, but I've also switched to a hundred percent secure and dec and encrypted service called signal Look it up S I G N AL comm it's exactly like what's up though No one records or holds any files or data, but still with any cell phone app I would never scan a passport credit card hospital records, whatever But at least if you use signal or telegram, they say that's a great one, too Your chats and texts are completely secure. No one can get unless of course

[22:12] There's some kind of huge hack and even so they're protected because they're in to end encrypted So anyway, just to advise everyone out there my advice switch to telegram or signal Then hit that button that asks you if you want to include all your contacts so you can hook up with everyone again now Of course, you won't be able to talk to text or communicate with your contacts until they download that signal app That's S I G N AL calm Remember the point is once you have it you could talk and text freely basically giving mr. Suck a turd a virtual middle finger So if you're coming down to Latin America, or you've got a plan B in motion Go ahead get what's up because you'll need it to talk to people down here But when discussing anything critical at all tell them you'll do it with signal or telegram And they'll download the program takes about three minutes, and you're all set by the way

[22:57] I got that notice from WhatsApp to saying they were gonna take all my data and give it to suck a turd That would be starting February 8th, and if you don't click the accept button They say they're gonna block you from various parts of the service. I've got the wording right here It says our platform will be also collecting users activity on WhatsApp your service settings your interactions with other WhatsApp users the time and duration of your other activities with WhatsApp users your log files as well as Performance reports and logs now personally I'd like to believe that mr. Suck a turds in for a big-ass whooping though if I see him enough to get up front and personal I'll just punch him in the kisser. You know I'm thinking half the world hates that guy now He deserves it, but you know there's this thing called karma

[23:43] I didn't much believe in it before because I've always thought life isn't fair however I noticed once in a while it does kick in oh and speaking of losing your privacy How about this did you know that cell phone apps have found a new insidious way to spy on your information? By copying the contents of your clipboard data You know what the clipboard is right for example if you're using windows on your computer, and you copy something It'll say when you right-click do you want to copy this to the clipboard that way? It's always in the computer memory to paste anywhere you like during that session But what you didn't know and I didn't either until recently revealed Is that a number of big-name companies behind popular cell phone apps like reddit tick-tock LinkedIn etc etc are actually? Copying and storing the contents of your app clipboard so who discovered that well these

[24:35] Violations were uncovered after a roll-out of a new privacy feature released on iPhone iOS 14 turns out it alerted users When applications they had opened were copying their clipboard and storing it which meant that various applications are keeping records of any information You've ever copied pasted or simply stored on your clipboard and whether you know it or not You're using your clipboard all the time for example every time you copy and paste so what's it mean well? That means they're not only copying the information that you're used between applications to copy and paste But also information including highly sensitive personal data such as social security numbers passwords credit card numbers bank routing numbers bank security codes and cryptocurrency Addresses because remember to send or receive cryptocurrency you have to copy and paste one of the addresses which ends up on your clipboard

[25:28] and that means all that information and more can be sold and accessed by third parties and Since the US federal government has yet to pass an all-encompassing law adding the protection of personal data It follows that there's no requirement for companies to disclose whether or not they are copying your clipboard data and storing it However, even if there were federal guidelines none of that would matter because other countries are not subject to US laws So then how can you avoid companies stealing and storing what you have on your clipboard? I don't know that's to be determined. I'll be checking it out for sure though and let you know However, I've always got a cleaner program installed on my computer That is my laptop And I always run the cleaner after every session and in the settings the options section That asks you what you want to eliminate or clean always check the box that says clipboard

[26:16] Then it'll get wiped after every session however as far as the clipboard in your smartphone I don't know. We need more information on that. We'll be looking into it for sure. By the way That's one of the ways people can hack your cryptocurrency It's that moment when you copy that 40 something character Cryptocurrency address that you're most vulnerable because you see there are some hackers that can implant code in your computer to recognize You've got a crypto address on your clipboard and as you copy and paste it the malicious software Replaces it with another address So if you don't double-check that address before you send or receive money, you just might be sending your crypto to a hackers address That's why you absolutely have to have a treasure or an anno ledger wallet because right before you send the dough both of those hard Wallets will display that address and it better be the one you're sending to and if it is you click yes or confirm

[27:06] And you're off to the races If not, you've been hacked then you just abort the process and you're okay By the way, if you really want to get into crypto and you want to be absolutely safe and learn all those tricks You should look into Captain Mango's crypto course for beginners He'll help you take all the stress and the guesswork out of buying selling and moving crypto around and much more if you're interested And many have taken advantage of Captain Mango's course already send an email the expat files at gmail.com You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B We can schedule a one-on-one phone or Skype consult just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com and if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week long expat Insider seminar in Central America where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B

[27:54] Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com No spamos