#968 – The Expat Files: Navigating Uncertainty 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 out to play and now as 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 All right, got some bad news and some very good news today. First. Let's start with the bad news Of course as you might have guessed it's coronavirus related. It's not that I think that the coronavirus thing is getting worse I think there's just lots of fake news out there

[00:46] But the world or world governments can't seem to make up their minds what they're gonna do about it regarding social distancing Masks travel testing and detection Damn, the bureau rats just can't seem to make up their tiny little minds about anything Well, that's what you get when you vote for people who've got two brain cells fire in between a spirochete Hmm spirochete, what's that? Well, look it up and you'll get the joke And the scientists well at least once in the popular media Most of those guys work their whole lives on income from big corporate and government grants Hey, you know, I know lots and lots of scientists and engineers and some of them work for government And you know what the good ones tell me and it makes them sick, too The most important person you could ever hire for a government research job in the sciences is a guy or gal

[01:37] Who's an expert at writing up get this grant proposals? No, it's not the value of the scientists himself We're talking about people who are experts at writing up grants so that you could keep the lab the experiments And yes, the bureaucracy going. Yep It's a sixth system where the grant writer is more important than the scientists doing the research So if you thought the world was corrupt, but maybe just maybe science was pure You don't know the half of it Of course, if your research depends on government money or big pharma money, for example, ie who or Bill Gates Who do you think they're beholden to and where their bias is when they write up their results? Need more proof. Well, I know a biologist who works at Abbott Labs In Chicago, you know Abbott Labs the drugmaker. He said, you know what Johnny?

[02:24] I like my work and I make a ton of money But it's a little disturbing to note that when we go through our FDA approvals on drugs Somehow the results most always end up the way we want them to now if that doesn't scare you hmm Yep, I know science is supposed to be science and the truth the truth But apparently since this covid thing came out There's all different kinds of truths out there and that alone should have Socrates rolling in his grave What ever happened to truth science and logic you tell me but I digress but not too much That was a lead-up to that bad piece of news. I wanted to give you Unfortunately due to circumstances well beyond my control I've decided to cancel my upcoming August 2020 seminar and believe me not for lack of attendees trying to sign up I've got plenty of those and a lot more ready to pull a trigger but and here's the crux of it

[03:13] governments and I'm talking about the US government and Governments in Latin America just can't seem to make up their retarded minds. Yep I said the r-word retarded now, don't send me any email saying I can't say the r-word I just did should have been the f-word, but I thought I'd clean it up a bit for you Yes government bureaucrats are retarded about most everything But especially in regards to how they're handling border and airport openings and closings who they quarantine and who they don't The infinitely variable social distancing and mask usage when and where you can go outside and when and where you can drive Not to mention every state in the Union has different lockdown rules and regs What the f*** is up with that? And now we've got every talking head in the lamestream media these days talking about a second wave of the virus

[04:01] Meanwhile, you've got 180 degree conflicting reports coming out of places like Germany and Italy saying the virus is no more. It's done It's burnt itself out which only reinforces what I've been saying all along is for every expert. There's an equal and opposite expert Anyway, I just saw that Panama once again locked down their airport El Salvador has got conflicting reports The Mexican airports are open for the time being but they could close them down any second Guatemalan airports Which we're supposed to have been completely open by August 1st have moved the date to September 15th Ecuador and Colombia the same all of course subject to change and the immediate idiotic whims of government bureau rats who are just Parroting what they see coming out of first world bureau rats who know practically nothing about science

[04:49] But you knew that already, right? anyway Since the seminar was supposed to launch on August 21st That means with all this government back-and-forth lunacy people coming down could get waylaid or sidetracked at airports and borders And that would not be good. So after extensive discussions with my seminar staff and attorney We've decided to scratch this one. We'll be moving it up to January 2021 Then once again, we'll be back into the usual seminar cycle because you know for the past 10 years the seminars I've always been in July and January now if you've been paying attention You know my July seminar for this year was moved to August because of the corvid virus That's the first time in 10 years. We've ever moved the dates

[05:35] But now with this so-called second resurgence of Covid whether it's BS or not Those government shit for brains lunatics are having a series of brain farts yet again And you know anyone with half a brain can see they're making decisions based on bad science and just rolling the dice So anyway for all of you who've already signed up for the seminar that's supposed to launch in August You can either get a refund or we can hold your deposits and payments till the January seminar Though actually none of this should come as a surprise to anyone. I've been saying for over a year now I don't know how long I can continue doing these seminars and as you can plainly see I was right about that Not that I want to quit doing the seminars. I like meeting and talking to people who are smarter than I am But you know, I've been warning people for a long long time

[06:22] You know getting your ass and your assets out of the country is still doable now But in the near future, it will be virtually impossible Governments are broke and bankrupt with us carrying the biggest debt load in all of history And they will do all they can to keep the sheep from leaving the barn, you know Alright, so I repeat the seminar for August 2020 has been canceled Which makes it all more imperative and urgent that you try to make it down to my January 2021 seminar Here's the dates. So grab a pen and write this down. It'll be from Friday January 8th through Thursday night, January 14 That's 2021. Of course, I'll be keeping you posted and giving you updates along the way. So stay tuned You know speaking of having a plan B and getting out of Dodge

[07:08] My dad always told me I could have anything in the world I wanted with the hitch being I just had to work for it. I wasn't born or brought up wealthy or rich I was kind of what you might say slightly lower middle class though occasionally not always I got an allowance of a quarter But only if I washed my dad's car Imagine that a quarter. Hey, don't laugh back then in the late 60s If you looked in your changed or at lots of quarters that were still made out of real silver Actually 90 percent silver 10 percent copper all real silver coinage had 10 percent copper for added strength now when I said don't laugh don't laugh because back then a quarter had the purchasing power of Two bucks today. So in effect by today's inflationary standards every time I washed his car. I got two bucks

[07:59] Don't believe it if you do a search you can easily find what they call an inflation calculator and you plug a dollar in For whatever year you're thinking about and plug in today's year And when you see the sad results, you might think it's a mistake or a typo, but it's not So a dollar in the late 60s was worth about eight bucks. Meaning a quarter was worth two bucks What a revolt and development, huh? courtesy of guess who those friendly funny money thieves at the Federal Reserve because you know They're the ones whose mission statement says they exist solely to stabilize the dollar and the money supply Nice job fed you're fired And of course now that the US is pumped something like eight trillion dollars into the money supply in the last couple of months Look out you only hope to preserve your wealth gold silver Bitcoin and bank accounts property and land outside of the US

[08:51] Where it can't be confiscated. Of course, that means having a plan being getting out of dodge Anyway way back when my old dad said the same thing that old Benjamin Franklin said in Little Richard's almanac That's a little richer. I meant poor Richard's almanac Little Richard just died, huh? Good golly miss Molly. That's why his name was in my head so anyway I knew at a young age the harder I worked the luckier I'd get and I also found out early when you rely solely on yourself Instead of the government you can't be manipulated or controlled Of course that no longer applies to anyone living in the USA Because you can work and save and in a New York second some ass can sue you or defame you on social media And you can't fight back not to mention the US alphabet agencies could lock up your bank account with just a phone call

[09:39] Nope, they don't need a court order The feds can block your bank account and passport for a hundred reasons and you won't even know it Till you try to go down to the bank and get some cash or make some travel plans to go abroad Though we are living in very interesting times every time you go online You see more evidence of the social and financial destruction of the US and basically all the first world The sad thing is you've got media hacks and journalists from formerly prestigious newspapers and magazines like the New York Times The Washington Post Chicago Trib LA Times Miami Herald Atlantic Monthly and the New Yorker magazine, etc Etc just loaded with fake and real news Even those illustrious highbrow science journals like the Lancet New England Journal of Medicine nature science magazine, etc, etc

[10:28] They've got a mix of fake and real articles, too So how can you tell what's real or fake? I mean look everywhere you turn there's talking heads Just reading words they didn't write plus so-called experts and scientists with more degrees than the thermometer Telling us completely different things from one day to the next again. The question is who do you believe take the virus? Is it spreading? Is it mutating? Is it dying out? Everybody's got a theory about the virus. Is it natural? Is it man-made that it come from China from the US From a bat from a lab from Kardashians, but is it less deadly than the regular flu? Is it worse than the Spanish flu? Can you get it from your cat your sex toys George Soros dentures the UPS guy are the numbers inflated? Are they under reported was it released by accident on purpose does Bill Gates have the patent?

[11:16] What about those false positives and negatives and the test being only 40% accurate. What about toilet seats beards and doorknobs? I tell you it's absolutely ridiculous All I can really say is that preppers will have their revenge at least to let ammo and freeze-dried food runs out Though if you're an optimist every cloud does have its silver lining one of which is at least a small percentage of smart Americans are taking Responsibility they say the government I'm working on a plan B because they realize the government's not there to help them Ultimately, the plan is to get the hell out of Dodge and the really smart forward-thinking ones have already done it So while huge numbers of people initially obeyed government commands that ended up destroying a lot of people's lives With people staying home shedding their businesses and becoming good slaves

[12:04] You know the saying the best slave in the world is the person who thinks he's free now about that silver lining Some are actually relearning the skills of gardening and cooking at home. What a novel idea And though your intestinal bacteria may be uncomfortable with anything other than high fructose corn syrup ding-dongs and happy meals I assure you home-cooked meals are something to be savored. In fact, it's the daily routine and most Latin American households Meanwhile back in Cleveland the sales of security cameras guns and ammo Dobermans and Rottweilers have gone through the roof and you know the true mark of just how crazy things have become up by you It's the fact that ever-growing numbers of liberals Democrats and anti-gun folk are now lining up at their local gun stores

[12:50] Hmm, isn't it funny when people are in your neighborhood tearing it up burning cars busting windows, etc, etc Suddenly those old white privileged slave owners whose statues are being defaced and pulled down The guys that wrote the Second Amendment to the Constitution, you know the right to bear arms Well, maybe Mount Rushmore doesn't need to be dynamited after all though. I could see it going that far We're not in the endgame. You know, can't you just picture the new BLM Mount Rushmore? Obama L Sharpton Jesse Jackson George Floyd and Maxine Waters Which brings to mind a famous line in a 1990s pop song gag me with a spoon But I digress man. Did I digress speaking of having a plan B and getting the hell out of dodge

[13:36] We haven't even mentioned defunding the cops and mandatory chips and vaccines yet Which begs the question after all that insane chaos who in the hell would ever want to become a cop? You know, you don't have to be a genius to realize that from now on every cop will be running scared Forget about to serve and protect they need to change that slogan How about to stand around and watch? Hmm because you know from now on cops will not want to engage Because they know the whole world's just waiting to catch him in a gaffe on camera You know what that means don't you? Most property and business owners and residents will have to fend for themselves when it comes to riots looting and protection from the angry mobs People are finding it's not cool anymore to live in medium and large-sized cities

[14:23] Oh, but there's lessons to be learned here that no one seems to want to talk about like social distancing and mandatory masks are not Long-term strategy nor are shutting down small businesses while letting the big boys stay open That's not a long-term strategy either and worse the most destructive of all to the working man Is that pumping trillions of dollars into the economy most of it to big banks businesses and corporations and political cronies? While punishing little guys savers with zero percent interest rates That is not a long-term strategy either in the end. It's a recipe for disaster and hyperinflation If you don't believe that you need to read a history book a book that was not financed by the US Department of Education Alright, alright, I know what you're thinking Johnny you're way off point

[15:10] You're supposed to be talking about living working playing and or doing business in Latin America That's your thing. After all the show is called the expat files living in Latin America, right? Well, though that little rant may have gone on too long It does lead us to the inescapable fact that we have to get the hell out of dodge and of course besides setting up a Nice comfortable plan B for yourselves. Your ultimate goal should also be to get a second nationality That means a second passport and you know for many years on the show I've been talking about how to do that in steps always mentioning that the residency and passport programs in various Latin American countries are Changing all the time and always harping on the fact that it's getting harder and harder to more hoops to jump through Of course, the traditional first step to getting a passport is to get your temporary or permanent residency first

[15:57] That's a must and that generally takes from six months to a year to get processed then after generally around five years You can apply for your nationality and passport. Of course, there are a few Latin countries where it's not five years It's less for example Dominican Republic once you've got your residency there it takes only two years or so now some gringles and expects have gone to Paraguay because they Have a fast-track residency passport program that allows you to do the whole thing from start to finish in much less than five years However, I just recently spoke to two expat gringles both who came down to one of my earlier expat insider seminars And they went through the Paraguay process Now they're telling me to get residency is easy But to get the passport you have to jump through all kinds of hoops I was really surprised to hear that but again things are always changing all the more reason to get started right away

[16:46] Bottom line when things change they almost never get easier Except in rare cases and that's part of the very positive development. I mentioned at the very start of the show Yes, something very positive and amazing has happened in the world of residencies and second passports It's something that never would have happened except for the onset of the corona virus So listen closely you might want to jot a few things down talk about a silver lining But again things are changing so this particular offer won't be around forever I'm sure that now, you know this corona virus thing has completely wiped out tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean islands That means governments who are always broke anyway are utterly and completely starved of cash

[17:32] Now before we get deeper into the details of this new passport program, we have to ask the question Why would you need a second passport? Well, because if you do you'll always have a place to go and you'll be able to continually travel if that's your wish No matter what restrictions or barriers are laid down in your home country your home country being for example the US or Canada So if passport number one is blocked or restricted Then passport number two is what you can use to get the hell out of Dodge if you ever need to Of course getting out of Dodge should be the endgame For example at this very moment when your country ie the US is in heavy crisis The government always makes it increasingly difficult for you to leave remember No government wants the sheep to leave the barn

[18:18] especially when the sheep are sheared to the tune of more than 50% of their income and For those of you who say hey, that's not right Johnny. I only paid 21% last year Oh, so that's what you think, huh? Just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com and I'll give you a list of about a hundred Taxes you didn't even know you were paying all of them adding up to well over 50% of your income I know I know when you first bring up taxes people think of federal income taxes And if you're the average earner you pay between 20 and 30 percent, right? But that's just the biggest tax out of about a hundred Tell me an email if you want the list now most people don't realize it But the US denies and or cancels existing passports every day So if you're delinquent on your taxes old child supporter alimony are involved in a lawsuit

[19:07] Just to name a few of the more common reasons your passport can easily be blocked or canceled And if you think they block or cancel just a few here or there man, are you wrong? You might not realize it, but your passport doesn't even belong to you It's property of the US government says so in the fine print right on the thing turns out in 2019 the US canceled or blocked more than 360 Thousand passports and that's just from people who they believed were late with their back taxes No proof required just a phone call and an order from the Treasury Department and your existing Passport is black so think of that second passport as one of the best insurance policies you can have But as mentioned it normally takes from start to finish starting with residency around seven years Now the thing is most people are optimists and they never figure a financial or social collapse is coming

[19:55] They think everything in their world in their neighborhood and their lives just continues to chug along So it really does figure that the most creative best and brightest people people with foresight and the least amount of baggage to Head for the exits first Those are people who already have residency in a foreign country and many have second passports, too So basically especially since the year 2000 there has been a small trickle of people getting a second passport But now there's a sort of generalized low-level panic for smart people who've been sitting on the fence They see what's happening and they're thinking it's now or never. That's also why there's so much interest in my upcoming seminar Speaking of those seminars. You should see the high quality of people that come down In fact some of the smartest people I've ever met come to my seminars

[20:42] Some even twice and three times as repeat offenders and I have to tell you when I first started doing those seminars It was a bit hard for me to get used to the fact that I was nowhere near the smartest guy in the room And you know what? Every single person who's been to one of my seminars They've all got one thing in common besides being creative smart and forward thinking They all have a burning desire to get a second passport and some of them have them already Obviously, they saw the writing on the wall way before the COVID virus thing popped the everything bubble That's why so many of my expat insider seminar guys and gals Opted to kill two birds with one stone when they came down to the seminar They applied for a Guatemalan residency at the very same time That means for them that five-year second passport clock has been running However, depending on the circumstances money time, etc

[21:28] Some people can't or won't be able to wait five years actually about seven to get a new Nationalian passport a slow and easy way though Some people want or need a passport fast really fast and of course legal too And yes, there are ways there are also huge passport scams out there to just do a search There are all kinds of companies lawyers and expediters that promise for a large fee to get your passport But believe me 90% of them are scams So then how does the average or above average person weed these guys out? Who can you trust? Now you longtime listeners know in my 10 years of doing this show and around 970 episodes now I've not endorsed a single one of these programs or any of these passport services for one thing

[22:14] You know these citizenship by investment programs. Yep. They're called citizenship by investment programs They almost always involve many trips back and forth from your home country to the country of interest That means interviews paperwork and travel time that means expensive time off for you And you know until just recently I never knew or even trusted any of the expediters However, as mentioned things can change rather quickly in the residency and passport business So now after all this time, I finally found a fast-track passport program that I fully endorse I Personally know and have worked with the attorney who's the expediter for this program and get this the really amazing thing is that you could Get this new passport and nationality and citizenship in just 60 days and the icing on the cake

[23:00] You could do it all online In English without any back-and-forth travel except for the very final visit to the country to get your fingerprints taken and Receive that passport. That's only one trip to the country and from then on and ever after you're a passport holding Nationalized citizen of that country and it can never be revoked unless you do something really stupid like commit treason Huh or get yourself involved in some heinous crime like terrorism or human trafficking now If you're not a good candidate for this, it will show up on your Interpol report Oh, and that brings up another interesting part of this program. You don't need an FBI report now I too asked at first, how can this be done all online in just 60 days? well, it's because of an extraordinary measure that's been taken by this country due to the coronavirus circumstances as

[23:49] Mentioned tourism has ground to an absolute standstill in Latin America and the Caribbean islands that means governments and tour operators etc are completely out of cash and they know that people who buy into the Passport program are gonna be people with money because it's not cheap though It is a great deal for what you get. We're not talking about millions here. It's in the very low six figures But you get what you pay for Including this show, right? Anyway, I know the intermediaries know that it works and I know you can get it in 60 days And turns out even if you got some misdemeanors on your rap sheet that shouldn't stop you from getting your passport All right Now I want to read you the conditions and details on this exactly as it's been given to me starts dear Johnny as discussed We are now offering a citizenship by investment program, which adjusts to special conditions there

[24:40] This comes as a way to stimulate the economy Following the pandemic the program consists of citizenship within 60 days for those who make a one-time contribution The process can be done virtually online through the representation of an authorized third party That's the attorney. The only trip required will be to pick up the passport and Naturalization certificates once the process is complete on that trip We will proceed to assist in setting up a bank account for the applicant as well The required documents are as follows number one your birth certificate apostille. All right, just a Clarification here you longtime listeners know about apostille documents. Don't you in short? It's your own state's process of authenticating documents number two

[25:28] You'll need a copy of your existing passport number three. You'll need a medical certificate The authorized third party or expediter will supply the forms. That's of course a physical You'll also need an affidavit of income. The forms will be provided. Also number five You'll have to fill out a naturalization application and as far as vetting the applicant The country will conduct an extensive background check including an Interpol search as part of the process Then it says please be advised that the Commission of crimes with the exception of capital offenses does not necessarily preclude the applicant from qualifying for citizenship That just means as mentioned before having a misdemeanor or two on your record most likely won't disqualify you from the program so there you have it due to the

[26:13] extenuating Circumstances related to the coronavirus a great big window of opportunity has opened for people who want a fast-track Passport and I mean fast 60 days. It's not cheap. But man, if you got the money It's the way to go because as mentioned government residency and passport programs are changing all the time and for once in this rare case It's all in your favor Now in the normal step-by-step case where first you apply for Residency and wait five or six years to get a passport in the traditional way one things for sure The United States government uncle slam is sure to lay on some unbelievably heavy travel restrictions We've got them now, of course, but they're only gonna get worse. That's a guarantee Bottom line the clock is ticking on getting your ass and assets out of dodge

[27:01] Now, of course, I realize this fast-track 60-day passport is not for everyone simply because it's expensive But it is another option owned by the way if you're married the cost also covers your partner So there you have it. That's one of the very few positive secondary effects that's come out of this coronavirus thing So if you're interested, send me an email the expat files at gmail.com and I'll hook you right up with the lawyer that Expedites this program. She's a friend and comes highly recommended. Just shoot me 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

[27:48] Insider seminar in Central America where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com