Mexico confiscated 380 yachts - MERGED THREADS

[zeehag]

gord..it isnt the mainland.it is sea of cortez and to banderas bay. most of mainland has not been affected. i have been here on mainland cruising since 2011..no jackboots. no problem. only where folks were bragging about being able to find false papers.
go figger. ye think govt here doesnt pay attention!!???

[SV THIRD DAY]

Some latest News.
Sounds like the Fiasco isn't fixed yet, but Jorge Gamboa, the head of Tourism for Mexico in California is trying to help get his mess cleaned up. As much as you don't wish bad things to happen to anyone....it certainly can't hurt the push to get this disaster fixed that the boat owned by the Editor of Lat 38 and orgainzer of the Baja-ha ha is also caught up in this mess.


Latitude 38 - 'Lectronic Latitude

[Celestialsailor]

Should be interesting that Richard is promising a "full-scale publicity campaign". It's nice to have Latitude on our side. I remember when the San Diego harbor police were out of control, Latitude 38 really shone the light on them and magically cleaned up their act. Nothing like media pressure to move things along.

[Bash]

What I find insidious about this current campaign is the timing. Christmas is prime cruising season in Baja, especially for people who have children in school or who teach. For someone like me who gets a month off between semesters, this is prime time south of the border, and I've spent seven of the past ten Christmas breaks on the Sea of Cortez.

I'm thanking the wind gods I made other plans this year, and I'm going to have to think long and hard about future trips. My time abroad is too precious to spent redoing paperwork that has previously passed inspection.

[ronbo1]

Amazing development...

It's reported on Cruising Anarchy that 2 large marinas were taken over by drug cartels to run stolen boats through. The Mexican government is trying to sort the documents.

[zeehag]

usually it is not stolen boats, amigo, is laundry service for money.

unless you can quote your sources, might well leave that one alone, unless you do not value your head.....

[lonesoldier0408]

Slaves to situations beyond our control. Go small, "Poor." They are less likely to molest you..😙

[carlthomas]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Here's a "TIP"...Not many US private pilots fly to Mexico...the reason...private pilots are treated/questioned as if they were drug smugglers, irrespective of their FAA documentation. At a whim, one's aircraft can be confiscated. Why would you visit a place that is so maligned and corrupt? Cheap, in the long run, is very expensive! Stay away!

Mauritz
Plenty of other islands to visit!

I stay away from the states! The US are the same. They treat you like s..t.

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by carlthomas

I stay away from the states! The US are the same. They treat you like s..t.

I'll second this based upon what I've been told by several not-North American sailors entering the US. It is pretty depressing.



-Sven

[astonished]

We've been contacted by a foreign government office regarding family members currently in Mexico - so we are going to be carefully vague. We are extremely worried after receiving the following passed on to us:

- - - - - - -

Regarding the simultaneous military raid on 12 marinas in Mexico on Nov. 26, 2013


Our papers were presented to the SAT people (or so we were told) by the lawyers acting on behalf of The XXXXXXXXX marina in XXXXXXX. We were told that none of the boats in this marina were in non-compliance and that errors on the part of the SAT are the cause of our unofficial seizure/arrest. Evidence has been provided to SAT that our vessel is in compliance. During the raid nobody asked for papers or inspected our boat. We simply had machine guns pointed at us and were told to "shut up" and "no trouble."


XXXXXXX and I took a walk to the Port Captain's office in XXXXXX with a translator to do a little investigating. Part of the threat is that the Port Captain's office has us "on the list" and won't let us clear out. (All threats are verbal - delivered by marina management). We wanted to confirm that there really was a list and it wasn't a scam. There really IS a list but the name of our boat is incorrect on it. The goons with the machine guns and cigars who stormed the marina wrote down the model name of our boat XXXXXXXX rather than the registered name. We pointed this out to the marina and they said that even if the Port Captain lets us leave they would report us to the navy (or they maybe already have - they are somewhat vague about info but not about promised threats of violence against us). Then we got the spiel about 96 mile radar and speedboats and machine guns and Mexican prison - meaning a bullet.


No word on when this might be settled or when our vessels will be "liberated" direct quote. No demands.... yet. The marina's lawyers have presented all the papers to the SAT tax office and received acknowledgment that none of the vessels at XXXXXXXXXXX are out of compliance. In other words everything is in order. BUT the SAT office will not release the boats. It claims it has 4 months to decide whether to fine us, arrest us, take our boats or let us go. Apparently, word has to come from some head honcho in Mexico city (corrupt official? war lord? drug lord?). What the honcho's motivations are, nobody knows? Is this a scam? Do they want our boats, our money? Do they want our lives? Do they want to wreck specific businesses (the marina's that were attacked) by threatening their customers? Is this political? Revenge for US treatment of illegal aliens, perhaps? Is this drug cartel related? Is this revenge for an insurance adjuster from USA discovering two marina's had been stolen - cartel henchmen simply killed the owners/operators and took over, as in "under new management" - they needed the marinas as storage depots for stolen boats - I think the Mexi gov was pretty embarrassed about that being uncovered, by a gringo of all things. Or is this just another failed-state exercising it's hatred toward USA and/or its interests?


No real info, nothing in writing, nothing official, just rumors, threats, intimidation and fear.


Everything we know, or don't know is coming to us through marina management (or rumors circulating through the victim group and on the Internet). Marina(s) management(s) definitely have their own agenda(s) and their first loyalty lies with their owners (and preventing their own headless corpses dangling from overpasses).


- - - - - - -


We are not cruisers and after seeing what has been happening of late in Mexico, would steer clear of it. Our family members are still in Mexico, afraid to speak up or post on forums, like this one. Information seems to be accusatory to the victims of this latest action. Most victims have done nothing wrong. Why are they being blamed by other cruisers?


Our family members' boat is their home. Their tourist visas in Mexico will soon run out. They must leave the country and will thus be homeless. Accommodating themselves in their US hometown without their home in the marina where they have a leased slip will be a financial burden.


How is it possible that with 338 boats seized in what looks like an act of terrorism executed with military precision (errors-on-purpose at 12 marinas simultaneously) there is not more "noise" and support from those of us safely outside Mexico?


Astonished in San Jose - California

[Ocean Girl]

Astonished, there is a thread going about this. There are posts from other vessels that have been seized / impounded. It may help to read it.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...on-116348.html

Hope all goes well with your family.

[skipperr100]

zeehag, are you still down there? what is yur take on all this. I always enjoy reading your posts.

[JPA Cate]

A major difference between English Common Law and Napoleonic law is the presumption of innocence in the former, and the presumption of guilt in the latter. Americans mostly do not have a clue how to operate in the latter. In my experience all the Mexican people were nice and went out of their way to be so. Surely there will be some turkeys among them as there among us, but approaching them respectfully and having all one's paper work in order, with copies safely stowed back aboard if you're extra careful, and you should be able to get everything worked out okay. But, acting hysterical about things and screaming third world will not win you any friends. You know?

Put the shoe on the other foot, and you're suddenly a foreigner who has run afoul of US Customs. You're terrified of the bureaucracy and fearful for your future and that of your boat. The Customs folks will try to treat you fairly, and according to their regulations.

My advice is to try to patiently pursue setting the record straight, Really Mexico wants law abiding folks adding to their economy. It's paper work, and it takes time. Right now, it is the middle of the Holiday Season. Now much will happen.

You might look at Latitude 38's "'Lectronic Latitude" as they have been trying to keep abreast of the situation since the publisher's boat is one of the ones which had a problem.

Ann

[timor-bound]

Originally Posted by astonished

Do they want our lives? .... Or is this just another failed-state exercising it's hatred toward USA and/or its interests?

A little dramatic, no? Sucks for those stuck at marinas, but drawing correlations b/w wealthy yacht owners and corpse hanging from bridges, or whatever, is pretty ridiculous.

[Stu Jackson]

Ann's right. Read Lat 38 and the other link provided earlier. Seems a lot LESS scarier than first reported.