Belizeans Warned as Mexican Cartels Target Car Dealers on Highway Routes

Car dealers traveling through Mexico are cautioned to be on high alert due to possible interference by members of the cartel.  Reports indicate that the Mexican cartels are targeting travelers in certain areas, subjecting them to robbery and extortion. Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico, Oscar Arnold, spoke to Love News, acknowledging that while such incidents have occurred in the past, no recent cases have been officially reported. He noted that when these situations do arise, they are often connected to individuals diverting from the more popular highway routes to avoid tolls.  

H.E. Oscar Arnold, Ambassador of Belize to Mexico: “I understand also from car dealers that they have their own internal network. There’s a WhatsApp chat group amongst themselves where they usually would share information as well. They would also advise each other when there’s a group that is moving because usually we advise or the advice is that you don’t travel alone, that you travel within a group or maybe a convoy and try to stick to the major roads because in the past what we’ve seen is that incidents would arise whenever there would be a diversion or whenever individuals would try to avoid the toll roads to try to save a little bit of money. Depending on the border crossing where they cross again is a major factor. There are certain states in the country of Mexico that has a higher incidence of robberies and crime. And so we would oftentimes advise our dealers or advise them to try to avoid those routes. In the event they have to take it, the precaution would be to try to travel within daylight hours and not to try to travel at night. The last incident or one of them that we’re dealing with right now was an accident. A car dealer pulled over on the side of the road because the trailer he was traveling with had a flat tire and then someone had ran into them. And so again, depending on the laws and what all investigation took place,  we would then give the advice to the car dealers to try to find legal representation to try to get it done. If it’s something that you will do on the regular it’s always advisable to try to buy a Mexican phone chip that would have both data and internet service so that you can make calls not only locally, internationally, but that you would have some type of wifi service. Also to travel within groups. It’s much easier or you become an easier target if you’re traveling alone.  Also, we advise them to make sure that they have all the pertinent documents available whether it’s their pedimento, whether it’s the insurance that they need to have, and also to make contact along the way to call family members, to call friends while you’re traversing through Mexico and making the route back home.”

Belizeans are advised to use the 24-hour hotline for emergency assistance when in Mexico.  The hotline is 562-043-0000.