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A Cancun police officer, Jesús del Valle Valley, manning the police checkpoint along the road between Cancun and Merida stopped an American tourist in a self-driven car. At the checkpoint the officer, a member of the “Municipal Preventive Police” told the tourists that they had been clocked for speeding and that the fine was 3,000 pesos.
Of course the conniving officer offered to allow the tourists to pay their fine and be on their way at the checkpoint. The tourists gave the officer $165 in lieu of 3,000 pesos and they were on their way.
A short time later, they returned to ask for a receipt, a copy of the speeding ticket would suffice. They were told by the officer to leave. They did.
According to Riviera Maya, they went to the Secretaría Municipal de Seguridad Pública y Tránsito, reported the incident and the police helped the tourist file a complaint with the Quintana Roo State Attorney General’s office.
Jesús del Valle Valley was arrested shortly thereafter and in his pocket they found eight $20-dollar bills and one $5-bill.
Tourists in Mexico are often targeted by the criminal and the unscrupulous. The incident in Cancun is more of an anomaly than an expectation. The often asked question, “Is it safe to travel to Cancun?” or “Is it safe to travel to Mexico?” Should be answered - YES - with a caveat.
Vacationing in Mexico can be accomplished largely without incident providing one takes precautions (as one should do whenever traveling) to ensure your personal safety. Review the State Department travel advisories, which dissect the country of Mexico into danger zones. In addition, read our post, It is possible to vacation in Mexico and not be shot, which contains tips from Mexico residents on you can raise the odds that your vacation will be uneventful.
On this day, in Mexico, crime did not pay.
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