Copyright greaterbelize
‘Each Trip Gets Worse’: Belizean Businessman Details Extortion A Belizean car dealer says travelling through Mexico has become increasingly dangerous, describing encounters with alleged corrupt officers and armed civilians demanding bribes. Robert McClaren Jr, who frequently travels to Mexico for business, recounted the incident in a video now circulating online. He told News Five that he was part of a group of nine Belizeans, five of whom spoke Spanish, when the situation spiralled. “One of the guys had a flat tyre. He didn’t cause an accident, but could have,” McClaren explained. “Probably a passerby took the pictures and sent it to the transport security… when they came, they said ‘we got a report of an accident’.” McClaren informed them that no accident had occurred, only a traffic infraction, and asked that they simply issue a ticket. But the response was chilling: “It’s not gonna work that way today. We have to give them 50,000 pesos or all of us are gonna go with them, and they are gonna take away the cars.” According to McClaren, the situation escalated when the men began taking car keys and searching vehicles. He said one officer even attempted to take his passport and cash, causing him to panic, fearing he wouldn’t be able to cross the border. That’s when the group began making a scene, jumping on the hood of the car to stop the men. Mexican police officers later intervened, returned the documents, and allowed the group to leave safely. McClaren believes that if they hadn’t caused a scene, they might not have made it home today. But for McClaren, this was just one of many dangers he’s faced on the road. “I’ve made about eight trips since last year, and each trip is worse,” he told News Five. “From the minute you cross the border… Five minutes up the road, 2,000 you have to pay.” These checkpoints continue to appear every few minutes, and not all of them are officials. “These are not police checkpoints,” he stated. “They’re regular civilians from the villages, but of course they’re armed. They’re dangerous. We’re not from there, so we just pay what they want and get out from there.” McClaren detailed that on that trip alone, he paid roughly 9,000 pesos in extortion at various ‘checkpoints’ (separate from the standard pedimiento). Despite the ordeal that almost cost him 50,000 pesos, or 6,000 Belize dollars, McClaren says it was still a good trip, calling it a learning experience to move forward from. “I would be ready to go today if they call me back for another job.”
