They came heavily armed with machine guns, wearing black combat suits and accompanied by an armada of emergency vehicles, including prison buses. However, their target was not a drug lord, as many of the casual eyewitnesses thought at first, but mostly pensioners!
A few weeks ago, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto had dozens of marinas on the country's Pacific and Atlantic coasts stormed. The purpose of the action, which is currently making waves in the US media: The officers were to check permits. Such a document is required by foreigners who stay in Mexico with their boat for a longer period of time. It costs around 70 US dollars a year.
The large-scale checks primarily affected retired couples, mostly from the USA and some from Canada, who were spending their retirement in warm Mexico on board their ship. Despite their martial demeanour, the officers were mostly friendly, but also relentless. Anyone who could not produce the paperwork for whatever reason - whether it was because they did not have the permit on board or the owner was simply not on board - their ship ended up on a fateful penalty list.
The authorities remain silent
Of the 1,600 boats that were checked, over 300 were allegedly on this list - mainly yachts around ten or twelve metres in length. They are now threatened with foreclosure. There is no information on how to redeem your boat or whether it is even on the list. The authorities are keeping quiet. Simply leaving the country is not an option either. The police have announced that they will hunt down anyone who releases the mooring lines without authorisation.
Many people familiar with the country suspect that the Mexican president wants to fill the chronically empty state coffers in this way. In order to put a stop to this arbitrary behaviour, high-ranking US authorities have now also intervened. However, their mediation efforts have so far all failed.
The inspection also affected well-known sailors, such as the publisher of the US sailing magazine "Latitude 38" Richard Spindler. On the day of the raid, he was also not on board his catamaran "Profligate", which was moored in the marina in Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast. "We have a permit, but we weren't found, which is why the boat is now on the auction list," says Spindler. "And that's after we've been sailing regularly in Mexico for 17 years and have always cleared in and out without any problems."
Poison for boat tourism in Mexico
According to Spindler, the controls are poison for boat tourism in Mexico. He says: "Who makes sure that the many marinas in Mexico are fully utilised and that the yacht companies have work if not the many Americans who come here with their boats?"
According to the law, the authorities can detain the confiscated boats for four months. After that, they have to decide whether to release the yachts, fine the owners or foreclose on the vessels in favour of the state without any ifs or buts. Many fear that Enrique Pena Nieto will opt for option three.
