For those of you that don't follow Passagemaker and travel south of the border.... https://www.****************/trawler-news/mexican-government-goes-insane-seizes-u-s-boats
Well it s an old story... I don’t want to defend Mexico but when traveling abroad you need to know the rules and follow them although there seem to be a bit of attitude from authorities in this case. try going to the Bahamas and not clearing customs... or fish within the Exuma Land and Sea Park borders. or better try coming into the US with a foreign flag vessel and not cross your Ts and dot your Is that said I have zero intention on ever going to mehico, by boat or otherwise.
This is old news. It's happened before and it will happen again. When your boat is in Mexico follow the regulations in Mexico. They love paperwork - be aware when they change those regulations. Most of these boats had expired permits or were left unattended which is illegal when your vessel is in MX via temporary import permit (TIP). There's a simple rule that will keep visitors out of trouble in Mexico. Respect their authority. I've run boats in Mexico for over 40 years and never had an issue.
I was just there in June to Isla Mujeres. I used an agent to clear in and out of customs and didn't have any issues or heard of any there.
They were just enforcing old regulations and anyone who tried got their boats back. The boatds were just tagged amd never moved from the slips. If you follow the regulations and place the TIP sticker on your boat there is no issue.
It's their country and their rules. Follow them or get seized. Old story happened several times since 1980
