Escape to Baja.
June 4, 2022 5:54 PM   Subscribe

No, really. A U.S. murder suspect fled to Mexico. The Gringo Hunters were waiting. Officially, they’re the International Liaison Unit. But they’re known by another name: the Gringo Hunters. The unit now catches an average of 13 Americans a month. Since it was formed in 2002, it has apprehended more than 1,600. Many of those suspects were inspired by one of America’s oldest cliches: the troubled outlaw striding into a sepia-toned Mexico in the hope of disappearing forever.

Here’s an incomplete list of where Mexican officers have found American fugitives:
In beach resorts. Dangling from parasails. In remote mountain cabins. In fishing boats. At a nightclub called Papas & Beer. In drug rehabilitation centers. In trailer parks. Tending bars. In cars with prostitutes. In Carl’s Jr. parking lots.

Some were on crystal meth. Some had undergone plastic surgery and acquired new names they couldn’t pronounce. Some were found dead.


Non-paywall
posted by Toddles (34 comments total) 24 users marked this as a favorite
 
It must be terrifying for the average Mexican citizen to have all these criminals from a failing state illegally crossing their borders.
posted by Saxon Kane at 5:59 PM on June 4, 2022 [185 favorites]


Yet somehow they managed to convince the U.S. to pay for the wall!

Thanks for posting... seems there's been a whole series at WaPo about the growth of organized crime in Mexico. Scary.

Found this more uplifting one about a guy running across the whole country.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 6:38 PM on June 4, 2022 [4 favorites]


Blood Meridian clearly needed a sequel.
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 6:50 PM on June 4, 2022 [4 favorites]


Speaking as an American, we clearly weren't sending our best with the accused murderer in that story. In a strong field, my favorite line was probably:

“You really need to learn Spanish,” Ivan told him.

“Everyone tells me that,” Salinas responded, blushing a little.


But! Based on my limited reading (no direct experience), Mexican cops are just like American cops: often corrupt, often incompetent, often violent, often complicit in the drug trade/human trafficking/organized crime they're supposed to be preventing. I both ate up the sort-of-cheesy sherriffs-and-outlaws framing of this piece, and the way the Gringo Patrol cuts against American ideas about the U.S.-Mexico relationship (ditto the Strong Female Character), while at the same time there was throughout an undercurrent of feeling like I was reading a screenplay rather than a fully contextualized longform journalism piece.
posted by sy at 2:09 AM on June 5, 2022 [11 favorites]


we clearly weren't sending our best

Some, I assume, are good people.
posted by flabdablet at 4:52 AM on June 5, 2022 [10 favorites]


How does the catchphrase go? "Mexico, so far from heaven, so close to the United States..."
posted by gimonca at 5:02 AM on June 5, 2022 [3 favorites]


Hey Joe...
posted by juiceCake at 6:56 AM on June 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


How does the catchphrase go? "Mexico, so far from heaven, so close to the United States..."

The phrase that is attributed to Porfirio Diaz is "Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States"/"Pobre México! Tan lejos de Dios y tan cerca de los Estados Unidos."
posted by Dip Flash at 7:00 AM on June 5, 2022 [12 favorites]


The article is interesting and worth reading, by the way. I hadn't known that they use immigration violations as the way to send them back, rather than a formal extradition process. It makes sense, given how one is fast and administrative, and the other slow and judicial.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:22 AM on June 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


I hadn't known that they use immigration violations as the way to send them back, rather than a formal extradition process

Virtually every expat I know moves carefully around the immigration services in their country. It’s not that they’re evil or corrupt (though they can be) but that a nameless bureaucrat can sign a form and completely rearrange your life. This is a good example of that power.

A formal rendition would involve the prisoner having a chance to be heard. The people in this story were carefully chosen so that no compassion need apply, but when the cancer patient is going back to a 5 year prison sentence for their third-strike toke up it’s a different story. Mexico is well aware of the excesses of its wealthy northern neighbor and it’s not so cowed by the U.S. that it would slavishly hand over anyone on request. Or, you know, the police could just start doing that because paperwork is hard and due process doesn’t fit their schedule.

You’d hope — well, if you’d never seen the Kafkaesque fallout from the “War on Drugs” you would hope — that the system wouldn’t be abused that way, but honestly this is why judicial review exists.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:42 AM on June 5, 2022 [13 favorites]


As someone in the US, I've always wondered, vaguely, where I'd go if I were wanted. (To be clear, I'm not planning to commit any crimes; certainly not any unethical ones.) Mexico is the obvious choice, because I know it better than any other country. It's probably also the place anyone who's done a cursory background check on me would expect.

I suspect the right strategy is to cross at a place far from where you are and head for a big, anonymous city. If you're wanted in California, start in Nogales and then take regional buses and minibuses to Mexico City. Get a big goofy used backpack at a thrift store on the way. Nobody will think twice about a weirdo with an American accent living in Roma or Coyoacán while "writing a novel." Change apartments and neighborhoods every 5 months. Don't contact anybody you know. I suppose you might get unlucky and get caught up in something that would bring attention to you, but it seems like it wouldn't be that hard to remain anonymous for a very long time.

I think I've got a new idea for a reality show. . .
posted by eotvos at 9:29 AM on June 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


eotvos I might start in Mexico...but I'd continue heading south. I believe some South American countries (Bolivia?) might not have extradition policies with US? that's your best bet, right? despite also having no intentions of committing major crimes, I have thought about this, kind of a lot??? I'm already in CA, so getting to Mex is fairly straightforward. just being a good scout right, being prepared? (and I would, of course, continue to work on my Spanish as I moved south)
posted by supermedusa at 9:44 AM on June 5, 2022


I believe some South American countries (Bolivia?) might not have extradition policies with US?

Some might, but a major point of the story is that no extradition is taking place. People are being deported with no hearing directly into the hands of U.S. law enforcement, apparently just because a U.S. liaison asks nicely.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:24 AM on June 5, 2022 [6 favorites]


Change apartments and neighborhoods every 5 months. Don't contact anybody you know. I suppose you might get unlucky and get caught up in something that would bring attention to you, but it seems like it wouldn't be that hard to remain anonymous for a very long time.

That part of the first guy’s story really struck me. In the end it wasn’t diligent police work or getting caught up in a situation that caused his downfall, it was the fact that he got tired of remaining anonymous. I don’t know that I have the discipline to disconnect from my entire previous life and not want to check in after five years. Living on the lam sounds tiresome.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:32 AM on June 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


seems like it wouldn't be that hard to remain anonymous for a very long time.

Seems like that at first, but how would you fund that? It seems like most people will almost certainly get caught when they run out of money.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:44 AM on June 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


Banger article, thank you for posting.
posted by ominous_paws at 11:22 AM on June 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


Who are those guys?
posted by thecincinnatikid at 11:32 AM on June 5, 2022


I watch this Yotube channel called Fresh Out, in which a former prisoner talks to other former prisoners. I can't find the specific episode, but there is one where he interviews an American man who was able to hide out in Mexico for some time. He managed it by staying in a small village and got caught when he moved to a larger town.

He still did it better than the idiot in the article. "I got a Spanish name, but I don't actually speak Spanish. I should still lam it to Mexico. But only Tijuana. Anything south is gonna be too Mexicany."
posted by riruro at 11:47 AM on June 5, 2022


In the end it wasn’t diligent police work or getting caught up in a situation that caused his downfall, it was the fact that he got tired of remaining anonymous.
Indeed. That does seem to be the downfall of most criminals who get caught. (Well, the ones who aren't dumb enough to brag about their crimes to strangers.) Thinking about it, I can count 6 people in the world I'd trust with absolute confidence not to turn me in for any reward if they believed I'd not done something unethical. Maybe one or two who would even ignore the ethics. None are family. I'm not sure I'd want to burden any of them with contact. It would be tempting, and dangerous. Perhaps I'm not actually smarter than these guys.
posted by eotvos at 12:02 PM on June 5, 2022


undercurrent of feeling like I was reading a screenplay

Lampshaded at the end: "The Gringo Hunters walked away from the border crossing, California at their backs. If the image felt familiar, it’s because I’d seen it before, a Hollywood cliche now turned on its head: the protagonists, tired but triumphant, striding into Mexico."

(complete with a setup for the sequel, Gringo Hunters 2: Tijuana Nights)
posted by basalganglia at 1:25 PM on June 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


I mean. I'd watch it. The Shield: Not All Total Arseholes This Time
posted by ominous_paws at 1:35 PM on June 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


"I got a Spanish name, but I don't actually speak Spanish. I should still lam it to Mexico. But only Tijuana. Anything south is gonna be too Mexicany."

That was definitely a highlight for me.

With regards to language you can live in Mexico with minimal Spanish, but even if you studied your heart out what then? Even if you're hispanic by birth no one is ever going to confuse you with a local. There's culture, attitudes, and most importantly accent. Perfectly accented second languages are incredibly hard to achieve after age 10 and changing your primary accent requires an immense amount of work too. Everyone is going to know you're American.

I have to imagine that when hunting people down "American" is a more important trait than "Gringo who's Spanish sucks". I mean, we're everywhere.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:05 PM on June 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


Some were found dead.


Do they still get credit for the dead ones?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 2:31 PM on June 5, 2022


People are being deported with no hearing directly into the hands of U.S. law enforcement, apparently just because a U.S. liaison asks nicely.

I'm normally all for due process, but I kind of have a hard time caring in this case. In theory, anyone in Mexico has quite a number of constitutional rights, but it seems pretty hard to justify thinking Mexico should spend their limited judicial resources on a bunch of Americans that ran off to Mexico after committing crimes in the US. Mexico has better things to do than deal with Americans who think their country is the wild west, so dropping them off at the border does seem like a pretty reasonable practical solution.

This is hilarious though: "The Gringo Hunters are trained to spot the ways Americans make themselves conspicuous in Mexico. They wear more shorts and more flip-flops. Many speak little Spanish. One officer swears he can identify how long a gringo has been in Mexico by the depth of his tan."

I'm pretty confident that every single Mexican in Baja can spot gringos with a very high degree of accuracy. I really doubt anyone needs to be trained that Americans wear shorts and chanclas.
posted by ssg at 4:31 PM on June 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


Jeez, the guy they caught though. Where did he get his money from? I'm jealous that his life in hiding sounds better than my typical vacation.
posted by Trifling at 5:48 PM on June 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


it seems pretty hard to justify thinking Mexico should spend their limited judicial resources on a bunch of Americans that ran off to Mexico after committing crimes in the US.

First of all I don't think you need to worry about Mexico's resources in this case. Mexico is the 12th largest economy in the world, with a GDP of just over $1 trillion. Corruption is endemic and there is an income gap that is striking even by American standards, but things that rich people like get funded. And opportunities to reject or even help guide American thinking plays well indeed.

In any case the nature of the crimes and the expected punishments matter to me.

Mexico has no death penalty, has increasingly sane drug sentencing, and has no penalty for assisting a woman in getting an abortion. (that's not strictly on the U.S. books yet, but when the time comes I hope Mexico will lean towards granting asylum.)

The cases in the article specifically do not have moral ambiguity. All of those people got what they had coming, which makes for a great read. Unfortunately, for most people I expect it is a great deal more complicated.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 6:21 PM on June 5, 2022 [6 favorites]


Where did he get his money from?

I think the article said they thought he was cutting hair to make ends meet
posted by mbo at 6:32 PM on June 5, 2022


A formal rendition would involve the prisoner having a chance to be heard.
Isn't that where this ends up, though? They have their day in court to answer the allegations against them. Whether they'd be better off in Mexico than the US, though, probably depends more on who they are than whether they're guilty.
posted by dg at 8:57 PM on June 5, 2022


A formal rendition would involve the prisoner having a chance to be heard.
Isn't that where this ends up, though?


I should have been clearer. I meant the case for fighting extradition, not whatever legal charges are in the U.S.

In the most extreme case imagine a confessed, fully admitted murderer that the U.S. wants to extradite from Mexico. The hiccup is that the U.S. is clearly going to kill him, and Mexico has a well established policy of not killing prisoners.

It’s a tricky moral problem and given the international implications it is way above the Gringo Hunters’ pay grade.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:59 PM on June 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


And opportunities to reject or even help guide American thinking plays well indeed.

And yet in terms of things that Mexican police and military do because the Americans want them to, this is very much small potatoes and much less harmful.

In the most extreme case imagine a confessed, fully admitted murderer that the U.S. wants to extradite from Mexico. The hiccup is that the U.S. is clearly going to kill him, and Mexico has a well established policy of not killing prisoners.

This is a good point. It would be good for Mexico to refuse to extradite or deport without assurances that the US won't seek the death penalty. It's not clear if that has come up in this process or not. I'm sure those in charge are aware of this issue and may in fact be taking it into account.
posted by ssg at 10:49 PM on June 5, 2022


Mexico appears to seek assurances that the death penalty will not be applied. Many jurisdictions do this, and as far as I know, the US always considers itself bound by the assurances it gives.
posted by plonkee at 3:25 AM on June 6, 2022 [3 favorites]


I believe some South American countries (Bolivia?) might not have extradition policies with US?

Kid, the next time I say, "Let's go someplace like Bolivia," let's go someplace like Bolivia.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:57 AM on June 6, 2022 [3 favorites]


"Let's Go! Extradition" would be a big e-reader hit, I bet.
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 3:46 PM on June 6, 2022 [1 favorite]


In the most extreme case imagine a confessed, fully admitted murderer that the U.S. wants to extradite from Mexico. The hiccup is that the U.S. is clearly going to kill him, and Mexico has a well established policy of not killing prisoners.
You were perfectly clear and I knew you meant the extradition, so any confusion is my fault. Yes, an interesting moral conundrum indeed, where Mexico is apparently opposed to something that the US will actively seek if the extradition is successful. It's probably fortunate that I don't have to be the one to make that call, as I'd probably hand the person back to the US and say 'your circus, your monkey', which I know is incredibly harsh.
posted by dg at 11:24 PM on June 6, 2022


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