In Boon to Travelers, Mexico Disbands Secondary Checkpoints on Borders George Rebing - Border News Network
go to original May 19, 2014

MEXICO CITY – The end has finally arrived. After 40 years of corruption, Mexico’s infamous “garitas” are being dismantled, thanks to new national legislation.

The garitas are secondary checkpoints, where customs officers can inspect vehicles outside an established 20-kilometer border strip, a privileged zone where taxation is lowered in order to promote and boost local economies.

Most notable of the garitas being abolished is the “Caobas” garita of Chetumal, in southeastern Mexico, in the state of Quintana Roo, bordering Belize and Guatemala. Here, thousands of people have been extorted for transporting alleged export merchandise without paying the established import tax fee.

Chetumal, as a border city, used to be a hub for the sale and acquisition of contraband until 1994, when the Belizean Free Zone was established. Up until the mid-1990s, the Caobas garita was literally bursting with confiscated goods, including stereos, televisions, clothing and, especially, Orient and Citizen watches, liquor, perfumes and Chinese shoes.

However, with the passing of time, the garitas acquired a reputation for being places where citizens were abused for owning certain types of goods. A person might have a Rolex around his wrist that was purchased 20 years before but if he had to cross a garita that was placed almost a hundred miles from the border, he had to produce documents proving its legal purchase, including tax documents, and he risked its confiscation by authorities. The same was true for stereos in vehicles and anything else being transported or worn, including footwear – Converse sneakers and Florsheim shoes in particular.

As a result, posting to garitas became one of the most coveted government positions. The power to inspect the tens of thousands of vehicles that crossed garitas on a monthly basis became overwhelming. For travelers, regardless of where they were coming from or going to, being ordered to return or report to the closest border checkpoint to legitimize possession of goods, regardless of when or where these were acquired, was comparable to a dreadful Kafkian nightmare – particularly if the checkpoints were located a hundred miles away.

Read the rest at Border News Network

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!