Of course, that didn't stop the adventurous ones, who came back with tales of cheap booze, loose women and authentic Mexican food.
Our CO at one point told us all that if any one of us got in trouble down there, we were on our own and would be considered AWOL.
A friend of mine’s brother drove down to Belize. On his way back through Mexico he was stopped by the federales. They “found” drugs in the trunk and threw him in jail and seized his car. Cops now had a new car. It took the intervention of a US Senator to get this guy back to the states. This was in the 80’s.