"We used to go there fairly often on vacations, but we don't go there anymore."
I chartered with a local company several years ago. The pilot told me he was still a wanted man in Mexico because, years before that, he was hijacked by his passengers into Mexico. Kept him blindfolded for several days, but they did give him food and water.
One morning, he woke up and couldn't hear anything or anybody. That scared him worst than anything that happened so far. Finally got the nerve to remove his blindfold. Whoever the hijackers were and what purpose they had in the hijacking he never has found out.
But, the Mexican government issued an arrest warrant for bringing an untariffed aircraft into the country. His charter company had to hire a gang of Mexican attorneys and pay tons of Mordida just to get him back. The Mexican officials refused to quash the warrant.
I asked him if he was concerned that the same thing might accidentally happen and he could spend the rest of his life in Mexican prison. The pilot said he would not live his life in fear of the Mexican government. (I think I might've.)
There are lots of horror stories about Mexico. My husband's uncle died in Cozumel of natural causes. He was dumped into a cooler and the family had to pay off to every single official in Cozumel before they could get him back here for burial. They didn't even have the courtesy to lay him out straight and he wouldn't fit in a standard casket. The extra large casket wouldn't fit into the company plane that was sent down for him first and they had to get a larger plane. It was a nightmare!