Canadian tourist extorted by police in Tulum Mexico

Tulum, Mexico — A Canadian tourist has publicly denounced being a victim of extortion by police officers in Tulum after being detained for driving with a broken taillight on the rental car he was using during his visit to the tourist destination.

Through a post on the social network Reddit, the user identified as “ndatok” explained that he decided to rent a vehicle due to the high cost of taxi services in the area, without imagining that it would lead to an alleged act of corruption. According to his testimony, officers stopped him in the hotel zone and, after asking about his flight date, threatened to retain his driver’s license, which would prevent him from leaving the country on time.

“The police officer gave me two options: that they keep my license until the next day and pay a fine of 3,500 pesos, or pay him 2,500 pesos right then,” the tourist recounted. Fearing he would miss his flight and wanting to avoid greater conflict, he agreed to hand over the money.

The visitor also exposed irregularities in the car rental service, noting that the price advertised online did not include mandatory insurance, which tripled the original cost when he went directly to the agency.

“I don’t think I’ll return,” he concluded in his post, stating that after having visited other destinations in the country, he believes there are better tourist options than Tulum.

In the comments of the publication, other foreign users shared similar experiences, including cases of multiple extortions by police, and pointed out that this type of practice is not limited solely to Tulum, but occurs in other tourist destinations in Mexico.