Just in case you were considering
making a wrong decision…
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html#security
CRIMINAL
PENALTIES AND TREATMENT OF PRISONERS: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country’s laws
and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections
available to the individual under U.S. law. The trial process
in Mexico is different from
the trial process in the United
States, and procedures may vary from state
to state. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States
for similar offenses. Persons violating Mexican laws, even unknowingly,
may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use or
trafficking in illegal drugs in Mexico
are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy
fines.
Arrests
& Notifications: The Mexican government is required by
international law to notify the U.S. Embassy or the nearest U.S. consulate promptly when a U.S. citizen is
arrested, if the arrestee so requests. In practice, however, this
notification can be delayed by months or may never occur at all, limiting the
assistance the U.S. Government can provide. U.S. citizens should promptly
identify themselves as such to the arresting officers, and should request that
the Embassy or nearest consulate be notified immediately.
Prison Facilities:
Prison conditions in Mexico
can be extremely poor. In many facilities food is insufficient in both
quantity and quality, and prisoners must pay for adequate nutrition from their
own funds. Most Mexican prisons provide poor medical care, and even
prisoners with urgent medical conditions receive only a minimum of
attention. U.S.
citizens who are incarcerated in Mexico are sometimes forced to pay
hundreds and even thousands of dollars in “protection money” to fellow prisoners.
Prisoner Treatment/Interrogations:
Mexican police regularly obtain information through torture and prosecutors use
this evidence in courts. The Mexican Constitution and the law prohibit
torture, and Mexico
is party to several international anti-torture conventions, but courts continue
to admit as evidence confessions extracted under torture. Authorities
rarely punish officials for torture, which continues to occur in large part
because confessions are the primary evidence in many criminal convictions.
U.S.
citizens have been brutalized, beaten, and even raped while in police
custody. Since the beginning of 2002, 21 U.S. citizens have died in Mexican
prisons, including five apparent homicides.
Drug Penalties and Prescription
Medications:
Penalties for drug offenses are strict, and convicted offenders can expect
large fines and jail sentences up to 25 years. The purchase of controlled
medication requires a prescription from a licensed Mexican physician; some
Mexican doctors have been arrested for writing prescriptions without due
cause. In those instances, U.S. citizens who bought the
medications have been held in jail for months waiting for the Mexican judicial
system to decide their fate. The Mexican list of controlled medication
differs from that of the United
States, and Mexican public health laws
concerning controlled medication are unclear and often enforced
selectively. To determine whether a particular medication is controlled
in Mexico,
and requires a prescription from a Mexican doctor for purchase, please consult
the website of the Mexican Federal Commission for Protection Against
Health Risks (Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios -
COFEPRIS) at Listado de Medicamentos Controlados, http://www.cofepris.gob.mx/pyp/estpsic/es.htm.
This site is in Spanish only.
If
this doesn’t make you re-consider, watch the movie “Midnight Express”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Express_(film)