Mexico City tourists getting mugged by police

My son is an intrepid solo traveler who has roamed throughout the far east, the middle east (Egypt, Oman, Jordan, UAE) and Colombia. But the most dangerous place he's ever been was Mexico City.

He just returned from a two-week visit there (he went to see the pyramids) and he was mugged twice.

The first time, walking in a safe neighborhood at night, he was dragged into an alley by five uniformed police officers. They searched him, stole all his cash, and found his ATM card. They demanded he get into their patrol car, to be taken to a bank to withdraw cash. He resisted, started yelling, and the cops let him go.

The second time, wary of being out on foot after dark, he took a taxi cab. The cab was pulled over by seven uniformed cops. They shone a light at my son, saw he was not local, and ordered hm out of the cab. The poor terrified driver was ordered to drive away. My son was stranded in an unfamiliar neighborhood, surrounded by seven armed cops who demanded he empty his pockets. They stole all his cash, his flashlight, and asked to see his passport. Luckily he didn't have it on him (or they would have stolen that and held it for ransom.) They told him they were going to take him to his hotel to get his passport, but he refused to get in the car. People on the streets were watching, but were too afraid to say a word. Finally they released my son, who had to walk 45 minutes through dark streets, back to his hotel.

He spent the last three days of his visit barricaded in his hotel room.

The locals who heard about his experience were very apologetic and told him the police are so corrupt they're terrified of them too. My son is more aware than ever of why people are fleeing north, to escape.

The lesson here? If you must go to Mexico City, stay with a tour group. Never walk around with your ATM card or your passport. Better yet, don't go there at all.