May 4, 2026, 5:56 am | Read time: 8 minutes
On his travels, which have now taken him to about 70 countries, our author occasionally finds himself in adventurous situations. He has learned to always behave as normally as possible to avoid encounters with the law at all costs. Because he has had several involuntary encounters in the past. Most were simply bizarre, while others he found truly dangerous. At TRAVELBOOK, he reports on some of these incidents.
Every traveler can probably quickly list a few situations they would prefer to avoid on vacation. Stomach issues or even diarrhea after consuming unfamiliar or spoiled food are clearly among them. Being robbed or even mugged is certainly an even worse experience that one would gladly avoid. More than a decade as a world traveler has taught me another lesson: to avoid any encounter with the law and its enforcers at all costs, if possible. Because sometimes such involuntary encounters have left me with very unpleasant memories.
Of course, it should be common sense to always behave on trips (as well as at home) in a way that does not attract the attention of law enforcement. However, and perhaps other travelers besides me have already experienced this, the gold standards of good behavior sometimes have different rules abroad. Or, the precautions that seem sensible to us simply do not apply in another country. Not because they are not legal, but because, in my experience, law enforcers there do not always adhere to existing laws. And so, one can sometimes find themselves in unpleasant situations through no fault of their own. My travels to South and Central America, in particular, have provided me with several such experiences.
Hobby Cops in Mexico
The earliest memory takes me back to my first major trip abroad to Mexico in 2006. I arrived late at night in the Pacific metropolis of Acapulco, looking for a place to sleep on the beach. At that time, I had neither a concept of hostels nor the necessary funds for an overnight stay. Soon, during my walk, I encountered two security guards, a kind of private police, patrolling the beach. They wanted to know what I was doing there at that time and asked me to empty my pockets. It was then that I first experienced the feeling of being at the mercy of others and their arbitrariness. An ugly feeling of powerlessness and insecurity that I wish on no one.
The hobby cops found, among other things, a screwdriver for my skateboard in my pocket, which they now classified as a dangerous weapon. One murmured quietly into a walkie-talkie, and panic rose in me. They would now hand me over to the police, the other said to me, unless… At these words, he held out his hand suggestively, and I understood immediately. He and his buddy wanted a bribe. So I paid a hefty fee and was allowed to continue on my way with the screwdriver in my pocket. A lesson that taught me a lot for my future travels. Because indeed, with a little cash, you can sometimes save yourself a lot of trouble, even if you didn’t cause it yourself.
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Arrested for Fishing
But you have to be able to read such a situation, and in the worst case, an attempt at bribery can bring even more trouble. This happened to me in 2014 in Argentina when I was illegally fishing for trout in the shortest river in the world in Patagonia. A foolish act that practically screamed for trouble but seemed very exciting to me at the time. It didn’t take long before a pickup truck, unmistakably belonging to the Patagonian local police, approached. I decided to face the encounter rather than flee. When the officer pointed out my offense to me at length, I immediately pulled out my wallet and offered him a larger bill. A grave mistake.
“Vas preso!” the man shouted at me with a flushed face. “You’re under arrest!” So, like in a movie, I was put in the back of the vehicle. They took me to a police station that looked like a cozy log cabin and could have served as a believable setting for a provincial jail in any Western. There, another officer awaited me and tried to record the incident and my personal details. Looking back, I’m not proud of the action, but I played dumb to the point that they released me, completely exasperated and virtually unpunished, after half an hour of “interrogation.” My fishing rod was confiscated, but that was it. That was also the only time in my life when I consciously risked breaking the law while traveling abroad.
Naked Down to My Underwear
Nevertheless, I was arrested or detained several more times on my travels. In Venezuela, it happened several times, with the first incident occurring on the very first day of my trip. I was in downtown Caracas with a local guide, taking photos. As I was capturing some pigeons, two police officers suddenly approached me. They asked what was so interesting and if they could see my passport. Unfortunately, I had left it at home as a precaution, fearing pickpockets. So the two cops promptly arrested me and my companion and took us to a kind of mobile station on a street corner. There were already plenty of other “delinquents” sitting there besides us.
After a short time, they let us go. I assume my guide had pulled out his wallet again. Later, he explained to me that the police had suspected I was a foreign spy because of my high-quality camera. The second time was not so fortunate. At the border to Colombia, I was on an intercity bus that suddenly stopped. A soldier with an automatic rifle boarded, inspected the faces, and asked me to get off with him. At the station, I had to strip down to my underwear without any explanation while he thoroughly searched my backpack. When he found nothing suspicious, he openly asked what I would give him to let me go.
Accidental Smuggling
He held up several souvenirs I had bought for my family back home. He seemed to want a package of coffee, but when I told him it was for my grandma, even he showed understanding. Mothers and especially grandmothers are sacred in South America. Finally, he settled for a 50-cent coin after I claimed it was 50 euros. I was then allowed to continue my journey, trembling with tension, and the bus had even waited for me. The feeling of standing almost completely naked in front of a man with a huge gun, through no fault of my own, is something I can still vividly remember.
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Almost Became a Smuggler
One of my most formative encounters with the law while traveling was one that, fortunately, never actually happened. On the return trip from Belize, there was a stopover in Dallas, Texas. Perhaps you have also heard of the strict procedures of U.S. Homeland Security, which even affect people in transit. In any case, it is strictly forbidden to bring foreign animal and plant species into the States. And just before landing in Dallas, I suddenly remembered that my medicine bag, already checked in for the transit to Berlin, contained plant seeds from Belize that a local had given me.
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I was fully aware that Homeland Security would search the backpack of a South America traveler. And I had just recently read a book in which someone was arrested at a U.S. airport because they had dirt from another country stuck to their boot. The four-hour layover at Dallas Airport was among the longest of my life. In constant fear that my name would be called and I would miss my flight home. On the tarmac, there was another heart-stopping moment when the police boarded my plane just before departure and actually took someone else off, for whatever reason. When I landed in Berlin-Tegel, I discovered a tag on my backpack indicating that my luggage had been searched.
Thanks to Police for a Better Exchange Rate
Another encounter of a different kind with the law occurred again in Argentina. Visiting a journalist friend in Buenos Aires, I was looking for a “Casa de Cambio,” a money exchange office. It was even listed with an address in my tourist guide, yet I couldn’t find it. So I finally approached a passing police officer. He just laughed and said, “Don’t be an idiot. Come with me to my buddy; he’ll give you a much better exchange rate.” Indeed, I received significantly more than expected for my currency, and the officer went on his way, whistling happily, with a hefty commission in his pocket.
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Perhaps you, dear readers, have also had such bizarre or unpleasant encounters with the law while traveling. My past experiences have taught me to better interpret potentially tricky situations today. This way, you can ideally avoid them before they even arise. Otherwise, it’s still best to stay calm, even if you don’t understand how a particular situation came about. And most importantly: Don’t let such experiences overshadow the memory of your entire vacation.