Corruption at border crossing from El Salvador to Honduras
September 2000
Approaching the El Salvador border crossing into Honduras at El Poy
we were
prepared to pay a couple of dollars entry
tax. However we were astounded to be told to pay
10 dollars each, not for a visa, just for an entry stamp. We pointed
out that we understood the fee to be much less but our
"friendly" border official informed us
that this was a new law whereby different countries
pay differing taxes. Following our rule of always getting a receipt,
we got one but were still suspicious. When we asked to see the boss
we couldn't believe the official's response. He shouted
at us "I'm the boss and this is the law. If
you don't like it, go back to El Salvador!" Feeling intimidated
we attempted to apologise and paid the money.
When we arrived in Tegucigalpa,
the capital of Honduras, we paid a visit to the immigration head office
and explained the incident. Judging from their reaction we knew we
had been ripped off. They informed us that there is no
entry or exit tax (for British citizens at least)
and that the receipt was not official. The fact
that this con man had gone to the trouble of printing up official
looking receipts indicates the organised nature of this
scam. Phone calls from head office to the border
office ensued and then came through a faxed document
saying that we had been charged 20 dollars for "arguing with the
official". Since there is no such rule, this guy was
pretty stupid to admit that he had taken the 20
dollars, and to make up such a reason. The people at
immigration assured us that the corrupt official will be ordered to pay
back the money before being sacked. When he conned us I'm
sure he wasn't counting on us reporting the
incident.
Although 20 dollars down we gained satisfaction
in knowing that we had brought this thief to justice. If every traveller
were to go to the trouble of reporting such incidents it will go some
way to putting a stop to corruption. Eventually the bent officials will
become aware that attempts to extort money under official
auspices will not go unreported.
If you experience
a similar incident we urge you, if time permits,
to report it to the authorities and contact your embassy. We found
the staff at the immigration office extremely helpful and
genuinely angered that one of their colleagues had
done this. Likewise, the British Embassy were very
interested in hearing about our experience and promised to follow
it up.
