Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25059
• . f ' t· I U IO: �w 0« 1-- -' CD 0: [5 >- c... 0: CD CD 0: 0 II- U o >- I CD c... IS BANDITS RULE MYSTERIOUSLY RETIRED TO CHIAPAS-MEXICO'S TURBULENT SOUTHERN STATE-WHERE HE SOMETIMES RENTS HIS PERSONAL RAFTING GEAR TO COM MERCIAL OUTFITTERS IN NEED OF AN EXTRA OAR FRAME OR SELF-BAILER. He is outside his motor home at Palenque's Maya Bell campsite, the magic mushroom cap llHE - RAPIDS ON MEXICO'S USUMACINTA RIVER ."MACHETE JIM," HE CALLS HIMSELF; A TEXAS LAND DEVELOPER ital of Mesoamerica, tel ling me how he escaped the bandits of Budsilja. For three years this elusive band has terrorized private and commercial boating expeditions-and now archaeologists-on the Usumacinta River. Famous for its milky jade waters and classic Maya ruins, the Usumacinta is Mexico and Guatemala's premier river, and one of the best in the world. Jim's was the last in a string of nightmares to plague boaters-the river's thriving rafting industry shut down in February 1997. Before that, every winter six to eight commercial outfits led as many trips apiece through the hundred-mile stretch of rainforest and ruins between Corozal and Tenosique. Nothing has been done since attacks began in 1994. The Usumacinta's importance as a concentration of natural and cultural wealth is such that the equivalent situation in the US would be a half-dozen militia guys shutting down rafting in the Grand Canyon, while the FBI, ATF and the Arizona State Police stood around shrugging their shoul ders. Many of the incidents have been vaguely reported, but they include robbery, assault and rape. Others are more concrete. Three years ago, two Europeans on a private trip sustained non lethal bullet wounds. In 1996, the river pirates scored upwards of $25,000 when they held up a Mexican outfit in San Jose Canyon below the town of Budsilja. Machete Jim was on that trip, too, and-strange to relate-the money was his. He can't explain why he was carrying so much cash. All he knows is that when he returned to the region the bandits had traded in their worn-out .22s for shiny new AK-47s. Jim seems to be afflicted with the American handicap of not being able to do something without simultaneously watching himself doing it. In 1997, he rowed the equipment raft for the same outfit that was robbed the year before. After the first bend below Budsilja-a 30-foot waterfall where the Budsilja River plunges into the Usumacinta-the bandits opened fire. Jim rowed to the Guatemalan side and fled into the forest. He spent a long night huddled with his dog, but managed to pen the first chapter of his adventures by the light of a headlamp. In the morning he lashed together three logs and ran San Jose Canyon's Class III rapids. His dog drowned, but Jim wandered into Palenque the next day none the worse for wear. Other rafters on the trip corroborated his account. Jim believes the bandits are connected to the recent increase in contraband traffic Flatwater motor trips on the Usumacinta still run upstream from the danger zone, visiting Yaxchilan and ruins on Guatemala's Rio Pasion such as Altar de Sacrificios and Seibal. For infor mation on that trip and the stunning Rio Jatate contact Ceiba in Flag- 520-527- specifically cocaine-on the river. He has faxed the US Embassy in Mexico City demanding greater DEA involvement. . Yet, the bandits could just as easily be connected to arms and antiquities smuggling, mar ginalized Zapatista spin-offs, or run-of-the-mill thugs. In any case, the two outfitters who have suf fered the worst-one of them Mexican-have corresponded extensively with the federal police, the military and the national tourist board, to no avail. The Mexican government-perhaps wishing to avoid armed clashes with any group in or near the Zapatista conflict zone before a political resolu tion can be finalized-has shown little inclination to investigate. The attacks attracted little attention until last June, when Australian archeologist Peter Mathews, archeologists and staff from INAH (Mexico's archeological department) were attacked while legally moving a Maya altar from EI Cayo, a small ruin six miles upstream from Budsilja, to a more secure site. The move was a result of villagers' reports of attempted looting. The attackers beat and stripped the party, then led them to the river bank. The victims jumped into the rain-swollen Usumacinta. Bullets whizzed over their heads as they swam across to Guatemala. While it seems unlikely that Maya traditionalists upset over the removal of the altar from their community would resort to murder, bandits after booty would have no such compunctions. It remains to be seen whether publicity from the Mathews incident will lead Mexico to act. In the meantime, don't plan any trips on the "Usu." The spectacular Rio Jatate in the Chiapas high lands, on the other hand, is running blue, strong and, more or less, safe.