The 10 most common foreign cities in which Americans are arrested

Tijuana rarely makes the top of any list for any reason–unless, of course, the list happens to rank the most common places for Americans to be arrested abroad. In that case, Tijuana proudly stands as number one.

Police in the sprawling border town arrested 520 Americans in 2006, more so than any other city on the planet. In fact, according to statistics released by the American State Department and published by the LA Times, Mexico claims four of the top five cities in which the most Americans were taken into custody. Only London, at number 4 on the list with 274 arrests stood in the way of Mexican penal domination.

Of course, the statistics are a little skewed since the arrest numbers do not take into consideration the overall number of tourists. If only 700 Americans visited Mexico, for example, and 520 were arrested, I’d certainly be concerned about those odds. Thousands of Americans visit Mexico on an annual basis, however, thus turning those 520 arrests into a very small percentage indeed. Nonetheless, it’s always wise to carry a $20 bill with you just in case…

The top 10 cities you’re most likely to get arrested in are…



(Source: LA Times)