Mexico: citizens having customs woes at Spanish airports

Mexican citizens are increasingly having trouble as they try to pass through customs at Spanish airports, the foreign ministry alleged Friday.

“We have seen a worrying increase in the numbers of Mexican travelers who are turned away, detained and then repatriated after arriving at the airports of Madrid or Barcelona,” the ministry said in a statement.

Mexican citizens are detained under the pretext that they have not fulfilled certain requirements, including having an invitation letter in hand from a Spanish citizen, the ministry added, noting travelers had not been duly informed of this necessity.

“These facts clearly don’t reflect the excellent friendship and cooperation” between the two countries, it said.

According to the statement, Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa raised the issue with Spanish officials while in Madrid last week.

Her counterparts, the ministry said, indicated they would “find a viable solution and prevent all unjustified detentions at Spanish airports.”