Mexico City nightclub charges Americans $300 cover: ‘This is a political situation’ – National
A social media post from a Mexico City nightclub has gone viral for its explanation of its entrance fee policy, which charges American guests $300 for what the club calls a “political situation.“
Citizens of Mexico and those from other Central and South American countries pay $14, while people from other areas pay $20.
An Instagram statement shared by a Japanese nightclub in the Roma Norte neighborhood, west of the city center, said, “It’s not that we ‘charge gringos more’ we give discounts to people who need them,” adding that American tourists do not get a discount.
The post explains that Americans pay the full 5,000-peso entrance fee; people from any other country get a 93 percent discount; Mexicans and Latin Americans get a 95 percent discount, while students and teachers get a 97 percent discount, meaning they pay just 150 pesos (CAD$12) to enter.
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The owner of the club, Federico Crespot, told The Guardian that the prices were introduced because of the bad relations between Mexico and the US, where the Trump administration targets Latin American immigrants living in that country.
“This is a response to a year of insults directed at us – as a country – by the United States,” he said.
“It’s a big response to the many attacks on Mexico from Trump,” he continued, adding that it was also a response to rising prices due to gentrification in Mexico City.
In a subsequent letter Wednesday, the nightclub said its policy “in no way reflects hatred or ill will toward American citizens as individuals.”
“This is a political situation,” he explained, adding that the club took the approach of accelerating discussions about the treatment of Latin Americans in the US and the negative impact of foreign tourism on the local population.
“We believe that the citizens of the country are the ones who elect and remove governments. We believe in voting, protesting, and organizing communities to achieve these goals, and we encourage the citizens of America to take control of their country,” the statement continued.
The nightclub’s posting follows a wave of backlash from American and other foreign tourists to Mexico City, whose presence is driving up rents and costing locals in places like Condesa and Roman.
Protests erupted last July and were sometimes violent, with some marchers smashing windows and holding signs that read, “My city is not your Airbnb.”
The violence marked a tragic end to a peaceful march that has cost thousands of American tourists who have flocked to the Mexican capital in recent years.
Protesters march in a protest against gentrification and tourism in the Tlalpan neighborhood of Mexico City on July 20, 2025. The government of Mexico City has launched an anti-gentrification plan following a recent protest by residents who blame foreigners moving to the capital for making it more expensive and driving out longtime residents and vendors.
Alejandro Cegarra/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Graffiti over shuttered businesses and spread across the walls read, “Get Out of Mexico” and “Gentrifiers and Colonizers.”
Others in attendance held signs that read, “Gringos, stop stealing our home,” while calling for local legislation to better regulate tourism and introduce stricter housing laws.
Tensions have been high in the city since American “digital nomads” flocked to Mexico City in 2020, many fleeing the US’s COVID-19 lockdown or taking advantage of cheap rental prices in the Latin American city.
– With files from the Associated Press
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