American birdwatchers are held at gunpoint by Mexican cartel

Gay couple from Indiana hyperventilate after being chased down and pulled over by armed cartel while BIRDWATCHING in Mexico

A gay couple from Indiana were filmed hyperventilating after being chased in their car and pulled over by an armed cartel while birdwatching in Mexico.

In February 2020 YouTubers Aaron Payzant and Logan Howard decided to hop in their car and drive from Indiana to Mexico to photograph exotic birds - only to find themselves chased down by a truck full of armed drug runners while on a dirt road near Tabasco.
Payzant was filmed shouting: 'Oh my God. They have guns! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,' while imploring Howard, who was driving, to speed off.

His boyfriend began hyperventilating with panic moments later.

Footage of their brush with death has been widely-shared for the first time this week, thanks to TikTok.

The couple's YouTube channel Out Off The Trail features videos of them chasing storms and their social media accounts feature wildlife photography, primarily of different types of birds.

After initially posting the footage of their harrowing encounter in Mexico on TikTok in December, they posted additional dashboard footage onto YouTube earlier this month.

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Aaron Payzant, left, could be seen clenched with fear after he and his boyfriend Logan Howard, left, were chased by a Mexican cartel


Howard, left, began to hyperventilate while Payzant, right, crossed his arms on his chest, in an apparent attempt to show the armed cartel that he didn't have a weapoon

As one of the cartel members asks 'are they lost or what?' Payzant (right) responds he does not speak Spanish while pleading 'please don't kill us'
  
Dashcam footage captured the terrifying moment a pick up truck cut filled with armed cartel members approach the couple


'They have guns!' Payzant, who is driving, says as the cartel members exit the pickup truck
Moment American birdwatchers are held at gunpoint by Mexican cartel




While driving down a dirt road in Tabasco, Mexico, the couple notices a pick up truck is speeding up behind them.

They begin to get more and more nervous as the car rushes towards them, eventually pulling up in front of them.

It was then that the pickup truck cuts them off and a group of armed cartel members exit their vehicle and approach the pair.

'They have guns!' Payzant, who is driving, says as Howard puts on his seat belt and urges Payzant to drive away.

Payzant puts the car in reverse for a few seconds but then stops the car as the cartel members approach the drivers side window.

Payzant puts his hands up and begs for the cartel members to not shoot as Howard begins to cry.

As one of the cartel members asks 'are they lost or what?' Payzant responds he does not speak Spanish while pleading 'please don't kill us'

The armed cartel members actually calm the men down repeating 'no problem' and ask the men where they are going.

'Calm down güero, nothing happens!' one man says patting a visibly shaken Payzant's shoulder to get him to relax.



The couple was approached by armed cartel members while driving down a dirt road in Tabasco, Mexico





The couple did set up a GoFundMe called 'Help Aaron & Logan get car back to USA' after the incident but it looks like no one donated


The men continue to try to calm a nearly hysterical Payzant, (right) who looked like he was about to pass out, even asking for his name and offering a handshake

Howard, apparently lying, tells the men they were lost on their way to see his mother in Cancun.

The cartel members continue to try to calm a nearly hysterical Payzant, who looked like he was about to pass out, even asking for his name and offering a handshake.

In the end the cartel members explain to the terrified men that they are not allowed to be on the path and order them to go back to the highway, the couple explained in a follow up video.

The pair explained they suffered severe anxiety after the incident and even left their car in an undisclosed location in Mexico before high tailing it back to the states.

'This was as we were on a back road we were looking for wildlife and we were just seeing what we could find in an area where there was a lot of wetlands and stuff like that,' Payzant explained.

'This is the most extreme experience I've ever had birding,' Howard added but said: 'I would go back, just not in our personal vehicle.'

Explaining why he didn't just drive away immediately after the cartel members said he was free to go, Payzant explained that he was in panic mode.

'After seeing my life flash before my eyes, I started seizing almost. I couldn't drive,' he said.

The couple did set up a GoFundMe called 'Help Aaron & Logan get car back to USA' shortly after the incident but it looks like no one donated.