Blender pilot...
Turns out it was a US registered aircraft and a Mexican crew.
Is there an easy place to work in Mexico? It's all either hot or high or humid or all three with the possible exception of Baja.
I am not aware of any US companies that work in Mexico that are not big players in the US CWN market. This is not to say that many of them are not the bottom of the gene pool but USFS carding has VERY little to do with the preformance of a company. Look at the California companies that come south every year. They all work for the USFS and CDF but you wouldn't find me in all but one of the companies.
My company has been in Mexico for 6 years, year round. We choose to be in Mexico and choose NOT to work for the USFS.
I find your off shore reference somewhat misleading. In the hangar next to our machines are a Bell 47 and a 206. Both are older than 10 years and both fly regularly in air taxi work. The way I understand it the 10 year rule is only for off shore ships, exposed to the salt water environment. There are no US or Canadian operators operating off shore in Mexico to the best of my knowledge. Our older than 10 years helicopters provide more performance for the peso than anything in Mexico. That is why we are still here.
The US opertaors that do operate in Mexico do so because of the lack of precision vertical reference pilots in Mexico. When the Mexicans learn to do this there will be no more gringos working down here.
N25.14 W100.17