El Ceibo Frontera | Customs and Immigration

GT-->MX
Guatemala easy
Mexico immigration no problem to get 180 days, only prerequisite was to pay with creditcard and a bit of story what we all want to see in Mexico 717MXN pp
90MXN for fumigation (sprinter van)
fruit control as described
Mexico aduana was a bit harder to get the 10 year TIP. although my paper in German says Wohnwagen = motorhome, unfortunately on offline google translate it's a caravan, which she first refused to accept as casa rodante or motorhome. There is no internet for better translation. luckily in the end she agreed for my Sprinter to give me the 10 year TIP. 55US$

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To enter Mexico:

Strict and long but ok. Everything as described before.
We paid 700 pesos each for migration which seems a lot! (but we had the official receipt…)
Then 90 pesos for fumigation (and we never had fumigation…)
Then they took the dog health certificate we did in Guatemala and gave us a 8 days health certificate…
Then they ask if we had fruits and veggies or other fresh food. I gave tomatoes. Because we have a dog inside the van the women did not enter inside. She ask about dog food and I said we only have dry food for 1 or 2 days.
Finally for the last inspection, another guy checked into the van really quickly (open few drawers and fridge.
We did not went to Aduanas as we have a 10 years permit for our vehicule.

So only remember to dont do grocery before crossing the border. And dont cross late in the day.

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Crossed at 930am on a Sunday morning with our dog and campervan and took about 1hr 15 min. It was a very chill crossing with people laughing and taking photos of our dog.
Thanks to all the comments before we could follow these instructions as its not clearly printed or explained in any way.
We had USD with us so instead of walking to the bank across the border the agents there said we could pay them for all. I'm guessing we got way overcharged at $100 USD for dog, TIP, fumigation total - and they casually asked if we had any cheese, fruits or nuts but we pretended to be deaf at that moment and they didn't look thru anything. Anyway easy peasy crossing for us and maybe in future countries I'll feel comfortable 'negotiating' with border agents for a better price - just our first big crossing so paid.
Falkor Expeditions

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Crossed at 930am on a Sunday morning with our dog and campervan and took about 1hr 15 min. It was a very chill crossing with people laughing and taking photos of our dog.
Thanks to all the comments before we could follow these instructions as its not clearly printed or explained in any way.
We had USD with us so instead of walking to the bank across the border the agents there said we could pay them for all. I'm guessing we got way overcharged at $100 USD for dog, TIP, fumigation total - and they casually asked if we had any cheese, fruits or nuts but we pretended to be deaf at that moment and they didn't look thru anything. Anyway easy peasy crossing for us and maybe in future countries I'll feel comfortable 'negotiating' with border agents for a better price - just our first big crossing so paid.

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Grenzübergang Mexiko -> Guatemala

Es lief alles weitestgehend wie in den vorherigen Kommentaren beschrieben. Ausreisetempel Mexiko + Einreisestempel Guatemala + TIP war in insgesamt weniger als einer Stunde erledigt. Die Beamten waren freundlich und geduldig.
Wir hatten Kopien von Pässen , Führerschein (von allen Fahrern) und Fahrzeugschein, die fehlende Kopie des Einreisestempels hat der Beamte selbst ausgedruckt.

Das TIP kostet 160 Q. Bezahlt werden müsse an einem mehrere Kilometer entfernten Ort. Alternativ konnte man bei einem Herren vor dem Büro zahlen an den uns der Beamte verwiesen hat. Hier ist Bezahlung in Quetz. Pesos oder USD möglich, es müssen jedoch rund 40 Q Kommission gezahlt werden…
wir haben letztendlich 460 Pesos (~5€ mehr als der offizielle Preis) an den Herren vor dem Büro gezahlt. Dieser hat die Gebühr für uns online (mit seinem Handy) bezahlt.
Im Anschluss haben wir unser TIP ausgestellt bekommen.

An der Desinfektionsstation mussten wir nochmals 100 Pesos zahlen. Es wurde gefragt, ob wir tierische Produkte oder frische Lebensmittel dabei haben. Diese müssen entsorgt werden. Die anschließende Kontrolle war sehr oberflächlich (es wurde eine Schublade kontrolliert, keine Fragen nach einem Kühlschrank)

Border crossing Mexico -> Guatemala

Everything went largely as described in the previous comments. Exit stamp Mexico + entry stamp Guatemala + TIP was completed in less than an hour. The officers were friendly and patient.
We had copies of passports, driving licenses (of all drivers) and vehicle registration documents; the officer printed out the missing copy of the entry stamp himself.

The TIP costs 160 Q. You have to pay at a location several kilometers away. Alternatively, you could pay to a gentleman in front of the office to whom the officer directed us. Here is payment in Quetz. Pesos or USD possible, but around 40Q commission must be paid…
We ended up paying 460 pesos (~5€ more than the official price) to the gentleman in front of the office. He paid the fee for us online (with his cell phone).
Afterwards we received our TIP.

At the disinfection station we had to pay another 100 pesos. People asked if we had any animal products or fresh food with us. These must be disposed of. The subsequent check was very superficial (a drawer was checked, no questions were asked about a refrigerator)

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Mex- Guatemala
Der Grenzübergang erscheint etwas unübersichtlich.

1. In dem hinteren Gebäude (hinter dem ersten, sichtbaren, weissen LKW ähnlichen Gebäude) bekommt man seinen VISA Stempel.
- Orginalpässe

2. Man fährt durch die Fumingante Station, Auto wird besprüht und parkt im Anschluss am Seitenstreifen.

3. Man bezahlt am hinteren Gebäude (das Letzte direkt an Fumigantes). Etwas verwirrend ist der Preis. Nach hin und her, ob in Queztal oder in Pesos sind es von 100Q plötzlich 60Q (40Q bezahlt Nadine für den Van).

4. In dem LKW Gebäude (zurück) bekommt man das TIP.
- Vorzeigen Orginalführerschein und Kopie abgeben
- Vorzeigen Fahrzeugschein und Kopie abgeben
- Vorzeigen Reisepass und zeigen Einreisestempel - Kopie Pass und Kopie vom Stempel
(Wir hatten alle Kopien im Vorwege, ausser den Einreisestempel - den hat der nette Beamte für uns umsonst gemacht, ansonsten direkt hinter dem Grenzzaun gibt es ein Kopierbüro 1Q je Kopie)
- Zeigen Auto kurz von innen (nicht Kühlschrank, keine Fragen), Nummernschild, Fahrzeugtyp, Fahrgestellnummer
- 160Q kostet das TIP, bezahlen sollen wir im Fumigantesbüro, der Typ möchte aber 300Q (?), so wandern wir 200m zur Caja Banrural in einem Store (hier bekommt man auch Tigo/Clara SIM). Hier könnte man auch fair Pesos gegen Quetzal tauschen, bezahlen 160Q +10Q Gebühr für das TIP
- Zurück zum LKW Büro, Vorzeigen Bestätigung, Abgleichen aller Daten und Aushändigung TIP, Aufkleber für die Windschutzscheibe.

VISA und TIP für 90 Tage. Gesamtdauer 1,5h, ausschließlich in Spanish. Es ist ein sehr entspannter Grenzübergang, allerdings unübersichtlich und die Menschen sind nicht übermäßig hilfsbereit. Der Grenzort ist furchtbar heruntergekommen, so trostlos.

Alles breit genug für grosse Autos, wenig Betrieb.

Google Translation in English:
The border crossing appears somewhat confusing. 1. In the rear building (behind the first, visible, white truck-like building) you get your Visa stamp. - Original passes 2. You drive through the Fumingante station, the car is sprayed and then parked on the hard shoulder. 3. You pay at the rear building (the last one directly to Fumigantes). The price is a bit confusing. After back and forth, whether in Queztal or in pesos, there are suddenly 60q from 100q (40q Nadine pays for the van). 4. In the truck building (back) you get the tip. - Show the original driving license and copy a copy - Show your vehicle registration and copy a copy - Show your passport and show entry stamps - Copy Pass and copy of the stamp (we had all copies in advance, except for the entry stamp - the nice official made it for us for free, otherwise directly behind the border fence there is a copy office 1Q per copy), no questions), license plate, vehicle type, chassis number - 160q costs the tip, we should pay in the Fumigantes office, but the type wants 300q (?), So we hike 200m to the Caja Banrural in a store (here you can also get Tigo / Clara Sim). Here you could also exchange fair pesos for quetzal, pay 160q + 10q fee for the tip - back to the truck office, show confirmation, compare all data and handing out tip, sticker for the windshield. Visa and tip for 90 days. Total duration 1.5 hours, exclusively in Spanish. It is a very relaxed border crossing, but confusing and people are not overly helpful. The border town is terribly run down, so bleak. Everything wide enough for large cars, little operation.

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MEX -> GUA 90 minutes total.
MEX side: 10 minutes cancelling TIP, 70 minutes waiting for stamp to exit Mexico in Immigration. Most of the wait is because they only have 1 worker doing both enter and exit permits. 1 person entering Mexico took more than half an hour alone so guess it can be faster depending on luck

GUA side: 5 minutes, we have Guatemala plates so didn't do TIP. 50MXN or 20GTQ for spray. Currency conversion didn't have bad rate it's after the gate exiting the border just flag down the people with the money and they'll come to your car

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Guatemala > Mexico

Aug 23, 2hrs, 2 foreign-plated motorcycles

Exit Guatemala: 5 minutes to be stamped out and handover TIP

Entry Mexico:
- You can’t miss fumigation, beware that the sprays go high, windscreen level, best to remove luggage on motorcycles
- Park up at migracion, pay for fumigation at the small window: 61MXN / 30GTQ / 4USD cash only for each motorcycle
- Migracion: fill in FMM, ask for 180 days, paid 687MXN by card pp (card only)
- Aduana: they simply asked us to show our food and confiscated honey and garlic (they take anything fresh, if they’d been in a different bag, they wouldn’t have seen them)
- Aduana in the big building: at the Banjercito window (closed on Mondays), hand over passport and title and 1 copy of each. TIP deposit paid by Visa or Mastercard (no AMEX), cost was 56USD on top

No hassle, everyone was friendly, modern facilities

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CLOSED ON MONDAY
You'll be given the chance to either return to Guatemala (if you haven't cancelled your TIP) or to drive to Tenosique (this is what we did) and come back the next day.
Bring copies, they don't do them any longer.
If you need a copy of your FMM, you will have to walk to Guatemala's border to get them done. ($10/each)
They will control you for fruits/veggies/animal products. They experience a lot of illicit importation at this border so that is why they are very careful. Either eat your stuff on the spot, or hide it (but they can decide to use the dog as well).
They are nice but it takes time.
Fumigation is $90, you can pay by credit card using the QRCode, they might or might not ask you to pay.

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TABASCO
Banjercito El Ceibo
Tuesday Through Sunday / Martes a Domingo
09:00 - 16:00 hrs.
Carretera Tenosique - El Ceibo Km.
56 s/n, Col. Agrícola sueños de
oro, Tenosique, Tab., C.P. 86903

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Mexico --> Guatemala

On motorcycle with Guatemalan plates.

On the way to the border there is a military checkpoint, they looked through my stuff a bit and were super friendly. Same deal when I was going in the other direction months earlier.

I had basically zero cash on me, so made sure the exit stamp was free before cancelling my TIP. It was.
Cancelled TIP, got my cash back.

Then, the weird confusing drive in a circle. There is a gate with a light that seems like your supposed to wait, but you just drive through. It's all very confusing, nothing makes sense.

At the Guatemalan side, it was super easy. I just gave the guy my passport and he stamped it, no questions. They were going to spray my bike, but I said it had a Guatemalan plate and they let me through without a spray.

After the border, I got some ice cream bars and water with my remaining pesos. Topped up my claro card with some USD, he charged me $10 usd. Not sure if you can buy a SIM there, they are harder to get than in Mexico, you need to show ID and such. I had to get my in the official Claro store in Guatemala City. I think they sold them in Flores though.

Hontel Antonio is about an hour drive, good place to stay after the border.

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easiest border crossing in all our central American trip. we went from guatemala to Mexico. Guatemalan side took 10min max and didn't have to pay anything. Mexican side took 10 min BUT we have residency cards of Mexico and our van is Mexican plated... but they didn't even open it and didn't say anything about our dog. the only thing we had to pay was 90pesos for fumigation.

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Crossed Guatemala to Mexico. Guatemala was crazily easy and people unbelievable friendly, it was almost fun and took only 10 min at noon on a Tuesday.

First getting passports stamped then quick check of the car papers and 1min inspection to check vehicle number.

Mexico was stricter, people didn’t seem to have fun, but still ok. Had to answer Covid questions, fill out FMM, paid the 600p, and were in. We did a roundtrip from mexico to Guatemala and back so we didn’t cancel the TIP on the way out and didn’t have to get a new one going in. It was checked, but they seemed fine with it.
Had to give away all of our fruits and honey and cheese. They would take meat too, but we didn’t have any.
Overall very recommended border crossing as the road are in such better shape than the one down south leading to lake atitlan. Only check iOverlander and make sure you drive to Flores via San Francisco other route is terrible and dangerous.

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We tried to exit Mexico yesterday but the Banjercito is CLOSED ON MONDAY so we went back to Tenesque and stayed the night. Then arrived before 9 on Tuesday. No issues canceling tip or getting exit stamp. Very friendly. Entering Guatemala was a process but very friendly and helpful. Passport stamp in small building on right. Vehicle import in white trailer with steep steps. Had to go make copies of stamped passport and back of my title and also pay for vehicle at small bank up the street. Two hours and whole process was complete.

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Little notice for motorcyclist, they really want you to go through the fumigation with the motorcycle and they literally shower the whole bike like the cars. If you enter from Guatemala to Mexico. My advice will be to pass around it and when they ask tell them you did it and pay the 60 Pesos for it. I had a shower myself as well with a 'kill shot' they offered me a hose with water after that...

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Mexico - Guatemala
Relatively easy process, even with my next to no Spanish. Got in at 09:30 and followed the steps from another user.
1. cancel TIP (big white building)
2. Stamp out of Mexico (small white building)
3. Drive across to Guatemala
4. Stamp into Guatemala (building behind the truck)
5. TIP for Guatemala (in the truck)
6. Get paperwork and walk up (approx. 200m) to hardware store/bank to pay for it. Motorcycle = 450MXN/178GTQ (probably got screwed a little on the “service fee” being a gringo)
7. Walk back to the truck and hand them the paperwork
8. Hit the road.
No Fumigation needed for me apparently. Don’t ask me why.

I think the only reason it took so long was the wait to be stamped out of Mexico…seemed to be easing themselves into the day by standing around having coffee and a chat before serving me (30min wait and was first in line) and the old fella on the Guatemala side doing the TIP paperwork probably needs a bit of computer training.
Can’t complain though. Welcome to Guatemala!!

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Update on costs 2022/07

Fumigation 90mx. Cash, didn't ask if card possible.
Turist card 638mx only credit, debit card or online payment when you complete online migration form. Cash not accepted.

I was 2 weeks out of Mexico, now reentering, they asked how many days I will stay, I said 180 because I want to reach Baja California and meet as much as possible of Mexico, no problem, didn't ask anything else and gave me the days.

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Normal process, but nobody charged us for our FMM here. I asked 3 different people where I go to pay and the third person looked at me like I was crazy and said I was free to go. Also, this border did take a lot of food and I saw they took basically anything associated with pets (beds, kennels) from others. So don't stock up on groceries before you get here. Your pet? I don't know what's up with that. We also have a 10 year tip for Mexico that I just had to pay a reentry fee at the Caja next to immigration for $120M

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we have an indian passport. even after selecting el ceibo as port of entry in the online fmm and paying the fees we were rejected entry. when asked they were saying all kinds of excuses like its a small port of entry and we don't process cases like yours and when we insisted they changed it and said they dont process indian nationals here along with few other countries. official was not helpful at all.

update: was able to successfully enter through la mesilla.. official at la mesilla asked us to fill another form and let us in.

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Updated costs for Mexico immigration from Guatemala:
Fumigation $95MXN
Tourist card $575MXN pp (increased from 2020, previously $558MXN)

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From Guatemala to Mexico. Border is open from 9 am to 5 pm. Entry fee to Mexico is 580 MXD or 33 USD or 30 EUR per person. Bank is closed on Monday so impossible to pay for your TIP. Very friendly boarder officials on both sides. Mexican police officers spoke perfect English. They checked our van with a police dog. Not many questions were asked.

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From Guatemala to Mexico. Border is open from 9 am to 5 pm. Entry fee to Mexico is 580 MXD or 33 USD or 30 EUR per person. Bank is closed on Monday so impossible to pay for your TIP. Very friendly boarder officials on both sides. Mexican police officers spoke perfect English. They checked our van with a police dog. Not many questions were asked.

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Desde guatemala a mexico
Guatemala muy simple y rápido
Mexico muy estricto y rigurosos a la hora de revisar el vehículo, nada de frutas, verduras, fideos, arroz. Para los animales piden un certificado zoosanitario que tenga una validez de 15 días, ni más ni menos!

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I can confirm how strict they are on food and animals. hide your food and either have a health certificate for your dog within 15 days or a good quality fake one haha. after being stuck for a short while a little bird told me the taxi drivers would take my dog for a walk in the mountains and I could find him in Mexico after I pass through ;). worked for me, paid about 150 pesos.

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We tried to enter Mexico from Guatemala, no issues with the Visa. However our van has a salvage title which was not a problem getting the tip in the north but here it is not possible. the border people said that the border with Belize is easy and will be no problem there. They had no problems with us entering but there boss would not let us. So we have to drive to a different border to enter. When we stamped back into Guatemala a few hours later the border guard laughed and said people always get turned away from this border and apparently it's the hardest one to cross to get into Mexico.

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Mexico is very professional but Guatemala is not very organized. We crossed with two motorcycles and they had no internet so we had to sit on the sidewalk for 7 hours. Guatemala will also try to scam you out of as much money as you let them. Cost to import a bike is 160q fumigation is 20q copies are 1/2q. Don’t pay any more than that. The change people who ride up on motorcycles will give you 7q for 1 us dollar after some haggling. If the internet had been up this would have been an easy crossing. If you’re traveling alone on a motorcycle I recommend crossing here. You can see your bike almost the whole time.

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The bank was closed today so no chance to cancel our TIP. We went back to Mexico and try it tomorrow again...
They told us the bank ist closed every monday.

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The bank was closed today so no chance to cancel our TIP. We went back to Mexico and try it tomorrow again...
They told us the bank ist closed every monday.

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Exit Guatemala: quick, nothing special.
Entry Mexico: paid 530 pesos or so in the bank per person entry costs.
No costs for car as we have a Mexican plated car.

Bank closes at 5, so you’ll have no chance of entry later than 5.

They checked our van, but not thouroughly. They did not spot our hidden food:)

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Easy to exit from Mexican side. Banjercito is next to the pass control. Open until 17 p.m.

For entering Guatemala everything worked out fine with our motorbikes. But: You should definitely get some Quetzal in Mexico! In El Ceibo no ATM exists and you can only change Dollars, Euros, or Mexican pesos for a local price (we had none and had to take what we got offered).
60 USD for entering the bikes, 40 Q for desinfection spray, 2 MXP or 1 Q per copy (passport, drivers lisence, bike papers....).

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Very easy getting out of Guatemala, however there was a lot of confusion to 3nter back into Mexico with my dog. We had gotten all our paper work in order before leaving the states. The problem now is that the paper work that is said to expire 2 years for. now (2020) is not good enough. They want the paper work to be filled out within a 15 day period before crossing into Mexico. We called our vet in the states but they wouldn't send a newly dated document. I understand this. Mexico didn't seem to care if the dog saw a vet. In fact they told me to leave the dog, go to the next town and get a vet to sign the paper work. On my second trip walking back into Guatamala I stopped at the first photocopy place and had them change the date. this was done for 5Q. So after 4 hours and all that stress, it just comes down to changing the date to be within 15 days of crossing and they don't care how its done. Border guards were very nice, but get the date changed before crossing. They only took eggs, hotdogs, and some leftover meat in the ice box. No problem with the dog food.

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easy process friendly English speaking officials. not much wait. great road on Mexico side. stay at autohotel Franca an hour into Mexico it's super nice and cheap!!

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this place is in the totally wrong location. the banjercito is at the border about 10 minutes up the road.

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Mexican Aduana on the border with Guatemala.

Deposits required for entering vehicles.
2007 and following: 400 USD
2001 to 2006: 300 USD
2000 and below: 200 USD

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Very easy crossing from Mexico to Guatemala with a motorcycle. Wasn't even asked for fumigation; just the 160q import fee. Got a very good rate (better than market) for pesos at the mini market where I made copies on the Guatemala side.

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Very easy getting out of Guatemala The customs for getting into Mexico was another matter. Even the rice we bought in Mexico was confiscated as the package was open. As the other blogger said, hide everything.

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When entering Mexico they took a lot of stuff from us that we've never had an issue with before. If we had put everything in our top roof box we wouldn't have had any problems because they didn't even realize it was a storage container... They took all our produce, eggs, beans, herbs, seeds, lentils, popcorn, dog food, compost toilet sawdust. We argued that a lot of the products were from the US and we had entered into Mexico with them. They said we were now coming from Guatemala and "Guatemala has so many problems." Hide anything questionable.

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Crossed from Mexico to Guatemala. Great border crossing. Fast and efficient. no "helpers". Vehicle import on both sides (Banjercito and SAT)

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