Text written on November 11th, 1997 with 8/17/98 and 8/7/02 Updates
How it began:
Well so you wanna hear about my Mexican jail adventure. It
all started in the most uninteresting fashion. I left El Paso,
Texas on a visit to Central America. I wanted to see a new part
of the world. I arrived in Mexico City by bus from Ciudad
Juarez(on the border) and then boarded Copa Airlines for San
Pedro Sula, Honduras. It was a very interesting trip as I was
seated next to a Export businessman from Cartagena, Colombia. You
can guess what export I was thinkin he handled. *chuckle*
After
my arrival in San Pedro, I was expecting at least some adventure
to befall me.I had heard that La Ceiba was an interesting place
to visit, especially with the Bay Islands close by so the next
day I headed off by bus to La Ceiba. They use old school buses
for their long distance buses. I didn't fit in very well to the
seats. Mostly it was a comedic joke. People are so poor there. It is sad.
I had planned to spend
a month in Central America, but I was getting tired of it real quick(Shortly
after this trip, I did go back, there was just something special about Honduras.).
After 3 days in La Ceiba, I had decided to leave early to
return to Mexico. I much prefer Mexico. I did meet a person who was on her way to the Mexico to visit friends of hers. We
decided to travel together since my Spanish is bad and it is
always more fun to have a travel partner. (Can you read sucker on
my forehead?)
The trip north:
We left La Ceiba together traveling to the border with
Guatemala. It was an experience and a half. So much poverty but
also so much natural beauty is seen in Honduras. We crossed the
border into Guatemala late in the afternoon and proceeded in the
back of a truck from the border to the next biggest town. The
pickup truck was traveling very fast on the dirt roads. I think
we forded at least 4 rivers. On this part of the trip I think I
laughed 40% of the time. I remember the little villages and
waving to the people as we flew down the mountain. (There is just
something crazy and surreal about the whole thing, going down the mountain, not
knowing what awaited around any bend in the road. It was so cool in a way, but
also very crazy. I wish I could take it all in with what I know now.)
The next
morning we headed to Guatemala City and the border with Mexico.
We arrived late in the day to Tec Uman, Guatemala. I was tired of
traveling with someone else so I kindly went along with her idea
that I proceed on to Tapachula while she waited for her papers to
enter Mexico. We agreed to meet at the bus terminal. A few shorts hours later she unfortunately
arrived....
The arrest:
We proceeded north to Mexico City. We had
planned to part ways in Mexico City as I wanted to do more
traveling in Mexico. The bus
was stopped at an immigration checkpoint just north of Tapachula.
The bus was boarded by immigration officers and we were
asked to show papers.
I had my passport, but she had no visa. Being a
stupid American, I didn't think much about it. When I saw she was in trouble I asked if there was
anything I could do to help and the officer asked me to get off the bus
while other officers pulled her bags off. I was assurred this wasn't anything major and I would be on my way shortly. That was
the first of many real good jokes.
The Legal Problems:
That was the first place I was detained. After a wait there
of one hour I was transferred to the main immigration office. I
was still assurred it was nothing and I would be quickly on my
way. I believed them. After about an hour of a wait. I was called
into an office by the Jefe of the office and he read me something
in spanish that said something to the effect of 10 years in jail.
I immediately asked for a translator and to contact the
Consulate. He told me to wait a little bit longer.
All I was
thinking is how much of a bribe does he want? About 30 minutes
later three men arrived and pulled me into an office. They
claimed to work for the US Embassy and began interrogating me
like I was a criminal(I guess I was by Mexican law, but still these
were Americans representing the US Embassy).
I told them the truth and they told me
they wanted to speak to girl. They talked with her for like 20
minutes and then pulled me back into the room and said they had
decided what the truth was and laid out a false story. I told
them they were wrong. They said it didnt matter and they left.
About 2 hours later I was taken into another room where they
insisted I sign a document. My spanish is bad but they said it
was just so I could be released. I trusted them(Trust? What is that?
Never, ever sign anything in another language nder any reason.)
It turned out to be a
confession to the story the US government reps had formulated. That
story was that I was a pollero and was trafficking in illegal aliens. Gotta love
the humor in it all!
I thought I
was being released that night as I was taken downtown to the
police station. I was told all I had to do was show the paperwork
to a lawyer and I would be released. Wrong again.
I got the funny
feeling I was not in a good situation when they asked me to empty
my pockets and take off my belt. I was then put in a jail cell
with rats and the like. I was assurred it was only for like 30
minutes. It ended up being 2 nights.
The next morning I went to
see the lawyer where he had another document for me to sign. I asked for a translator and for the ability to contact the
embassy. As of that time no one on earth knew I was in jail. They
allowed me to make one phone call, which I tried desperately to
call someone. You are allowed only one phone call. You can call
family, friends, a lawyer or the embassy. I got ahold of my
sister who contacted the embassy for me.
After being allowed to make a phone call, I was told to
sign the document because all it was just
the papers so I could be deported from Mexico. At this point, all
I wanted was to put this experience behind me. I signed
confession #2. Looking back, it was funny because statement #2
was copied from statement #1 and they didn't even agree. *chuckle*
I spent the next night in jail with the rats and with inedible
food(I fed it to the rats) on the assumption I was getting out
the next morning.
The next morning a man at the US Embassy, a Michael
Veesy gave me a call. The police didnt like the idea of me talking to the
Embassy in English. I had a lot of concerns, like who were the men who
interrogated me and what the hell was happening to me. I was informed by him
that soon I would be transferred to a different jail where there were no phones.
He said I should prepare to be there for the long haul and that he would be
visiting me in a few days. He also let me know what my rights were in
Mexico.
The Big House:
The next morning instead of deporting me they put me in a VW
Bus with 7 gun toting soldiers for a trip to my new home, the big
house. The facility was old and dilapidated, not a very inviting new home. The people did seem friendly, at least most of them. I kept
demanding to have a translator since before they took me away I
had discovered my rights. The big house produced Rico and Paul.
Paul was an American being held for the same offense they were holding me
for. He too was innocent. They both took me under their wings and
helped me immensely in my jail stay. Without them I probably
would have died in that stay. By the time of my release, I had
taught an english class, I had made many friends and had won
respect from the various fellow inmates.
You can get anything in
a Mexican jail, it is a lot different than an American jail. The
rules are very lenient if you have a few pesos to pay. You can
also eat pretty good as they have many vendors selling everything
and anything imaginable. If you are there for awhile you can buy
your own cell and decorate it as you please with stereos, tv's,
vcr's, just about anything you would have in your own bedroom. If
you are married and your wife isnt in jail, she can even
come visit anytime or even come live with you. It was like a village
within the walls.
I was finally released after 6 days. The judge knew I
was innocent, everyone knew they had went too hard. They had majorly violated my
rights and it was all documented in a formal complaint by the US Embassy against
the Mexican embassy. It didn't also hurt that I had respected people in Mexico
vouching for my character.
The Aftermath:
On the day I was released, Paul was also released.
Sometimes I wonder if it had anything to do with the formal complaint. I
discovered that they were INS agents that visited me on day 1.
They are required by Federal Law to notify the Embassy whenever
they come across an American being held and they are not allowed
to act on behalf of the Mexican government in interrogating an
American. They interrogated me, they fabricated the story, and
they didn't notify the US Embassy that I was being held. They
violated my civil rights. They conspired with the Mexican
government to detain me, and in fact I believe that they
pressured the Mexican government to arrest and charge me.
Update: 8/17/98
I have had a bit of time to think about everything in the past year so now is the time to comment on it a little more. I realize that life deals you things and you have to learn to deal with them as they come. I have had an interesting time telling my story. It is not nearly as tragic as it was at the time and now consider the jail experience to be one of "fun" times of my life. I harbor no resentment except to the bloodsucking attorney. I still wont go back to visit Chiapas though *laugh*
Update: 8/7/02
Wow, the longer I get away from this story,
the more surreal it becomes. Oh well. 5 years on, this story seems a million
miles away. We live and learn a lot. Either way I am ok now and no worse for the
wear, maybe even better off.
In case you wondering, your rights in Mexico
are simple:
1) You have the right to a translator
provided by the prosecutor.
2) You don't have to sign anything and signing
anything ain't going to help. They don't just deport you.
3) You have the right to a lawyer, but the
lawyer is an employee of the prosecutor.
4) You must be charged within 48 hours and
then a judge has 72 hours to decide if they can continue to hold you.
5) Once you are in jail, forget the bribes,
use them only when they are first contemplating arrest.
6) If it involves drugs, no matter how
minor the amount, you are up a creek.
