My Mexican Jail Adventure

Text written on November 11th, 1997 with 8/17/98 Update

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 didnt 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. 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.

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 Honuduras. 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. 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 nothing. I was shocked. When I seen she was in trouble I asked if there was anything I could do to help and the officer asked me off the bus while other officers pulled our bags off. I was assurred this wasnt 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 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. It was a confession to the story the US government had formulated. That story was that I was a pollero and was trafficking in illegal aliens. That was a joke! 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 again asked for a translator and for the ability to contact the embassy. As of this time noone on earth knew I was in jail. They allowed me to make one phone call, which I tried depserately 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 talking on the phone, I was told to sing 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 didnt 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 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 but it was my 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 from Micheal Veesy of the American Embassy. 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 immensley 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 imagainable. 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 also, she can even come visit anytime or even come live with you. It was like a city with the walls. I was finally released becuase the judge saw that I was innocent and that I was capable of paying a bribe. The Mexican legal system is so messed up, messed up almost as much as the US system. I can't say i was overly happy to get back to the US of A.

The Aftermath:

On the day I was released, Paul was also released. 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. It doesn't seem to matter to the US government that I was innocent. They conspired with the Mexican government to detain me, and in fact I believe that htey pressured the Mexican government to arrest and charge me. I place full blame on the US government for my detainment!!! God bless the USA! It needs all the help it can get!!! I know I had the help from Jesus Christ and my friends in getting out of this ordeal..and for this I am grateful!

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*

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