mexicoborder

Mexico accepts billions of American dollars for fighting the drug cartels but then they turn their prisons over to the cartels to run as the cartels see fit. That means the toughest gang gets to make the rules. The Gulf Cartel runs the Matamoros prison. They beat and extort money from the new inmates and kill the inmates that belong to other cartels. They use the prison as a recruiting station and a training boot camp for new members. What I say can be documented by the “AMERICAN CONSULATE” They know all about it and even discuss it in the pamphlets they give Americans in prison there. Below is an account of my stay in the Matamoros prison for about a month. I was living in Matamoros when this took place. On 3/21/09 around 11:pm, I was asleep in my bed when an intruder attacked me with a crowbar. I managed to shoot him with my spear-gun that I use for spear fishing. He ran off with my spear in his chest.I few hours later, around 3:am, the Mexican police knocked on my door. They went through my apartment and would not allow me to watch what they were doing. Then they handcuffed me and placed me in the backseat of their truck. In the truck, they went through my pockets and took all my money then drove me to the jail. Later, I found out they had stolen $400 pesos from my desk, My IPOD, my watch, my cell phone and my camera.The jail has no running water, no food, no bedding. Just a cold, nasty smelling concrete floor to sleep on. The whole place was infested with mice and cockroaches. It smelled like the worst Mexican bathroom that you could imagine. I was told I would be held there for 72 hours. Since the cops had taken all of my money, I was at the mercy of my fellow inmates for food. They shared with me. Their families had brought them money and food. I had no family or friends to help me.The next day, Soledad, My landlady came by with a lawyer for the guy that attacked me.They asked me to pay his hospital bill and they would drop charges against me. I felt that he had came to my home and started trouble and attacked me. I simply defended myself as best as I could since I’m a 67 year old man with C.O.P.D. and he was a 46 year old man in good health. I didn’t feel I was obligated to pay for defending myself. I refused the deal.

After talking with Soledad, I was approached by lawyers offering to represent me. One said he would get me out for $1,000 Dollars. Another said he would do it for $500. I hired the $500 dollar guy and we talked. I told him that inside my apartment in a drawer, was a big roll of pesos and four $100 dollar bills. I asked him to bring them to me. I felt it would be more than enough to pay my bail and pay him. He returned a few hours later and laid the cash on the counter for me and for all the cops to see. The cops showed great interest in the money. I paid him the $400 in U.S. currency and gave him $1,500 pesos for his fee. The remaining pesos amounted to $11,500 pesos. I asked him to use it for my bail. He said OK and left. Later that afternoon, a prosecuting attorney came and asked for my statement. While in the middle of talking with him, the guards came and took me back to the cell. A few minutes later, they loaded me into the back of a truck and drove me to the prison. I didn’t stay at the jail for 72 hours. I figure the jailers saw the money and that prompted them to move me to the prison.

At the prison, I was handed over to the prison guards. They went thru my pockets and took my wallet and my belt. Then they walked me into the prison yard where I was met by three inmates. The guards told me to go with the inmates.

The inmates took me inside a building lined with solid metal doors on both sides and a large open area in the middle. In the open area was a picnic type table. They had me sit at the table. Then around 10 guys circled around me. A few sat across from me and others just stood by. At the end of the table stood a heavy set guy with a big club. He laid the end of the club before me on the table. It was shaped like a cricket bat. Around a meter long (39”) with a flat side about 4 to 5 inches wide. It was about 3 inches thick and had a round handle that was long enough for a two handed grip. On the face of the club was a picture of “SANTA MUERTE” carved into it and the name “SANTA MUERTE” carved over the picture. That’s what they call the grim reaper in Mexico.

They began asking me where I get my money and how do I live. Like an idiot I told them I received a social security check each month. They asked if it was a direct deposit. I said yes. They said they wanted the money. I said I was willing to give them half of it because I needed money to live on. Then a white guy named Josh walked over and hit me on the side of the head. The fat guy with the bat hit me with it across my back. The other guys started hitting me and I said “OK you can have it all.” They just told me to stay seated and put my hands down and stop trying to protect myself. They just kept hitting me. They went at a slow pace and laughed every time the fat guy hit me with the bat and I jumped. They kept asking me what else I owned and where my family was. I told them I owned a red Ford pick-up and my family was all dead. Josh was an American. He told me they were members of the “GULF CARTEL” and if they find out that I lied about anything they would really hurt me. They asked how much money that I had. I told them the cops took it all when they arrested me. They asked when my next check would come. I said next month. They started beating me harder and said they needed the money now. Then one of them stood up. He was a prison guard. He said he would go get my wallet and bring it to them. When he returned with my wallet, they looked for my credit cards. Fortunately, I had taken them and stashed them along with the money in the drawer. I told them that my lawyer had the credit cards and I would have him bring them $1,000. I told them my lawyer would come to see me tomorrow. I was lying. I didn’t know if he would come or not. They hit me a few more times and then walked me to the medical clinic. That’s where I slept. The beating lasted from 30 to 45 minutes.

Around 11:am the next day my lawyer showed up. I was called to the visitors window to meet with him. They had guys stay with me and listen in to our conversation. I asked the lawyer if he had my credit cards. He said yes. I gave him the pin number and asked him to draw out $1,000 so I could pay these guys. He said he would. They walked me back to the clinic. Later that day one of the big bosses named Chief and one of his goons came to my room. The other inmates left and they closed the door. I thought I was going to get another beating. Instead they just threatened me by saying if the lawyer doesn’t bring the money, they would really hurt me. I already had a black eye and bruises all over my body. I was scared.

The next day I was called to the visitors window. It was a lady from the American Consulate. She handed me some pamphlets and asked me how I was doing. The guys were not standing as close this time to listen but they were close enough so didn’t say anything that would get me another beating. She saw my black eye and asked if I had been beaten. I was too scared to tell her the truth. I was afraid they would beat me again if I said anything. She asked if I had a passport. I did tell her that my passport was stolen while I was in here. I also asked her to go to my bank and have my credit/debit cards turned off. She wrote up a quick authorization allowing her to do that for me and I signed it. She said she would be back in 3 months or so with some vitamins for me. Then she left. In the pamphlets,(please read the other attachment) I learned that due to the cost of operating a prison, the Mexican government saves money by letting the prisoners run the prison. Since the Gulf Cartel is the biggest gang in there, they run the place. That gives the cartel full power to beat and extort money from the other prisoners. In fact, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. I’ll explain more later.

The lawyer came by and said he could only get $40 from one of the cards and then they all stopped working. The cartel said they would take my truck for the $1,000. I said OK and asked the lawyer bring the keys for my truck to the prison. I gave the keys to the cartel and they sent one of their outside men to my home to get my truck. They came by the clinic a few more times and asked what else I owned. I told them nothing. It seamed like every guy that knew English came by and talked with me. They all ended up asking where my family was and what else I owned. I think they must get a commission if they found out I owned anything else. After about a week or so, the big boss Jeffy came by with a bunch of guys. He brought me outside and we sat in the clinic yard on benches. Jeffy lit up a joint of pot and then told me that he wanted more than the truck. I told him that was all I had. He had a guy bring him a switch from a tree. He told me to hold out my hand. I held it out and he started beating my palm with the switch. It didn’t hurt that much so I just sat and watch him do it. Finally he stopped and then he pulled out his cell-phone. He pushed a few buttons then handed me the phone. He had a video on the screen of a naked guy laying on a concrete floor next to an open drain line. The guy appeared to be half skinned and bloody. Jeffy would point to the phone and then point to himself and say “OY! OY! OY!” meaning “I did that.” At the end of the video, a hand grabbed the guys hair, pulled up his head, then slit his throat. The guys blood ran into the open drain. Jeffy was proud of his handy-work. He then offered me a hit off his joint. I told him I don’t smoke. Josh said “You better take a hit” so I took a hit. Then Josh said “Jeffy says you don’t have to work and your free to do what you want.” then they left.

I was still not allowed to leave the clinic. This way they could find me at any time. A few days later, I was moved to the “MODULO TAMUALIPAS” building.

The clinic had mattresses but no running water. You flushed the toilets with a bucket and washed off in a five gallon bucket. Modulo Tamualipas has no running water either, no mattresses and no lights in my cell. Some cells had lights and TV’s too. I managed to sneak $100 pesos from my lawyer and used $10 pesos to buy a blanket. The toilet is flushed by pouring water in it from a five gallon bucket. I don’t know why but other guys from other cells would use my toilet. The showers did not work and all bathing is done in a five gallon bucket. There were three steel bunks in my cell and up to five guys slept in there. The extra guys slept on the floor. The door was never locked. I was allowed to eventually walk all over the prison. I only had to be in my cell by 9:pm after “LISTA” (roll call) until 6:am. They fed us breakfast around 7:30, lunch around 12:30 and dinner around 3:pm to 6:pm. They have cock fights and dog fights in the prison so we ate a lot of chicken soup and “other” kinds of soup. I think I ate dog but I can’t be sure. We ate a lot of beans, tortillas, bread and soup. They had a drink they served with bread that was nothing more than bread mixed with water and made into a sludge type drink. The inmates had to find their own bowls to eat out of and plastic spoons were a peso each. Drinking water came from their own purification plant and was carted to each building in plastic barrels. Inmates would find what they could to use for drinking water containers. Styrofoam cups and plastic bottles were common.

There were stores owned by inmates where toilet paper and soap could be bought. Many inmates worked in wood shops and created paintings of Virgin Mary and Santa Muerte. I was told for $20 per week, you could have a private cell and inmates were allowed to have their families live with them in the prison. When visitors came, inmates could bring their wives into the cells. The other inmates would leave the cell until the inmate and his wife were through using it. Cigarettes sell for $5 pesos and a marijuana joint sells for $6 pesos. You can buy cocaine, crack, heroin, or anything else in the prison. The Cartel sells all that stuff. The Women’s prison is connected to the men’s prison. For $50 pesos, you can go to the girls prison and have your pick of almost any of the women. A few are private for the Cartel guys. The Cartel is very proud of the freedom the inmates have in the prison and they brag about how much better it is than the U.S. prisons where you are locked up all the time.

There are four basic inmates in the prison.

1. Current Gulf Cartel members. When they enter the prison they are treated like hero’s. If they have been injured by the cops during arrest, they are given the best of care at the clinic and the big bosses come by to show their respect. They get the best of everything and have helpers assigned to help them if needed.

2. Guys like me. We all get beat and are forced to give at least $1,000 or something of value to the cartel in exchange for not having to work and this also pays the rent for the cell.

3. Guys that can’t pay anything. They are beaten until ribs are broken or their jaws are broken or something is broken. Then they are tortured by making them squat and walk like a duck for around four days. This damages the nerves in their legs and they can’t walk right for quite awhile after that. They are forced to mop from 4:am to 10:pm or given other menial tasks. They are beaten by Cartel members for nothing and many don’t get medical treatment for their broken ribs or bones. Eventually, the beatings stop and they are given the opportunity to join the cartel. If they join, they are taught how to beat up other new inmates and they start getting privileges like other inmates. If they don’t join, the cartel will just make them work but they will back off on them and give them some privileges like I had. These guys go through hell for the first few months.

4. Members of other Cartels. For these guys to be sent to this prison is a death sentence. They are beaten and tortured to death. I saw two guys that I’m sure were beaten to death and the one on the phone makes three dead guys plus one guy that was walking like a duck, was taken to the dump in a wheelchair so he would be the fourth guy murdered while I was there that I know about.

Remember, most of the guys don’t speak English and my Spanish is weak so I couldn’t communicate with most of them. They had trouble pronouncing my name so they all called me “Gringo” which was fine with me.

I started talking with a few older prisoners that did speak English and had been in the prison for awhile. They told me there was a riot in January. The Big boss of the Gulf Cartel on the outside wanted to replace the boss in the prison with a new boss. They were all in the Gulf Cartel but they were going to switch bosses in the prison. The old boss in the prison didn’t want to step down so the new boss and his crew waged war on him. All the prisoners that were not in the Cartel were outside on the tarmac huddled together while the gangs hunted each other down in the buildings. The neutral guys said both sides were asking them to join them and fight but most of them said no. They didn’t want to get involved. Both sides said they would protect them if they helped but very few none cartel members got involved.

Josh, the American, told me he killed three guys for sure and he stabbed a bunch of them during the riot. Josh took me under his wing and told everyone I was his “Papa” and he gave me a pair of pants and a shirt. He said Jeffy gets allot of vehicles every day and plenty of money and homes from the new inmates. Josh said he spent over four years in Bagdad and had been in prison in Mexico for three years. He was 33 years old and was raised in Port Angeles Washington. He was supposed to be released in a few weeks and he planned to work for the cartel on the outside as a bodyguard. He said he would be riding around in a Hummer and wearing a gun. He bragged to me about using up over $1,800 worth of drugs one night with a buddy while over at the girls prison. He smoked crack. I think he realized then that I don’t use drugs so we didn’t have much in common. He stayed away after that. The few times we spoke later he was cold and implied that he knew I had more cars and stuff. I heard that he was turned over to the U.S. police and is in a U.S. prison now.

I talked with some other guys about the riot and one said the new boss Jeffy was a lot better than the old boss because the old boss would beat you for anything. He said a bunch of guys died during the riot. I asked what happened to the ex-boss. He said he was shipped to another prison. Then I asked what happened to all the dead bodies. He said they were buried in the garbage dump. I asked how the prison accounted for the missing inmates. He said they said they were transferred to other prisons.

I know. I question it too.

Another old timer told me the old boss was better because he would let you run your own business while Jeffy is taking over all the shops. He said he has been beaten four times so far this year but he deserved a few of them because he was caught stealing. He confirmed the bodies in the dump but he could not say how many guys were killed. He just said there were quite a few. He said after the riot, he joined the cartel but quit after they started asking him to do things that he didn’t want to do. I asked him what things. He wouldn’t say. He said the cartel leaves him alone now except when he steals.

A young guy said he was in prison for robbing a bank in Mexico with two other guys. They used AK47’s and stole $4,500,000 pesos. The money had a tracking device in it and they were caught. His brother is one of the cartel guys so he didn’t get beaten in prison. He stayed in prison until his IRS check came and his wife bailed him out. His bail was $1,000 U.S. dollars. He was in prison for 3 weeks for bank robbery. He is a Mexican living in the U.S. He’s back in Georgia now.

I met several guys with bandages wrapped around their chest because they were kicked in the ribs and the ribs were either broken or bruised real bad. Many were walking funny due to the walking like a duck routine and one had his jaw busted. His eyes were black and his jaw was swollen and the left side of his face was sagging down. His bottom teeth were vertical on the right side but were diagonal on the left side as if his jaw was broken in the chin area. He was never in the Clinic for it. I saw the cartel guys beating him while he walked like a duck. I don’t know how he ate but he always got his share of food. Another guy showed me his arms and back. He was struck over fifty times with the club. His ribs were broken too but he never got a bandage for them. He said the clinic was out of bandages. His back and arms were totally black and blue. He didn’t have anything to give the cartel for rent for his cell. He was in prison because he owed $200 child support. I saw how the guys lived that didn’t pay rent. They were stuffed in a cell like sardines. There were no bunks. They all slept on the floor. Many guys had injuries that I never saw but I could tell they were hurt by the way they walked or moved. Most of them didn’t receive any medical treatment from the clinic. The cartel seemed to have respect for their elders and that’s why they didn’t hurt me any more than they did. That, plus Josh looked out for me for awhile. Josh said he was sorry for hitting me but that was his job. I told him it was OK.

The prison has women and children roaming thru it and no one bothers them. There are two fields. One soccer field and a baseball field. Teams come in from outside and play the inmates. There are two churches. A library and a phone area where you can make outside calls for two pesos per minute. There are several wood shops and art shops and mini-marts spread thru the prison. There are shanties built out of scrap lumber with people living and working in them. There is even a small farm area where they are raising a crop and chickens run around loose. Family members from the outside bring in the materials and money needed for the shops and money for the drugs the inmates need. No one sneaks in drugs. All the drugs come from the cartel. You seldom see any guards. They bring messages to Jeffy or the chief or to the clinic and come for the 9:pm lista. That’s about it for them. One inmate was telling me he busted out of two jails in the states. I asked him why he doesn’t bust out of this prison. He said they would kill him here. It’s not worth his life plus he gets all the drugs and women that he wants here. He likes it here. The only time you’re in lockdown is for fighting or something like that, Then you get a few swats by a club and they lock you down for a week or so but normally, the cell door is unlocked and you’re free to roam.

Jeffy (pronounced Cheffy) was a stocky Mexican in his 30’s. I saw a beautiful young girl hanging on him at the cock-fights one day. She looked around 15/16 years old. Later, I saw her with him at a baseball game. She had a small child with her. Around 2 years old. Jeffy lives in Modulo Norte. I saw the same girl come over from the girls prison and go to Jeffy’s place.

Chief lived at the Modulo Tamaulipas (where I was) with is wife and two sons. Inmates babysat the kids and waited on them hand and foot.

There were cartel members roaming the prison with phones. They reported anything they saw to the bosses. There were several straw bosses that acted like boot camp sergeants. They would keep the new inmates in line and beat them and make them walk like ducks and make them do the mopping etc.

When I was released, I was informed by my friend/landlady Solidad that the guys that got my truck came back and tried to take my neighbors pick-up because they thought it was mine too. The lawyer that I hired never came back to the prison after bringing the truck keys to me. He stole my van and returned it after Soledad told me and I reported it stolen. The Caddy had been messed with but they couldn’t get the door opened. People came by and tried to get into my apartment but Soledad wouldn’t let them in. I am supposed to sign in every Saturday in order to get some of my bail money back. I am afraid they may be waiting for me and may try to get more stuff from me or kidnap me for ransom. Someone called my daughter in Seattle and asked her where I was. I’m staying the heck out of Mexico!

Please remember, the American Consulate never talked with me until I had been incarcerated for almost a week. The pamphlets she gave me were for;

1. The Mexican legal and Prison systems

This informed me about selecting a lawyer, Mexican legal procedures, The Mexican Trial and Prison life in Mexico.

This pamphlet is attached to this email. Please read it.

2. What the American Consulate can and cannot do for me.

They can contact family members and give me vitamins. That’s about it.

3. A list of Mexican lawyers

The Consulate would not vouch for any of them but said “you never want to hire an attorney at the jail.” That was too late to do me any good. I hired one at the jail before I got to the prison. I needed their advise then. Not a week later.

In the middle of page #5 of the attached pamphlet you will see where it states the Mexican government turns over the prisons to the inmates (the Gulf Cartel) to monitor themselves. They say they can’t afford to hire the guards. Truth is, the United States gives them billions of dollars to fight the drug trade and they in turn, give the cartels the prisons to use as recruiting stations and training camps. Not to mention a place to kill their enemies and beat and extort money and goods from other inmates. They not only take cash and cars, they also take property and anything else of value. I met a guy that is related to one of the big bosses on the outside. He said he can get a 2001 TUNDRA pick-up for $2,400. That’s dirt cheap. He said it comes from the prison. He said he can get a lot of cars and stuff for dirt cheap prices. I can’t give you his name but I met him on the outside after I got out. (The copy of the AMERICAN CONSULATE  PAGE came out blank when I entered it into the blog. I’m not computer literate. Sorry)

Our Government worries about the wet-backs swimming the river so they can work in the U.S. They should be worried about the corruption in the Mexican Government. If a terrorist wants to sneak in and kill us, we can’t stop them however, by punishing the workers and punishing our farmers is not the answer.

A peso is 13 to 1 dollar right now. We expect the Mexican workers to pay several thousand pesos to apply for a green card and wait six months for us to check it out. Most don’t have the money or birth certificates etc. They can also pay a coyote $3,000 U.S. dollars to bring them across or the cartel will pay their way provided they carry some cocaine or whatever with them. What would you do if you couldn’t get a green card?

We should shut the border down and not allow any commerce come across until Mexico cleans up their government. Honest cops are few and far between. A guy with money can commit murder and bail out but a poor man gets beaten over a $200 child support payment. We need to make it cost effective for them to play an honest game and start fighting the drug cartels like we pay them to do. They talk about civil rights and how they are against torture but they allow it in their prisons and at the police stations. While giving an affidavit, I mentioned how the cops arrest people for fighting, then drive them around a corner, take all their money and turn them loose. Sometimes they drive them to an ATM machine and make them pull out money. (yes, the American debit cards work in Mexico)The interpreter told the cops what I said and they all laughed.

We can’t blame the cartel for taking advantage of the gift the Mexican Government is giving them. We know the Cartels are cold blooded killers. It’s hard to understand why the Mexican Government can’t see what they are doing.

We need to put some pressure on the Mexican Government and make them take a look at their mistakes. We need to pressure them to fix it. They need to run their own prisons and clean up their laws too. GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT? That’s not right! Cartels running the prisons? How can the women prisoners defend themselves from rape? Beatings and torture are common and cock fights, dog fights, men fights, drugs, open cell doors 24 hours a day. Sounds like a vacation for the cartel members.

Let me know what you think. Thanks, Dustyguy

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