"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat
A woman, known as "La China," recounts her experience working for Los Zetas, one of Mexico's most violent cartels.
Male newscaster: In the prisons of San Luis Potosí there is a civil association that helps women behind bars. They managed to document that at least 80% of the women are imprisoned for crimes linked to drug traffickers. Rocío López has the details.
La China: I was imprisoned for the crimes of kidnapping, homicide, auto theft, criminal association, and weapons charges. I worked with a criminal group.
Rocio Lopez: 'I lived though four years of hell'. That’s how this woman nicknamed La China describes the experience of having worked for the Los Zetas, one of the most bloodthirsty cartels of the country. She lived in fear of being executed at any moment if she made a mistake. She also witnessed cold blooded murders. That's why the day she entered prison she was relieved.
La China: I'm going to be honest with you. I felt like my arrest was a salvation for me because I knew that sooner or later they were going to kill me. I have three children and I was in a financially bad situation. I was invited to work there because the pay was said to be very good. And so I started to work with them due to economic reasons and the fact that everything was so easy.
Rocio Lopez: The Nueva Luna civil association that supports incarcerated women in San Luis Potosi has documented that up to 80% of women in prison who are behind bars worked for drug traffickers.
Nueva Luna President Marcela Garcia: It’s normally through romantic affairs, amorous relationships, that these men who are involved in criminal organizations hook up with women.
Rocio Lopez: According to the association these women occupied minor positions in the criminal structure. They rarely achieved a position of being in charge of a place or leading a regional area.
Nueva Luna President Marcela Garcia: They play the role of spies and drug dealers. In the case of kidnappings, they take care of the abducted individuals, they feed them. And in many cases there are often the ones who also collect ransoms generated from these kidnappings.
Rocio Lopez: What worries the civil organizations is that even though there haven’t been any cases found in which women are leading criminal gangs. The judges are sentencing them without giving any consideration to gender.
Nueva Luna President Marcela Garcia: If you’re a woman the penalties are harsher if you commit this type of crime because you as a woman should be taking care of children.
Rocio Lopez: La China was sentenced to 49 years in prison. But she appealed and only served a 3 year sentence for home burglary.
La China: I have a lot of people pointing at me right now because they think I killed, that I participated in kidnappings. But that just wasn’t the type of work that I was doing.
Rocio Lopez: The Nueva Luna association details that women are ensared or abducted by the cartels at an early age. Girls as young as 12 years old who live in marginalized areas who are fleeing violence in their homes are preyed upon. They are easy prey for criminals.
Los Zetas were some wicked bad hombres in their prime gave hell to CDS in nuevo laredo when they tried to take over.. that allende massacre destroyed the whole town.. the casino fire .. san fernando massacre.. million dollar horses at the Kentucky derby with da gabachos.. how they had guatemala on lock ..brgass
ReplyDeleteBabushca
DeleteKentucky derby? You mean Quarter horse racing I think
DeleteI wouldn't say wicked .... I would just say a bunch of fools high as hell ... All demented and fuc-ed up in the hood taking orders like lil bitch-s from their leaders to try and move up ... And the leaders at the top prob sit there and laugh at those idiots
Delete…and a lot of those wicked sicarios became CJNG.
Delete"If you’re a woman the penalties are harsher if you commit this type of crime"
ReplyDeleteThen gets out after 3 years of a 49 year sentence ?
@2.07. Yes. It proved her point. She was only given that realistic sentence because pressure was brought to bear on her case. Otherwise, like thousands of other essentially trafficked young women she'd be serving 47 years, while young men accused of the exact same crimes are sentenced to 30.
Delete542
DeleteHuh,what "it proved her point"
Slightly incoherent comment
His point was perfectly clear. Men get 30 years but a sexist court gives women 50 years. He sentence was dropped to 3 years because her role was minor and she was recruited at a very young age. A minor running from abuse in her own home. I hope that is clear enough. She had a strong advocacy group help her appeal and overturn her outrageous sentence. If I kidnapped someone and made my 13 year old little sister feed them, should she get more time then me because she is a female that should be home taking care of kids.
DeleteAnd you can thank the weak ass corrupt Mexican government, Que chinge a su puta perra Bomba Madre todos los expresidentes Muertos de Hambre y tambien la puta perra que los parrio
ReplyDelete@2.07. Women are often forced to take the brunt of certain crimes because their usefulness once they have been caught is limited, and if they have children they can't ever complain. If 5 people get caught for kidnapping, the young men who can still be of use to the cartel are helped by lawyers and the authorities (who are being paid) while the women are thrown to the wolves. Mexican prisons are filled with middle aged women who were sentenced to decades for things they barely understood.
ReplyDeleteOnly a low life scumback recruits his wife or girlfriend into that sort of life because without a weapon or guys backing you up they are worth shit or recruit minors to be lookouts they send you guys to US prisons see how tough they are?
ReplyDeleteYour point makes little since. You point out that these cartel and gang members are low lives and scum bags because they recruit wives and underage females. Morals and being a gentleman is something not in their realm of thought. What is the cheapest easiest way I can get this done is the name of the game.
DeleteTu también matabas y hacías mil malandrades. Que lastima que se utilizan la perspectiva de género para quitar agravantes.
ReplyDeletePor mi puedes tener un final como lo diste
The US system has plenty of blind spots and abuses, but how can anyone pretend that a system is legitimate, when it goes from a 49 year sentence to a 3 year sentence on appeal. So it wasn’t an appeal on the merits, wasn’t dismissed, just decided, 46 less years was appropriate. Tells you either corruption or gross incompetence for two judges to be so very far apart on sentencing.
ReplyDeleteThere are no blind spots in a nation that records the communications of all its citizens (NSA)… and all while having the technology to view, as well record, every inch of it’s land (LANDSAT)..
ReplyDelete