All language subtitles for Banged Up Abroad - S07E10 - Nicaragua

I was broke and needed money.

I went to Nicaragua.

I saw more cocaine than I've ever seen
in my life.

Now I think we're going to get better.

But it all went wrong.

I'm really scared.

They think I'm a DA agent.

They're going to rip me to pieces.

I've got two kilos of coke strapped to
my body, but they think it's a bomb.

In 1990, I was 26 years old.

I was living with my girlfriend in Long
Beach.

We were both into the music thing.

Very close friends of ours were in a
band that were pretty popular and they

played a lot of gigs around town.

I started taking drugs in seventh grade.

We used to smoke weed.

Then I got a hold of some cocaine.

And then we started doing crystal meth.

Crystal meth is much more potent.

I did it on a somewhat regular basis,
you know, and so, yeah, I guess I was

hooked.

I thought it was a lot of fun.

And then we had a baby.

was there during the birth, and I cut
the umbilical cord.

I fell in love with her immediately.

The birth of our daughter changed
things.

My girlfriend wanted a different life at
that point.

She was going to nursing school and
wanted me to be more responsible and to

a proper father.

I had a tendency to be a little more
susceptible to drugs.

Okay, cool. I'll meet you down there.

And just having a good time and going
out with the band.

I had

a good job with the Japanese car
manufacturer.

One day, I was sent for a drug test.

The results came back positive.

That was the end of my job. I was
terminated.

My girlfriend was upset.

She said, you know, you need to find
another job.

I wouldn't get up when I was supposed to
to go look for a job.

Do something.

See you later.

Eventually, it ended our relationship.

I was real upset by that.

I felt terrible.

Bye, baby.

And it was a letdown, mainly to my
daughter.

She was three years old.

I behaved badly, and I regretted it.

Now, I was a single part -time father.

But I still had responsibilities.

She needed clothes, food, things like
that.

I needed to make some money.

I went to a

party at a guy named Rick's.

He was doing well, you know, he had a
nice house.

We had a conversation about where things
were in my life. I almost lost my job.

And then he talked to me about a
possible job that he had that I might be

interested in.

Rick said he had a connection in
Nicaragua, and he needed somebody to fly

there, pick up a kilo of cocaine and
bring it back to the States.

He would give me $3 ,500 to make the
trip.

How do we bring it back?

He said, it taped your body.

He asked me, I was like, oh my God.

This could change my life around.

I could provide for my daughter and
possibly get back with my girlfriend.

I could make one trip and be done with
it.

And I said, yeah.

I'm sure I can do that.

I was going to pull it off regardless of
how it happened.

When I landed in Managua, I started
feeling nervous.

But I couldn't let that get in my way.

Everybody was speaking Spanish.

I had no clue what was being said to me.

Hotel?

When Agua is pretty run down, it just
looked poverty stricken.

First hotel he took me to looked, you
know, somewhat decent.

Rick gave me a number to call. I
immediately called and left a message.

Shortly thereafter, Rick's friend Manu
showed up.

He said, hey, how you doing?

He asked me about the money.

I was tense.

Are you okay?

Rick gave me $5 ,000 to bring back a
kilo of cocaine.

One kilo cost $1 ,500.

I gave Manu the money that left, $3 ,500
for me.

With that, I could buy two more kilos
for myself and sell them for $40 ,000 in

the States.

That's a big profit.

It could change my life around.

And so I gave him $4 ,500 for three
kilos.

Three kilos?

He says, okay, I'll be in contact with
you.

Nice room.

Waiting for Manu, I was getting nervous.

I didn't talk to him for a few days.

I should have heard from him by now.

I had already given up my money, and
this was not turning out the way it was

supposed to be.

I was worried I'd been ripped off.

But the sixth day that I was there, Manu
showed his face again.

He just said, we're going to go take
care of some business today.

We left Managua.

We drove mostly in silence.

There was no homes, there was no
neighborhoods, there was no businesses.

It was the jungle.

I had no idea where we were going.

feel a little uneasy about things.

After about an hour and a half or so, we
pull off this side of the road.

Come on.

I was worried.

What am I doing here?

a guy who I hadn't seen when we pulled
up.

Are they talking Spanish?

Suddenly, all the worst -case scenarios
were going through my head.

Maybe I was going to be robbed, or maybe
they're going to kill me.

Hey, come on.

Now I'm getting really apprehensive.

I thought, how do I get out of this?

And I said, isn't there some wild
animals out here?

I'd feel more comfortable if I had a
gun.

They looked at me like I was crazy.

Manu said, no, don't worry about it. And
I said, well, I'd really like to have a

gun.

He pulled one out of the glove box.

I was like, oh, my God.

He's going to kill me.

I was standing there with a gun pointed
on me.

I just couldn't believe it.

But then he skips me.

I checked to see if it had bullets in
it, and sure enough, it did.

Maybe I had this all wrong.

If he was trying to kill me, he wouldn't
let me have a gun.

Then they started walking out into the
jungle.

Well, I just kind of followed.

But I still felt apprehensive.

I have no idea where I'm going.

I think we walked probably a mile.

And then there was some sort of a
clearing with a hut.

Suddenly, I just hear some sort of motor
in the distance.

And then I realized that it's up in the
air and it's a plane.

And then I saw some packages come
outside.

Shortly thereafter, two guys come out
holding them.

These gentlemen brought the packages
into the hut.

Mannix started opening them up.

I saw more cocaine than I've ever seen
in my life.

These guys are a lot bigger time dealers
than I had imagined.

I was concerned as to why I was being
involved with it.

I was a little nervous.

If somebody had seen the planes dropped
at, the cops could come in and, you

know, we would be in big trouble.

I wanted to get out of there as quickly
as possible.

They put half a kilo of cocaine into a
rectangular -shaped mold, which was on

the car jack that was jacked up under
the table, and compressed it as much as

possible.

When he'd done that, then it's wrapped.

They called it tacos.

Two of those would be one kilo.

It took about...

hour and a half or so to do the six
tacos.

Hey, come on, let's go.

That's my three kilos.

I'd seen enough and I was glad to get
out of there.

Manu took me back to my hotel.

I asked him, what about the cocaine? And
he said, Do you want to take it back to

your hotel room? Do you?

He says, well, we'll deal with that on
the day that you leave.

See you.

I was worried I'd been ripped off.

Give him $4 ,500 and I have no cocaine.

The next morning, Manu didn't show up.

How am I going to explain this to Rick?

Finally, he showed up about 3 o 'clock
in the afternoon.

So, let's do it.

He's carrying a bag with duct tape and
six tacos.

They looked pretty large to have taped
around my body for...

you know, nine, ten hours on a flight.

Once I got the tacos duct taped to my
waist, I started feeling really

restricted.

It looks ridiculous. I can't even
breathe.

Loosen that here.

He told me, walk around and pick
something up.

Try to be normal, okay? Yeah.

I thought, this is crazy, but I said to
myself, there's, you know, there's no

backing out. There's no way.

Once I found a place for him to where my
body could suck it

up and it looked normal, then I felt
more comfortable with it.

I took his hand and said, okay, good
luck.

When I walk into the airport, I'm really
nervous.

I checked in my suitcase.

I went to the customs area, and there
was a security officer with a metal

detector wand.

And then I saw people were getting
patted down.

I thought, if they frisk me, I'm done.

I get to

the front of the line.

I'm getting really apprehensive.

I want to turn back, but I can't.

He runs the wand over me.

My heart's racing pretty good.

I've got three kilos of cocaine strapped
to my body.

I just thought about... My freedom and
how good it is.

I am so nervous.

I don't even know how much prison time I
would get if I got caught.

And then he let me go.

I just couldn't believe it.

I get back to L .A.

It was a relief taking all the packages
off.

I felt good. You know, I was done.

I pulled it off.

I contacted Rick.

We set up to meet the next day.

Now things are going to get better.

Rick had a little party.

I gave him his kilo.

He was elated.

We celebrated the fact that we finally
pulled it off.

I had two kilos of cocaine.

You know, now I was going to make some
money.

People sampled it.

Everybody loved it.

It was a good quality.

were spread around.

People wanted more.

I probably made $15 ,000, $20 ,000.

I see my daughter as much as possible.

When a child's growing up, there's
always expenses.

I paid my part of those.

See you next week.

Bye. It was painful.

I miss being a family.

I compensated by doing more drugs.

I went back to, you know, life of
partying, but that's a fool's paradise.

Having all that money made me more
careless.

As frivolous as I was with the cocaine
itself, I was the same way with my

I was broke within a month.

I thought that I could make one trip and
change my life around.

But now I needed to go back and do it
again.

Hey, Rick.

I contacted Rick and told him I was
ready to go.

and he said, okay, that's fine, we'll
set it up.

I get into Managua Airport by taxi and
went to a hotel.

Mano came by to see me, and I gave him
$3 ,000 for two kilos.

I told him, bring him at the end of the
week.

The day before my flight, Some of the
feelings from my first trip started

back.

I started getting nervous.

I thought it would be a good idea trying
to stay ahead of, you know, any

problems.

I went to Updoor.

I grabbed a book, and it's about the
same size as one of the packages.

I thought of placing it in my pocket in
the case that I was to

get.

Touched by the agent.

If anything of that sort was felt on my
body, I could pull that out and say,

hey, this is what you felt.

Okay.

It all sounds really silly and crazy,
but at the time, I thought it was a good

idea.

On the second trip, it was pretty much
the same procedure.

Manu packed me down.

this time with only four packets.

I put my clothing on, had a couple
drinks, take the edge off.

I put the book in my pocket, then went
to the airport.

I was nervous and uncomfortable, but I
felt a little more confident that, you

know, I've been through this before.

I felt that the book would... giving me
a shield of protection.

When I walked into the airport, there's
not only police, but there's military.

I was feeling tense, but I've done it
before.

I was telling myself, you've got to play
the role. You've got to be normal.

I'd get to the front of the customs
area.

There was this one customs officer.

Each person that came up, he was taking
the metal detector wand and just going

around them.

No one was getting touched or patted
down.

And I kind of felt a little more
confident.

But as I got closer and closer, I
started feeling uneasy about things.

I get up to him.

He steps back and he runs the wand over
me.

The packages that were taped to my body
weren't feeling very comfortable, so I

had to suck it up.

I'm really nervous.

And then he hit.

The tip of the wand on my book.

He goes, what's that?

My heart probably skipped a beat or two.

I pulled out my book.

He looks at it and he's fingering
through it.

I thought to myself, I can't do this
again.

Just let me get through this and I'm
going to change my ways.

I kind of wanted to call it off, but
there wasn't anything I could do.

And then out of the blue, he just grabs
me.

He just started yelling.

All the military ran over with their
guns pointed on me.

I'm really scared.

The customs officer points to my waist.

He says, what is that?

My heart's racing pretty good.

I was looking down the barrel of at
least three rifles, but I wasn't going

admit to anything.

I told him, I don't know.

Policemen were talking with the customs
agent.

They were looking at me like I was some
animal in a zoo.

I had no idea what would happen next.

One of the police officers approached me
slowly, like he was scared of

something.

I thought it was odd.

Then he started...

pulling up my shirt, trying to keep as
much distance as possible.

There was definitely fear in their eyes.

It made me more nervous because they're
holding weapons, and somebody holding a

weapon who's nervous is likely to
accidentally fire their gun.

All of a sudden, everybody sees it at
the same time, duct tape.

Everybody in the airport dropped to the
ground.

There was a moment of silence.

I didn't know why they were just so
scared.

And then somebody went over and got an
interpreter.

She said, what is that? And I said, it's
duct tape. She said...

But what's under the duct tape?

And I said, I don't know.

She goes, well, they think it's a bomb.

I just couldn't believe it.

I've got two kilos of coke strapped to
my body, but they think it's a bomb.

I was like, oh, my God.

I would never think of hurting somebody
like that.

Is it a bomb?

I was getting tired, and I was scared.

My arms were starting to hurt.

But I got this feeling that if I moved,
they may shoot me.

I said, no, it's not a bomb.

It's cocaine.

At this point, I knew it was over.

I knew I'd go to prison.

I thought I'd never see my daughter
again.

I have felt a lot of shame,
embarrassment.

A lot of... Mixed emotions.

I'm thinking, how am I going to explain
that to my family, to my daughter, and

mainly to my daughter?

My life is never going to be the way it
was before.

This was the end, you know, for me.

The police, they did their initial
report.

And then I was moved to the La Modelo
prison.

It's the main prison in Nicaragua.

There was something like 1 ,500
prisoners in the whole La Modelo

It's considered the worst prison in
Nicaragua, as far as the people that are

housed there.

To my knowledge, I was the first
American ever in prison there, and these

hate Americans.

They had fought in a war against
gringos.

At that moment, I was scared for my
life.

They put me in a cell by myself.

The cell is just concrete floor, white
plastered walls.

I'm looking around, and I look under my
bed, and there's a scorpion.

I've seen a scorpion about 20 feet away
from me before. I'd never been close up

with one, and these were bigger and
uglier.

All I know is you get bit by a scorpion,
you die.

I had to eliminate him right then.

Suddenly, the power went out.

I'm really scared.

I can't see anything.

There's no way I was going to be able to
even close an eye with those things

right under my bed.

That first night, it was terrible.

I just thought, how long am I going to
be here?

In the morning, there was just one big
scorpion in the cell.

I beat it to death a million times, man.
I made sure that thing was dead. That

was the last scorpion I was ever going
to run.

I was ever going to see in my life.

After I was inside for a

month, I got my first court date.

My lawyer told me the packages of
cocaine were tested, and they came out

.9 % pure.

He said that... The judge is going to
give me one year for each percentage of

purity.

I was just in disbelief.

It's 99 years.

Yes, I know.

I just couldn't believe it.

I just thought, I'm going to be here the
rest of my life.

I was allowed to make one phone call a
week to my family in the United States.

Hello?

First time I had a chance to speak to my
daughter. It was great to hear her

voice, but it was also sad.

She did ask me when I'm coming home, and
I said that I was

away working.

Daddy's far away from home right now.

I really didn't like the fact that I was
lying

to her.

I love you very much, baby. I just told
her I loved her and that Daddy would be

home soon.

She said, I love you, Daddy.

And that was the end of the
conversation.

I was upset.

But I couldn't, you know, break down
like that.

I just needed to be strong the whole
time.

At this point, I was housed with people
that were part of the largest cocaine

bust in Nicaragua.

We're all watching this morning talk
show.

And a government officer is being
interviewed about the drug problems of

country here. And he says, oh, it's not
us, it's the Americans.

He says, we've got one DEA agent, and
he's in prison here in Nicaragua.

He doesn't name anyone, but to my
knowledge, I'm the only American in the

system.

Basically, he's fingered me as being a
DA agent.

Suddenly, they all kind of look at me in
disbelief.

They started calling me Sapo.

It means you're a snitch.

In that environment, if you're called a
snitch, it's comparable to a death

sentence.

I'm terrified.

They're going to rip me to pieces, and
no amount of explaining will stop them.

Suddenly, this guy jumps up.

He says, that's not who this guy is.

His name was Nick.

He happens to be one of the bigger time
dealers in Nicaragua.

He went on down the line and said, this
guy is not a DEA agent.

There's been a crazy mix -up.

There were guys that were much bigger
than him that could have done him some

harm if they wanted to go after him.

Nick, he had a lot of connections, and
no one would mess with him.

He respected me as being a righteous
person and not a snitch or a thop or a

DEA.

He was influential enough to save my ass
in that moment.

And I get out alive, and my heart's
still racing.

But I was extremely worried to be called
a snitch.

Maybe somebody else would be convinced
and come at me in the middle of the

night.

The cell doors don't lock.

So I'd rip a strip off my sheet and tie
my door shut.

They'd have to cut it to come in.

And I'd set up a bar.

If the door was open, it would fall off.

That way, I'd be alarmed.

There was one prisoner called Loma.

He doesn't like gringos.

He started calling me for a snitch.

He thinks I'm a DA agent.

It was something that wasn't going away.

It sensed my fear.

I was scared for my life again.

Later,

I was washing my clothes.

He came in with a pair of scissors.

At this point, I'm, you know, I'm just,
I'm scared.

No, man, I don't want any problems.

I thought it was going to end in a
stinking prison a million miles from

Lomas came at me with a scissor.

I was scared.

But I've been known to take care of
myself.

All I know is... I wasn't going to die
there.

There's no way.

I was extremely pumped up with
adrenaline.

I was fighting for my life.

I hurt him pretty bad.

But after I had my run -in with Lomas, I
didn't really have any

more trouble with anybody.

And then all of a sudden, I was fighting
for my life again.

I had malaria, and I was taken down to
the hospital.

They put me on a cot with a hole in the
center of it that was actually made that

way, and I had IV flowing in one arm and
everything else flowing out the other

hand.

I also had a bad ear infection.

The doctor took a big...

and he filled it up with saline solution
and squirted it in my ear.

My head exploded.

He had blown up my eardrum.

They did that about ten times.

It was probably one of the most painful
things I've had to go through.

Next, I remember I woke up and my head
wasn't hurting as bad as it was.

I'd been inside for almost two years,
but I still don't have a sentence.

I just thought, how am I going to
survive here?

I can't see me leaving this place
anytime soon.

The verb to be.

After about six months, I started
teaching English.

I felt I was doing something, not only
to benefit myself, but to benefit

some of the prisoners.

I even started teaching some of the
guards.

You know, they see I wasn't just some
drug smuggler.

I wasn't a halfway decent person, I
guess you could say.

Any questions?

I was known as, you know, the gringo
teacher, and it was a good feeling.

One day, there was a... Guy who

was being visited by his mom.

I'm very sorry.

That's fine.

Her name was Margarita. She was actually
a police captain and she was a

criminologist. And her and I had a
conversation.

So how long is your sentence?

I still didn't have a sentence. Just the
possibility of 99 years.

99 years? You're kidding me?

Many people thought the judge was crazy
in my case.

Margarita felt sorry for me.

And so she said she would go talk to the
judge.

I'd been inside for almost three years.

One day I was sweeping some walkway.

I just hear a faint noise of someone
yelling.

I can't really make out, and as he gets
closer, I start making out. It is

someone yelling my name.

She's got this paper in her hand, and
she's screaming.

She was ecstatic. She was screaming, tu
order de libertad, which means your

freedom order.

I've got it.

The judge has released you. You're free
to go.

Turns out the judge in my case retired.

And the new judge that took her place
let me go.

Couldn't believe it.

I was just elated. I was ecstatic.

Thanks to Marguerite, I got my life
back.

Now I can see my daughter again.

What I regret most about this whole
experience is what I did to my daughter

my mother.

There's no amount of money worth what it
does to your family.

You're never able to bring everything
back to the way it was or the way you

think it should be.

It's a loss all the way around.