U.S. inmates in the Cereso fear for safety
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 11/14/2007 12:00:00 AM MST

This month's prison riot at the Cereso in Juárez is now under control, but the harrowing experience of some Americans behind bars in Mexico raises one question: What is being done to protect imprisoned U.S. citizens at such volatile times?

Robert Wirtz, a 41-year-old Coloradan who is serving 21/2 years at the Cereso for fleeing the scene of a crash, described in a phone interview fighting back the warring gangs on Nov. 1.

Inmates in his cellblock broke down concrete walls with 45-pound weights, took chunks of concrete to the roof and rained them down on gang members who tried to get to them, he said.

"There's no security in here. I was shot at. I was pummeled with rocks. Our lives are in jeopardy as U.S. citizens," Wirtz said.

During a June riot at the prison that killed two inmates, Wirtz said, inmates defended themselves with homemade lances.

Two more inmates, not Americans, died during the most recent riot. Prison officials said the always-warring Mexicles and Aztecas gangs started the fight, using real and homemade guns, as well as building materials to try to overthrow their rivals.

It took most of the day for riot police to get the prison under control.

Officials at the U.S. Consulate in Juárez said 29 U.S. citizens are now in the Cereso, among 3,400 inmates, and that none of them were injured.

Silvio Gonzalez, the consulate's public affairs officer, said consulate staffers kept regular phone contact with prison officials during the riot to make sure the

American prisoners were not hurt.
"We have no higher priority than to protect and ensure the welfare of U.S. citizens, including those who are imprisoned," Gonzalez said. "We have spoken directly with some of the detainees to make sure they are well. We are in regular contact with the local authorities and continue to closely monitor the situation through various means, includingÊprison visits." Ê

The riot was followed by an unusually severe crackdown by Mexican authorities. For most of the week since the riot, police turned the prison upside down looking for weapons. They found actual guns, homemade guns, knives, homemade bulletproof vests and Molotov cocktails, among other gear.

There have been political consequences to the riot.

The prison's director who was appointed under the previous mayor was removed and replaced by Salvador Barreno Chávez. Twenty prison guards, including eight supervisors, were fired for suspected corruption.

Visits by family members and friends were suspended indefinitely. But Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, visitors were allowed to drop off clothes and food for their loved ones at the prison in South Juárez. Prison officials said hundreds of people brought a total of 16 tons of food.

Thursday, Teresa Rios of El Paso waited close to three hours in the crowd to take chicken noodle soup and bread to her former boss, James Courtland Shea, an El Paso physician's assistant who is accused -- falsely, he said -- of pedophilia.

Inmates at the Cereso depend on outside help for many necessities they would receive free at a U.S. prison.

Rios said Shea later called her to say that he received the soup and that he was not hurt.

"They (prison officials) say they (Americans) are protected over there but not really. The inmates can go anywhere. They can't control the inmates," she said.

Officials said they would reopen to visitors once they have cleaned up 18 tons of debris and repaired the riot's damage.

"It is in the interest of the administration of Mayor José Reyes Ferriz to re-establish total order in the Cereso, not just when it comes to security but also with infrastructure to have the proper conditions for our inmates and the visitors," prison director Barreno said.

U.S. citizens also may apply for a prisoner transfer to finish their Mexican sentence in a U.S. prison, but they can do that only after they have paid any fines they were sentenced to. American inmate Wirtz said he can't pay but he is so desperate to leave the Cereso that he called the FBI and confessed to a bank robbery he said he committed in Las Cruces last year.

Help for Americans

What the U.S. Consulate can do for you if you are in jail in Mexico:

Provide a list of local attorneys or contact an attorney selected by the accused.

Contact relatives or friends to notify them of the citizen's case, if authorized by the prisoner.

Relay requests to family and friends for money or other aid.

Write to relatives about the citizen's well-being.

Accept money as a trust fund deposit and dispense it as instructed by the citizen or the remitter.

Work with prison officials to ensure fair and humane treatment consistent with that granted to Mexican nationals and ensure Americans are afforded due process under Mexican law.

Protest mistreatment.

What the U.S. Consulate cannot do:

Represent a U.S. citizen at trial, give legal advice or pay legal fees or fines with U.S. government money.

Intervene in the due process of law.

Provide medical treatment except in cases of dire emergency.

Run errands for the prisoner.
Source: http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/wwwhacar.html.

Suggestions for well-being

The U.S. Consulate offers these "suggestions for well-being while imprisoned" in Mexico:

Early in the American's imprisonment, arrangements should be made with your friends or family to have small sums of money sent regularly for food, clothing, or bedding.

Having large sums of cash in prison can be dangerous. It is suggested that prisoners not have more than $100 U.S. sent each month so that they will not have it stolen by other prisoners.

Internal prison systems in Mexico allow for food, clothing and other items to be brought to prisoners by special arrangement with prison trustees or other prison personnel. Your family or friends should be allowed to enter with these items.

Conjugal visits are also permitted within the system.

Many Americans find jobs teaching English in the prisons or develop their own workshops, producing items such as frames, wood sculptures and belts.
Source: http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/wwwhacar.html.
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