Behind Bars 2: The World’s Toughest Prisons - La Mesa, Mexico (prison documentary)

Tijuana-Mexico. Just across the border from the United States. Every day, thousands of people pass to the other side. Among them: illegal immigrants, partying American tourists and traffickers. This border strip is under close surveillance. Guns go to Mexico, drugs to the United States: a battle that continues with no end in sight, regardless of how high the fence is. Thousands of people have already paid with their lives. All these factors make Tijuana one of the most extreme cities in the

world

. On the one hand, poverty, slums and drug abuse. And for the other? The largest den of prostitution and excess in Mexico.

It's a place where the parties get wilder and wilder and never seem to stop. And yet: anyone who commits a crime in Tijuana will soon find themselves here. Table! A

prison

that instills more than fear in Mexicans...: Everything is dirty; Just sitting on the toilet is horrible. …and one where Americans feel like scum! I mean, I'm a United States Marine. There I am a hero, here I am a villain. An autonomous empire. Ruled by ONE man. Who rules with an iron fist. : "I am very proud. This

prison

used to be famous." A prison that houses cold-blooded killers. : I killed several police officers, including a high-ranking commander.

It was obvious that they would have something with me. Fighting back leads to harsh punishments .: They just let us rot here and close the doors. The prisoners? Known for having short fuses. The history of La Mesas is dotted with riots and rebellions. No narration. The next rebellion is a constant threat. Keeping things under control is a potentially deadly battle. In one of the

toughest

prisons

in the

world

. Six thirty in the morning. A new change is about to begin in one of the most notorious

prisons

in Mexico. located in the heart of downtown Tijuana. Commander Mario Antonio Meza Flores arrives.

He is responsible for security inside the prison and is constantly in danger. In addition to the Mexican police and justice, Tijuana is governed by one thing above. of everything: the drug cartels. Attract their attention and you won't be there for long. The morning safety routine. Regardless of whether you are a guard or commander in chief, everyone must pass the checks. Metal detector, security scanning and physical search. There is no way to escape this. Drugs, weapons and even cigarettes are prohibited in La Mesa. At seven, the guards begin to prepare to go on duty. His work? Keep the approximately three thousand inmates under control.

This involves patrolling the prison and raiding the cells. Block by block, the commander's troops destroy the cells in an endless cycle. : We mainly search for weapons and substances such as drugs and tobacco. First things first: the morning briefing. The guards are equipped with handcuffs, batons and tear gas. Without narration. His destiny? The cell blocks. The Board separates its prisoners according to crime, risk profile, age and gender. Drug traffickers, thieves and those convicted of violent crimes live in one of them. In section two, there are kidnappers and murderers with low risk potential. Three and four house petty criminals, prison workers and the elderly.

Locked in section five? Sexual offenders and the sick. From diabetes to HIV. They all share a central area. Block number 6 is completely isolated from the rest of the prison. This wing is home to the

toughest

inmates: cartel killers and serial killers. And then there is a completely separate block for women. Commander Flores begins his inspection in block number one. Up to 20 new prisoners arrive here every day. Flores' goal is to determine what the mood is here. Are inmates misbehaving right now? Are gangs forming within cells? Y: Where should I start the next raid? Without narration For the commission of crimes such as theft, robbery, weapon possession and drug trafficking, each cell in block one of La Mesa has an average of eight to ten criminals.

They share an area of ​​just four by four and a half meters. Inmates have few belongings: mainly a few articles of clothing, towels and small souvenirs from the outside world. Everything reduced to the essentials. Without narration One of the inmates: Abraham Chaves Orozco. At 22 years old he is one of the youngest in La Mesa. Arrested at the airport for drug trafficking, he was sentenced to five years. He's already done three. That means three years of sleeping, showering and going to the bathroom, without a shred of privacy. : Everything is dirty; Just sitting on the toilet is horrible.

I have had a foot infection in the past... The food is bad and unhygienic... And it is terribly hot... Abraham's family has been trying to transfer him to another prison for a long time. Although so far it was in vain. But he still has hope. Many other inmates have lost all sense of hope. In particular, the American residents of the prison. Like Taylor Elliott Howard. After all, American citizens need to remember that getting in trouble with the law in Tijuana – just a stone's throw from home – will get you HERE. Taylor shares his cell with six other Americans.

They are kept separate from others. The risk of altercations with other inmates is too high. I have been accused of stealing a car. Armed robbery of a car. Then they said he had two weapons, an AR-15 and a 9 millimeter. So they gave me nine years for that. Nine years in La Mesa, locked up in one of the harshest prisons in the world. This is my bed, this is where I sleep. This is where Shawn sleeps, this is where Troy is. Here at the top we have Brandon, we have Dakota, we have Ty. And Mike sleeps right here.

This is the bathroom. The sink, where we wash our hands, the bathroom here. Right now, as you can see, the water is off and only comes for a few hours a day. The misuse here is terrible. The living conditions here are terrible. I'm a combat veteran, I'm a United States Marine, I served in the Iraq War. I am decorated. There I am a hero, here I am a villain. I can't even call my family to let them know where I am. But the worst thing is not the cell itself. Even worse is the fact that inmates are almost never allowed to leave.

We only have two hours of sun a week. If so, sometimes they shorten it, or sometimes someone does something stupid in the yard and ruins it for the rest of us. So we have about half an hour, an hour if someone makes a mistake. Other than that, we're stuck here 24 hours a day. 6 days a week At La Mesa, exercise and the outdoors are a luxury. Regardless of whether you are a car thief, a drug dealer, a child molester or a cartel killer. The only glimpse they get of the sun is usually through the

bars

. They spend almost their entire sentence in their cells.

This means two square meters for each inmate. Some for just a few years. Others for the rest of their lives, there is no doubt about that. Almost permanently locked up without any privacy. In a prison with iron rules. Rules established by ONE man. HE has had the first and last word on what happens in La Mesa since 2014. Director César Daniel Ramírez Acevedo. : Mr. Director, sir, I appear to fulfill my duty. There are only a few small anomalies, everything is in order. : "Okay, good to know." Acevedo checks every day if his prison is still under control.

And he tries to isolate problem cases as soon as possible. Before La Mesa, Acevedo had already served as director of five other Mexican prisons. He is now in the heart of Tijuana. A city where drug cartels fight for total dominance and where 85 percent of all murders are related to narcotics. Acevedo governs with the principle of 100% control. No matter what is happening in his prison, Director Acevedo knows it. The first inmates are allowed out early in the morning. A moment that puts all guardians on high alert. After all, the possibility of an attack on the guards, perhaps using a homemade weapon, is never greater than at this moment.

Without narration The routine is always the same. Between Monday and Thursday, the guards open very specific cells. On a certain floor of a specific building. The same cells at the same time every week. And only one at a time. The next group cannot be released until all inmates are on the ladder. This is how the guards maintain the advantage. For most inmates, this precise moment offers the only two hours of direct sunlight they receive each week. The prisoners are separated into three different courtyards. Thanks to all these measures, inmates can only come into contact with a few dozen people during their stay in prison.

Regardless of how long they have been there. This is how director Acevedo de La Mesa keeps the risk of illegal trade, fights and weapons or drug trafficking to a minimum. : Nowadays, we have a lot of rules to increase safety. They allow us to maintain perfect control. These rules did not exist in the past; We had a lot more time in the yard but without proper supervision. At that time, Mexico was governed by a different government and we had many more problems with gang warfare. In La Mesa, the guards have lost the fight against the inmates on more than one occasion.

With fatal consequences. It happened in 2008. Within a month, two riots occurred. In the first riot four inmates lost their lives. To punish the prisoners, food and water were rationed. This then sparked a second rebellion. And days of fighting. The families of the prisoners began to despair. No narration Finally, the police stormed the prison. And the result? 12 seriously injured and 21 dead. A catastrophe. One that should never happen again. Today, La Mesa's “external security” team ensures that even if another riot occurs, no one escapes. Guards protect the outer wall. In the center of a Mexican city that is home to millions of people.

An additional security measure: highly trained attack dogs in no man's land. In the worst cases, the guards are equipped with firearms and grenades. What's more, La Mesa places its most dangerous inmates in strict isolation, in their own separate block. Commander Flores continues his search for troublemakers in Section 6. This part of the prison operates more or less independently. About 450 prisoners are housed in this section alone. The difference? They are all ringleaders. And they work in organized cartel structures. Its risk potential? Extremely high. : How's it going? All good? : Yes, so far so good. Francisco Javier Villa Padilla: one of the most notorious cartel assassins in existence.

Convicted of killing a police officer! Other cases will follow. : To begin with, because of my crimes, the military tortured me. They hit me, kicked me, put my head under water and put a plastic bag over my head. They did it all. I killed several police officers, including a high-ranking commander. It was obvious that they would have something with me. In May 2011, Francisco not only killed several police officers; he also hung their bodies from a bridge. A pretty brutal way to assert your power. At that time, Francisco worked as a hitman for the Sinaloa cartel, famous for its drug trafficking, money laundering and human trafficking.

It is considered the most powerful cartel in Mexico. He was captured just a few days later, along with three other gang members. When he was arrested, officers recovered five guns, 174 rounds of ammunition and 51 bags of methamphetamine, among other things. : I used to have an amazing life, with my family, my children, my wife, a girlfriend. And he had a lot of money, things were going well. I didn't know what it was like to be hungry because I could always afford to buy everything. Here in prison you usually don't have enough and it's usually horrible. The catering at La Mesa is provided by the staff and the hundred inmates with short sentences and a low-risk profile.

They are the few who are allowed to leave their cell for an extended period outside of the yard and visiting time. This plan even allows inmates to reduce their sentence. Two days of work leaves them with one day left in prison. Maximum security also applies at the time of food delivery. Every day, guards check food and staff for contraband goods. The prisoners prepare about three thousand meals, three times a day. They also distribute approximately 20 liters of water per cell. There is no canteen. The prisoners themselves bring the food directly to the cells. This is yet another measure that keeps contact between guards and those inside the cells to an absolute minimum.

The main goal is to keep them there as long as possible. No narration Strictly isolated from any form of contact: this is a problem that American inmates in block one are also well aware of. Even if they manage to meet face to face with a guard... Hardly anyone in the prison speaks English. They can't do anything but wait. No narration More or less what they're trying to do here is: they lock you up and throw away the key. Most of us don't speak Spanish. They don't understand any English, they don't have interpreters or anything like that.So as far as we're concerned, we're in trouble.

There really is no hope out there. Almost no communication. And only what is essential to survive. However, that is not even the greatest fear of American prisoners. Since I've been here, because of the conditions and the medical conditions here, there have been nine people at this level that have just died from illnesses and things like that. That doesn't include the entire jail, just the people on this level, on this floor right here. Because of the living conditions, because of getting sick and not receiving medical attention. Taylor hopes to survive his stay unscathed at La Mesa, one of the harshest prisons in the world.

He is putting his trust primarily in God. Night falls on Tijuana. As the Mexican city begins to vibrate with a mix of cartel wars, drug traffickers and American tourists looking to party, the night means one thing for the prisoners of La Mesa: television, electricity and lights out. : Turn off the lights and the TV, time to sleep. No narration The next morning. It is the weekend. Visiting time. Around five hundred family members go to the prison. Only those related by blood are allowed entry. They bring clothing, hygiene products and money to pay the inmates. Like Abraham's mother, Erika.

She lives a few hours away. She only manages to visit her son approximately every few weeks. She knows that a visit from her family is one of the few opportunities her son has to leave her cell outside the yard. Without narration Erika has been trying to relocate her son for a long time. To a prison where conditions are a little less harsh. Closer to her family. : I want my son to go out more. More time in the yard, more activities he can participate in. Right now, he is too closeted with the other inmates. We are waiting for the process to get underway.

It started a while ago and now we have to be patient and wait for things to progress. Neither of them knows if and when their application will be approved. Until then, all they can do is continue to persevere. Not long later and visiting hours are over. According to Principal Acevedo's rules, they are restricted to a few hours. Safety comes first for him. Relatives repeatedly try to bring drugs, tobacco or even pens into the prison. : “When I think about where I work, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is an enormous challenge. “It’s definitely a big challenge.” Absolute control.

Tiny cells. Constant surveillance. All of them tools that the prison director uses to try one thing above all else: prevent another riot. And although the prisoners are not allowed to leave their cells, they still train every day, particularly the inmates of high security block 6. Seemingly ready for battle. To do this, they even go so far as to create a clear cell schedule. Two inmates at a time are allowed to use the few free square meters to keep fit. Until the next time they let them out. And prisoners here are subject to even harsher conditions than others.

In addition to opening cell after cell, this means one thing above all: more guards. And a physical search of each inmate to prevent weapons smuggling and, at all costs, stabbings, gang wars and death. After all, inmates from the various drug cartels come into direct contact with each other in the yard. They only see each other two hours a week. And yet, if they were on the street, there is no doubt that they would try to kill each other. No narration Not even the guards enter the yard in Section 6. No narration For the inmates, their two hours in the yard mean primarily one thing: their only chance to contact the outside world.

This was not always the case. Until 2002, La Mesa was a completely different prison. One with hardly any guards. One where any inmate within its walls could do whatever he wanted. It was known as: “El Pueblito”. A prison city with its own rules and laws. At the time, La Mesa was ruled by the most notorious drug traffickers in the country. : Before we had everything, shops, restaurants, etc. But there was also a huge difference between those who had money and those who didn't. I did it well. I worked as a bodyguard for an important inmate. Although I was constantly on the lookout for people stepping on my neck, I was fine.

All of this is from a time that now only the oldest inmates are able to remember. Like a particular inmate from section 7, the women's block. Dolores Sánchez has been here since 1999. Her sentence? 34 years! For kidnapping. : We used to be able to just open our cells and go wherever we wanted; we were free. However, other things are better these days. There are no more drugs, no alcohol, no corruption. Therefore, it is now more secure and structured. Nowadays, Dolores acts as a nurse and is allowed to distribute medications, such as insulin and antidepressants, to those suffering in the women's block.

And this gives him a little more freedom than most other inmates. However, Dolores still remembers when she led a completely different life behind

bars

. One with income. In addition to fast food restaurants, laundries and nightclubs. But also a lot of drug trafficking and violence. After being built in 1956, it took until 2002 for the government to raze “old” La Mesa. The prison was then restructured. Even now, Dolores is not sure which of these two worlds is better and which is more difficult. : In those days there were no rules. Nobody said “you can't attack anyone”, “you can't use drugs or alcohol”, “you can't prostitute yourself” or anything like that.

The prison management only cared that no one escaped, that was all. We used to have computers, we had restaurants, we all had good money. Now there is none of that, no cash. Today, La Mesa at least has shops. The prison sells instant soups, snacks and soft drinks in each of the five courtyards. They also sell very basic items like toilet paper, things that prisoners must buy themselves. And luxury items, such as hair dye. The dependents are prisoners like Gisell Vargos Guerrero - sentenced to almost seven years for possession of a weapon. Inmates pay with their fingerprints.

Everything is completely electronic. The prison is a kind of bank. This allows you to control who owns what. And it can even freeze your account. : Then you can only buy the essentials. No cookies, for example, nothing special. What is sanctioned. Always in great demand: fresh foods. For the wealthiest inmates. Prepared in the kitchen of the men's prison. And during childbirth an important rule applies: the strict separation of the sexes. Men and women are prohibited from any contact at La Mesa. Workers have full responsibility for quality and quantity. : “I make sure the quality is good and check if there are the right amount of sandwiches.

If any of the items are lost, Gisell risks facing the worst punishment of all: banishment to a place where no one in all of La Mesa wants to end up. : The punishment would be solitary confinement. They would reduce the time you spend in the garden and you would no longer be able to call your family. And remaining isolated means much more than just solitary confinement in La Mesa. It is a punishment that all inmates fear. While he searches for the next mutiny, Commander Flores arrives at a place that not even the guards like to visit. One of the prison's isolation cells.

No narration Fights, weapons, drugs. Anyone who breaks prison rules ends up here. And that means even less sunlight. Without eleectricity. Locked up, the inmates vegetate in isolation for days. The cells are dominated by sweat, stagnant air and an increasing amount of mold on the walls. Inmates here even have to live without toilet paper. They cannot be sure when they will be allowed to leave. :The overall situation here is simply a big problem. It's incredibly hot, all you can do is sit or stand up for a short period of time. We are in total isolation without any air supply except a small fan.

They just let us rot in here and close the doors. The other problem is water. There is no running tap water every day. Today there is, but it is not always like that. There's not enough to drink. Locked. For weeks and months. The only thing inmates can do is vegetate here. Everyone in the isolation cell comes from block 6. The block for cartel killers and serial killers. And most of them are newcomers. Director Acevedo is here to check the status of the risk. After all, each of these cells houses a half-dozen or more alpha males. Rivalries and struggles to become the leader can arise at any time.

And this is exactly what criminals have been learning to deal with on the streets of Tijuana for years. : Tijuana is a city where many things happen. It is also the city with the highest number of border crossings in the world. That's why there is a lot of crime and kidnapping here. All the problems we need to solve. What happens outside the prison is exactly the same as what happens inside the prison. It's just a mirror for this city. Outside, the gang members fight among themselves. Inside they have to live with their enemies. Like the cartel hitman Francisco.

He shares a cell with members of other gangs. Little by little he has learned to accept this fact. And he's not sure he ever wants to return to his old life. Whether then or now, he has realized that he has spent much more time living a life without freedom than the seven years he spent at La Mesa. : He used to hunt people to kill them. And for that reason I was always in danger. So I wasn't free on the outside either. It was also like living in a kind of prison. Francisco's biggest concern? He hasn't heard from his family in a while.

The only person who visits him sometimes is his mother. Francisco believes that his children are now also criminals, although he does not know for sure. : I'm always thinking about my children, my children. I look at this photo every morning. Although the only thing Francis has left is his photo, Abraham, in pavilion one, clings to one thing above all: hope. Finally be free. The 22-year-old is waiting to hear from his mother about his upcoming transfer to another, more lenient prison. The American Taylor lost all hope long ago. He hasn't spoken to his family in months. That's because inmates who want to make a phone call need what you need for everything else here: money.

It sucks, it sucks. Everyone I talk to here who has been incarcerated in the United States says, compared to this, that the United States is like a hotel. The prisons there are like a hotel. We used to have, for those phones over there, that gave us collect calls. Then we could call the United States for free. To talk to our families. But now they got rid of our collect calls. So now you have to buy phone cards to be able to make calls, and like me, only one person on my cell phone receives money. Everyone else… we don't have family here.

We have no money, so we can't even talk to our families. And since I don't get a deposit, I sell most of the purses and bracelets I make and sell for toiletries. Toothpaste, toothbrush, soap. Things like that. Toilet paper. Because here they don't offer any of that. Money in La Mesa is essential to survive. There is no good news for Abraham. There are no updates on his release. He uses the few minutes he has left for a couple more calls with his brothers and sisters. : These calls are important to me. There are some family and friends who I haven't seen in 3 years.

Like my sisters, for example. They are growing. That's why I talk to them, to see how they're doing. They need to know that I am still their brother and that I am looking out for them. So now the only thing the 22-year-old can do is wait another week. Until the Mexican justice system decides to grant him more freedom. Or not. Taylor enjoys the last rays of sunshine with her friends from the United States. And he continues to resist... Nine years in this place? Bad. Really, very bad. I mean… I don't even know. I do not know how I feel.

From now on, I'm just going with the flow. Like, you know, another day down, another day down. There are a few more left, another day less. Just move on, you know... without trying to think about it too much, without trying to emphasize the situation. Just move on and wait for it to end. Play along with me. Taylor hopes to be released early for good behavior or an early release. Free time ends after two hours. It's time for everyone to return to their cells. The fate that awaits most inmates: almost another seven days behind bars. To begin with, all the inmates of a cell line up one behind the other.

They then leave the courtyard together, staying away from the next group. Yard by yard. It is a method with a system behind it. : We do this so that the first group finishes their patio time first and enters. Everyone else has to wait during this process. There are some inmates who must be kept apart at all costs. They belong to different gangs. From serial killer Francisco and drug dealer Abraham to car thief Taylor, almost all threeA thousand inmates end up behind bars again. For Commander Mario Flores, it is the perfect time to start his raid. He suspects that a certain cell has homemade weapons.

No narration: now we go to cell 11/11. One stays outside. The rest of the inmates are kept under control. The guards are mainly looking for homemade knives. Made from toothbrushes, wires and pieces of metal. Anything the inmates could use to fight each other or attack the guards. : Get off the beds! ...On the ground....Everyone on the ground...Everyone down, everyone on the ground! Aside! :: Everyone looks towards the wall. : On the floor, facing the wall! Then Commander Flores' men tour the selected cell. First, guards take inmates out and subject them to a thorough search. Then, the troops dismantle every last centimeter of the 18 square meter cell.

Mattresses, shoes, magazines. And more. No narration: Do you have the fan? We need to open the fan! So far the only thing they have are some homemade weights. Probably harmless. But when it comes to a fight, they could be a deadly weapon. Now it's time for the fan...: We found this heater inside, which is homemade. It may not be dangerous, but it doesn't matter. Things like this are prohibited in prison. : Normally we encounter this kind of thing. Like this thing here. The prisoners did it with a toothbrush and a piece of metal. The result of the raid?

A pen, a small knife and a heater to have hot water in the cell. Both are homemade from scrap metal, a toothbrush, or some wires from an old fan. It's all reasonably harmless. Without narration The punishment for the inhabitants of this cell will be decided by the penitentiary commission in the coming days. Now we have to fix everything. The prisoners will likely only receive a warning. Or that they take away the time they spend in front of the television or in the garden. In the worst case, they could also end up isolated. Another day is coming to an end in La Mesa.

Another day that Abraham, a 22-year-old convicted drug trafficker, spent hoping to get out of here soon. : I hope to be relocated or even released soon. I have noticed that people who have been here for three years now behave differently. They are angrier, more impatient, they are in a bad mood all the time. And Americans are trying not to back down...particularly Taylor. You don't want to let this place change you. You don't want it because it's shit. You don't want to let that change you. You have to stay strong. Like… you know what I mean? Giselle, convicted of possession of a weapon, will be released in a few months.

And she is already planning her life. : I want to start again. And have a career as a real doctor. “I just want to start over and never look back.” Dolores, on the other hand, has another fifteen years left behind bars. When she comes out, she will be about 50 years old. : When I get out of here, I'll have to start familiarizing myself with the new technology. A lot has changed. And people have changed too! The whole society is different. And hitman Francisco isn't really sure he ever wants to be free again. : The other people he used to work with...

They were all killed within three months of being released. They are all dead. Director Acevedo has managed to keep La Mesa under control for another day. A prison in the heart of Tijuana. For a long time, a prison ruled by pure anarchy. And a prison, where many people lost their lives in riots. A prison with cast iron rules. Minimal freedom. And maximum vigilance. Without narration: “I am very proud. This prison used to be famous for its chaos. It was called “the little town.” That's right! It had all the qualities of a normal town. But it was not an effective prison.

Now we have everything under control, there is security for the inmates and for us.” When it was known as the “little village,” the prisoners held the real power behind these walls – a place full of drugs, prostitutes and violence. Director Acevedo is eager to make sure nothing like this happens again at La Mesa. In one of the toughest prisons in the world.