I have been working for many years with Latin American women being held in British prisons. These women have been arrested, in most cases, at Heathrow or Gatwick airport, for illegal transportation of drugs, specially cocaine. During the recent months I have noticed a radical and worrying change in the system and mechanics of these imports: Venezuela is being seen as an outlet for drugs coming from Colombia, Peru and Bolivia with Europe as their destination. For many years, out of the whole group of 94 women prisoners in British jails, there was a single Venezuelan, most of them being Colombian. In the course of this year, the number of Venezuelan women has increased considerably; curiously enough, the most recent arrests have been of women with diverse nationalities, but arriving from Venezuela. The average age of these women is 22 years; almost all of them are unwed mothers, with enormous problems and responsibilities to one child or several children, or even to members of a long family. Lacking resources, and quiet hard pressed, these women up being recruited by dealers who work under a well organized and planned operation to get hold of them in deep poverty sectors, identifying the most vulnerable subjects: they are the best suited for this drug traffic business.

The recruit of these women -known as "mules", here in England- operates as follows: the agents identify a most indebted woman, one with serious needs, constantly borrowing, in search of money to cover basic needs; they are offered "friendship" and material assistance. Once the woman is indebted to them, they make her pay her debt by working carrying drugs, from one place to another, from a country to another. If the woman tries to walk out from her commitment, she is threatened with harm and even death to her children or parents. Once the woman is caught, they have her operate in several ways: for instance, they make her swallow coarsely prepared capsules -most commonly cocaine-stuffed condoms or surgical gloves' fingers. Some of them have been forced to swallow up to a hundred capsules -a generally violent operation; on some other occasions they are "embalmed", i.e. their body is covered with small cocaine bags, tied with bandages. I have seen women with signs of torn adhesive bands all over their body. Once this step has been taken, they travel -most women have never traveled by aeroplane- and they can hardly eat or drink, discomfort is enormous. Other women conceal the drug in false heels, in the lining of their cloth, in small bags or handbags, in cosmetic containers and even in food.

They thus arrive at the chosen airport. The British authorities are quite well equipped to detect drug contraband and the customs police is most competent. In England, the law is hard, specially in dealing with this crime. This is how the terrible experience that I constantly observe commences. Hoping to prevent future arrests, I have looked for ways to sound the alarm in Venezuela as I now do it, publicly, in the web, by means of Venezuela Anal'tica, an electronic review that is respected for its seriousness and with its articles often reproduced in the press.

The interrogation at the airport, through interpreters, is very hard. The women are subjected to a series of examinations, x rays, etc. They are held in cells, at the airport, until the ingested drug has been evacuated or, when transported by other means, until it is weighed, analyzed for purity and volume; the subsequent sentence will be a function of the latter.

It is not hard to imagine the state of shock of these women when we see them. It is generally at this stage when my group is informed. The detained woman is transferred from the airport to the Holloway prison, in London. She remains there until tried and sentenced; the wait can last up to six months. The sentence is served at an inland prison. When in jail, the woman feels isolated an totally lost; she does not know the language nor the jail's legal system and internal regulations. The affliction resulting from the fact that she left family and children in her country and that they are vulnerable, on their turn, by reason of the prisoner's absence, is the cause of acute problems at the beginning of what, in most cases, is a long sentence.

We know of several cases of women who left small children behind, to the care of a friend, when traveling abroad "for a weak" under promises of payments of two hundred to six hundred dollars in consideration of the carrying of cocaine -with a street value of twenty to thirty pounds sterling- who are servicing sentences of up to 12 years. The children, of course, are no longer under the care of the friend who, generally, is as poor as the "mule". These children -we have evidence of it- quickly enter the malignant circle of poverty-vice-drug-crime.

I feel I must emphasize another fact: a general rule, the recruited woman, once she begins to operate with these criminal organizations, has no way out. The probabilities that she accomplishes her mission and returns to her country, are practically nil. If the mission succeeds, she is sent on another mission. If she is arrested, the family is the victim of reprisals. I have been informed of three detained women whose children have been killed. A South American was informed, while in jail, that her 16 year old son had been murdered: while sleeping in his bed, at his grandmother's house, he was executed with a shot to his head. Another woman had her daughter killed, with a shot to the head also, when leaving a shop in her city. A third child was run over and killed by a car and, another prisoner's brother was clubbed to death.

My work with these prisoners started with the connection of the Anglo Latin American Foundation (ALAF) with children. This charitable organization raises funds to assist Latin American forsaken children. I thought we could help with these women's abandoned children, but we did not succeed because they do not tell their families that they are in jail; however, the need to attend them is so great and the dangers are so imminent that I believe we must do something about it. I work closely with the Catia Community Center -in Caracas- through the Voluntary Ladies of the International Social Service, Venezuelan Chapter, but I have not been able to find the marvelous bridge to serve as a link to a project looking to support and assist the children of these women who are held in prison so far a way and for so long time.

May I conclude by briefly explaining what the AMIGA GROUP is: it is a supporting group for Latin American women who are held in British jails. It is recognized and supported by the Middlessex Probation Area Service, in the County of the airports. There is a strong cooperation with it. The group consists of women of diverse nationalities, who speak fluently Spanish and Portuguese. It is an autonomous group, made of volunteer workers, with no links to government nor to public institutions; it has been active since October 1989.

The goal is to offer support to these women during the traumatic period of arrest, interrogation and trial at courts, as well as during the subsequent imprisonment at Holloway, London or other inland jails, When the authorities inform the woman that she is under arrest, the Amiga Group tries to contact the Holloway prison and to assign a lady volunteer worker to the detainee. This lady, under the group's coordination, visits the prisoner while she is in London; she facilitates the translation work, the telephone calls to the family and assists in the writing of letters; she also maintains with the consular and probation services a contact serving as a link with the prisoner and vital to her. Of course, the prisoner must be willing to have the consular services contacted, something that does not always happens. Later, when the woman has been sentenced and moved to an inland prison, communication is maintained with her by letter, whenever the group does not have a representative in the area. (Currently we have representatives at the Styal, Manchester and Cookhamwood [Rochester] prison

The group provides to certain basic need such as clothing, regularly collected and assigned in accordance with the women's needs, under jail regulations. Newspapers, books and magazines are distributed also and, on special occasions, such as Christmas, a modest sum of money is provided for special needs. In June 1996, the Group was restructured and, for administrative reasons, was assimilated to the Female Prisoners Welfare Project, where we have our office, as a branch dealing with Latin American women prisoners. Under its direction, we are trying to save and continue this difficult and lonely work. The resources are scarce, we have great needs and the rate of the arrest increases. We must rely on private donations and on financial support by means of grants by the Middlessex Probation Service.

Personally, I have a visit group at H.M. Prison of Holloway, where I talk with all the women. They report their general problems, they make petitions, we discuss educational plans and activities and, finally, I have private conversations whenever it may be required. I then report to the Group's office, where there is a single person working half a day a week. I also do individual visits in London and inland prisons. I also take care of "special cases" as, for instance, that of a woman I see regularly. She was arrested not so long with drug, coming from the South. This is perhaps the most dramatic case I have attended to. The prisoner reacted to the arrest with such a strong shock episode that, as from her arrival at Holloway, she was under observation 24 hours a day. She was suicidal. The first time I visited her, in a totally unfurnished cell where she was kept dressed with a straight jacket, I could only talk to her through a small window and with two guards and a nurse behind me. She was most aggressive, she kicked, clawed, bit and never ceased screaming and howling. This person is the classic victim of what I have said. She started as a "mule" and turned into an addict -of the prisoners I know she is the only one.

In order to procure the drug for her personal use, this woman became indebted to a cartel. This criminal organization then established her itinerary of trips carrying packages. She told me: "Once you enter this circle you cannot walk out from it even if you want it or if you dare". Her brother was killed as a reprisal after one of her escape attempts.

What I write here may be used as an important information on the diverse components of this human tragedy that I observe so closely, always hoping to find, in Venezuela, any person willing to sound the alarm, trying to avoid that naive women may become "mules" who, most likely, will be arrested.

What I say here resembles, somehow, the famous "soap-box" television series, so popular in Venezuela, dealing with the issue with so much crudeness and horror that watchers think it is fiction, but unfortunately so often reality. I wish there could be communication with the women at risk of deception with a false promise of a kindness later to be redeemed with the greatest cruelty one may imagine. It is indeed hard to communicate with these women who do not read the press, who do not listen to news on the radio and only watch the "soap-boxes" offered by the telly with their damaging examples. There must be a way to make them know that they must avoid the trap.

I once tried to make contact to diffuse the warning information trough one of the mass media -those getting to everyone. The person who received me apparently had close ties to the world of money laundering. In another country, I was able to talk to an important person who told me: "I cannot help you because the public presentation of this sad reality does not benefit the judicial, police or political system… the money being generated by this immensely rich empire is unmeasurable and it is these system's oxygen…"

Mrs. Wigglesworth may be contacted through Venezuela Analítica,
by e-mail, at: editorva@ccs.internet.ve