COMMENTARY: COCAINE WAR
THIERRY GAYTAN©
Bogotá El Dorado airport, Columbia, one of the world's most closely guarded airports.
Outside the airport
Policeman
Hello, Sir. Your airplane ticket please.
Policeman
Hello, Sir. Your ticket please.
COMMENTARY
As soon as they arrive, passengers are checked by two policemen.
Policeman
Go on, go on.
COMMENTARY
This is one of the nerve centers of the international cocaine trafficking. It is from here that drugs are smuggled out of Columbia to the rest of the world. Passengers and their baggage are checked carefully.
Person checking
Verify that suitcase.
COMMENTARY
After being X-rayed, all luggage is examined by hand by the Anti-Drug Brigade: experts who know how to find cocaine just by its smell.
In the loading zone, there are even more anti-drug men. This time, they use the traditional sniffer dogs. All packages and letters which leave Colombia are inspected, without exception. The policemen get their noses into everything.
Package examination
Policeman
What's that smell????
It smells like cocaine. Oh no, it's glue!
COMMENTARY
Sanitary pads, flowers, everything is checked. Even curtain rings. And this morning the policemen prove themselves even better than the dogs.
Soldier
I have one! It's positive!
COMMENTARY
A well-known trick. White powder in the cardboard lining. 300 grams to go to Spain.
Officer
We're going to do the test.
Officer
The color blue is the reaction to the cocaine test.
This is very pure cocaine. You can see how this color is extremely blue!
COMMENTARY
Extremely pure cocaine comes as no surprise. Columbia is the world's number one producer of this drug.
[AERIALS OF COLOMBIA INCLUDING SANTA MARTA PORT]
In a country twice the size of France, 800 tons of cocaine is produced per year. The crop is ideally suited to Columbia's mountainous jungle. The proceeds of the smuggling operations finance the armed groups hidden in the endless forest.
For the last 40 years the Columbian army has waged a vicious war against these paramilitaries which include the oldest guerilla force in the world: the FARC.
The rebels have taken over all the drug traffic in Colombia. But to export this cocaine, you need smugglers. And for this, the drug traffickers are turning more and more to foreign tourists.
We found one of them: Michael, a young Frenchman. He's just barely nineteen. He was sentenced to six years in prison.
We also were able to infiltrate a smuggling ring and discovered the unbelievable risks smugglers will take to carry their load out. Tracking them are heavily armed shock troops such as the one led by Major Santamaria. He spends his time in the jungle clearing out networks of drug traffickers.
Desperate traffickers and smugglers against the determined Anti-Drug Brigades. This is a ferocious struggle.
COMMENTARYAIRPORT 2
Return to Bogotá's El Dorado airport, but this time we're in arrivals. The police aren't looking for drugs anymore but money. The smugglers return to the country with their pockets full after having sold the cocaine....
HALL ITW Woman with Americans
Thierry
Are these men Columbian officials?
Woman
No, they are American officials.
Thierry
Why are they here?
Woman
They are investigating money laundering.
Thierry
Do you seize a lot of money in this airport?
Woman
Sometimes, yes, we get very large sums of money. They come from the United States, Mexico, Panama....
Thierry
Why is this?
Woman
All of it comes from the drug traffic.
COMMENTARY
They are paying special attention today to the flights from Florida.
The plainclothes police are looking for large sums of unexplained cash.
HALL
Woman customs official
Are you carrying more than $10,000 with you?
Nothing to declare? Is that your luggage?
You can go.
COMMENTARY
That morning, on a flight arriving from Mexico.
In the suitcase of a passenger: double partitions are found, filled with hundred dollar bills. The police confiscate laundered money every week.
But this time, the number of bills is very large: it will take the police two days to verify and recount it all!
IMAGES OF COPS. One million dollars confiscated.
COMMENTARY
In all, a million dollars! A record! Following the usual procedure, the passenger is photographed with the money. In order to fool the customs officials, some traffickers swallow the money as they do with drug capsules.
But the Columbian Drug's Police have no problem dealing with this: an x-ray is required on even the slightest suspicion.
RUMANIAN RADIO ITW COP
Customs official
Yesterday afternoon, we got a passenger.
Thierry
How much did he have?
Customs official
He had 80 capsules of cocaine in his stomach. He's Rumanian.
Thierry
Is it often foreigners?
Customs official
Yes, it's very common now. Because the Colombians are too well known as "drug-traffickers." The traffickers organizations don't seem to want Colombians anymore-they prefer foreigners.
COMMENTARY
It's here in this airport where the young 19-year old Frenchman, Michael, was arrested. Stopped and searched he was found with 4 kilos of drugs. His week-long trip to Bogotá became six years in prison.
The guards know him well: he's the only Frenchman here and the youngest of the prisoners.
Guard
"Call Michael. Call Michael please.
Here's the Frenchman!"
COMMENTARY
In the courtyard, there are 200 prisoners, among them increasing numbers of foreigners. At the moment there are fifteen Europeans who were caught smuggling.
Gray trousers, white T-shirt-this is Michael.
The atmosphere may appear calm but there are daily fights between prisoners. Amongst them are convicts guilty of murder: FARC guerillas, paramilitary groups, drug traffickers.
At the beginning, Michael was completely lost but he has quickly learnt to adapt, during the six months he's been here, he has learned to adapt to his fellow prisoners and to the guards.
ITW Michael (in French)
Thierry
How are you?
Michael
Fine
Thierry
How are things going in here?
Michael
Normal. There's nothing to do.
Thierry
Is it too hard for you being here in prison?
Michael
Yes. It's going OK. Calm.
Prisoner
And me! My visit, my visit!
Thierry
Tell me, do you know the Frenchman?
Prisoner
Yes. He's a good guy.
Thierry
Do you know why he's in here?
Prisoner
Well, he no doubt messed up at the house.
COMMENTARY
This prison is an "agricultural prison." The prisoners work on the neighbouring farm. Each convict takes his turn. Today Michael has put on his farming clothes.
After his arrest, Michael was held a few days in Bogotá's central prison. When he confessed, he was rapidly transferred to Acasias. In the last few weeks he has gained much more freedom. He's learning Spanish and is working outside.
ATMOSPHERE SACK OF HAY
Michael
Shall I take this sack?
COMMENTARY
This morning, Michael has to carry a 20 kilo sack of hay. He does everything he can to get out of it.
Guard
Go ahead, go ahead and complain.
Michael
It's hard.
I'm not Rambo. I'm not Rambo. I can't. The others, they've already spent a lot of time here. So they are strong.
Guard.
Ah, look at him. When he arrived, he was like you, skinny.
COMMENTARY
Finally, his co-prisoners prepare a smaller sack for Michael.
A prisoner
So, the Frenchman
Michael
Yes, this is better!
ITW Michael
Thierry
Is this work too hard, Michael
Michael
No. It's a little heavy but it's OK
They think I'm the Hulk. They are all so used to it. They work every day in the same way. When I leave here, I'll have strong arms.
Thierry
What do you think you'll do when you get out?
Michael
First of all I'm going to see if I can do the parole in France, and when I'm back in my own country, my beautiful country, well, I'm going to see if I can work, but I don't think so. I came to Colombia to smuggle drugs, nothing else. I thought I could get through and return to my country with no problem. But no, I got caught. This is the result.
COMMENTARY
The worst for Michael is having to take care of the pigs.
ATMOSPHERE PIG
Guard
You have to rake all that below.
Mike
The shit?
Guard
Yes. Yes, all that shit. You bring it all here and you put it in the garbage can. Hold the shovel the other way. From back there to here.
Thierry
How does it affect you to have to do this kind of work?
Mike
It makes me....I don't know how to explain it-for me, it's horrible. It stinks shit. I don't understand how people can work in this. It stinks shit.
Guard
Careful, careful. If not, it's going to go all over.
Mike
And now the pig wants to eat my shoe! You eat my shoe, I'll hit you with the shovel!
Mike (sub-titles)
You work all day here and by evening you're sick, you have a headache, that's for sure. You smell that odor all day long which stinks like death. And I am sure they don't even clean the animals!
Prison Hack (makes fun of Mike)
That's great! Thanks! And in addition, you left the prison courtyard over there to come work here.
Mike
It smells too much like shit, I can't work here.
ATMOSPHERE ITW Mike
Thierry
Michael did you ever wonder what would have happened if you had been arrested in France?
Mike
I didn't really think about it but I know more or less how it works in France.
Thierry
And so, in comparison?
Mike
In comparison, for a prison sentence, it's better here because in France for four kilos I don't know how many years of prison you get because in France drug dealing is a very serious crime but here, it's a serious crime but because it's a country which makes cocaine, you have shorter prison sentences.
Thierry
What were you doing in France?
Mike
In France I was working for a garden company and afterwards, I stopped, I didn't like it. It was a job, I can't say it was difficult but, yes, it was hard on the back. You're there all day long bent over, there's the sun which beats down on your head, you have a backache and when you have a boss who tells you, "work, work, work," it's not possible.
Thierry
Was it then that you had the idea to come to Colombia?
Mike
No, it was a little while later.
Thierry
But it came after what?
Mike
It was that-well I wasn't working any longer, I didn't have any money, I had to find a way to have a little money.
Thierry
Did you tell your family that you were going to Colombia?
Mike
No
Thierry
Your family didn't know?
Mike
No. My mother didn't know and I hardly ever spoke to my father. I didn't tell them everything I was doing. I keep secrets like everybody keeps secrets here. I don't tell my parents everything. It's sure that if I had told my mother, "I'm going to Colombia to smuggle drugs" she would have told me, "You are crazy, my son" and she would have locked me up in a room the whole year.
HIDDEN CAMERA Meeting 1 Café:
COMMENTARY
Michael came to Bogotá to meet the traffickers, and get his load of drugs. We've gone back through the network of smugglers to understand how the traffickers recruit these young foreigners. Most often, they discreetly come up to tourists near their hotels and propose a meeting...
We're inside a café, equipped with a small hidden camera....
The purpose of the first meeting is to test our commitment: Are we really ready to go all the way?
Man
Hello
Thierry
Hello
Man
Did he explain to you just what this meeting is all about?
Thierry
Yes, I told Roberto that it was OK. But I'd like to know just what it consists of. Can you tell me?
Man
It's capsules in latex.
Thierry
About how big are they?
Man
Big like this: about eight centimeters. Like an almond.
Thierry
And how is it made? There's how much inside?
Man
Eight grams in each almond. It's completely safe.
Thierry
And what is my take?
Man
For you, 6000 euros, and you're paid when you deliver the merchandise.
Thierry
It's sure?
Man
Of course!
Thierry
I'm going to think about it.
Man
Why aren't you interested in it? You know, the work we do is safe. It's guaranteed. But if you like, today or tomorrow, we can show you someone who is getting ready and is going to leave very soon.
Thierry
Well, yes, in fact I'd like to see how it works, just to get an idea.
Man
OK but you have to be really interested if you really want the details. Otherwise, it's not worth it.
Thierry.
OK. But let me see so I can get an idea.
Man
Yes, and like that, you'll be more reassured.
Thierry
OK, so we'll meet this afternoon?
HIDDEN CAMERA Meeting 2 DRUG
COMMENTARY
Suddenly everything starts to move fast. By insisting on closely inspecting the cocaine capsules, we have made the traffickers very nervous.
It is very dangerous. These traffickers are reputed for being violent. Everything depends now on this second meeting. But we don't have any idea what's awaiting us.
Man
How are you?
Thierry
Fine.
Man
Come, we're going to go see something.
Thierry
You mean I should come with you?
Man
Yes, come, we're going. Like that, you'll feel confident.
COMMENTARY
He asks us to go with him to his next meeting. He has to give the drugs to a smuggler. But the more we know, the more we are committed in his eyes to agreeing to become smugglers too.
After a few minutes, we arrive at a small house. There are three of us all together....Our contact puts a big package of cocaine on the table.
Man 1
Do you have a small knife?
Man 2
Here, take this.
Man 1
No, but sharp.
It's better sharp.
Thierry
Is that what you're going to send?
Man 1
Yes. This is 100% dope
It's what we call re-oxidized dope.
Thierry
What is it?
Man 1
Re-oxidized dope. In other words, it hasn't been diluted. It's 100%. Undiluted. Absolutely pure.
COMMENTARY
Our contact really wants to persuade us of the quality of his merchandise. So he sniffs a little dose in front of us.
Thierry
Where is it going? To Europe?
Man 2
Yes, it's going to Europe. Usually it's Holland or Spain. He travels every three or four months.
Man 1
He needs a lot of money because he's hooked on gambling. Poker, all that.
Thierry
OK, good, tomorrow I'll give you an answer.
Man 1
Anyway if you're interested you have to decide fast. Otherwise I'm going to give the job to someone else. There are other people in the running. You have to decide.
Thierry
OK, I'll come back tomorrow.
COMMENTARY
The trafficker seems to believe us. We have to go back tomorrow to see the smuggler swallow the cocaine capsules. This is the most impressive part of the preparation.
SEQ PABLO ESCOBAR
COMMENTARY
Medeillin, 230 kilometers from Bogotá.
This is where Pablo Escobar lived, the King of drugs barons.
Escobar single handedly established Columbia's flourishing drug economy, a particularly clever system which consists of giving a small part of the laundered money to the poor.
Today bars are named after him. His name is given to new hospitals, roads, and at least 500 new houses.
Columbia's poor became so dependent on drug money that 13 years on from his assassination by police, his grave is still adorned with flowers.
Woman Prayer
FOR PABLO'S SOUL
FOR PABLO'S SOUL, MAY HE REST IN PEACE.
COMMENTARY
In Medellin, those who pray for Escobar's soul have completely forgotten the hundreds of victims he had killed. His drug economy was inseparable from violence.
Among the faithful: this woman in white. Luz Maria is one of Pablo Escobar's sisters. She believed that living standards have deteriorated.
ITW LUZ MARIA
Some thought that with Pablo Escobar's death, violence was going to disappear from Colombia. But something else happened instead-the violence increased.
COMMENTARY.CALI
The drugs barons of today live in these luxurious homes, genuine fortresses, more than 300 kilometers from Medellin in the town of Cali.
And this is where the police made one their biggest busts of all time: an incredible stash of money buried in the living room. The final count came to more than 80 million dollars. A column of bills as high as a man....
The present drug godfather is Diego Montoya, known as "Don Diego."
The Colombian government has offered a 5 million dollars reward for information about him. He's in the top 10 of the FBI's Most Wanted list, his photo right next to Bin Laden's. And just like him, Don Diego is the target of a merciless war.
Helicopter, jungle, laboratories:
COMMENTARY
The Amazonian jungle in southwestern Colombia.
Three helicopters filled with anti-drug commandos are flying over an enormous battle zone. In Colombia, anti drug police are elite soldiers. This jungle is in the hands of the FARC, the Marxist revolutionary guerilla, who run an enormous trafficking operation.
We are with Major Santamaria and his men. The clearings which you can see dotting the forest are coca crops. The major and his men are going to destroy a clandestine laboratory today.
ATMOSPHERE INSIDE HELICOPTER
Major
The grenade. The grenade. Look, it's there. Do you see the smoke?
Look: there's another lab!
COMMENTARY
A green smoke grenade flares to establish the location. Major Santamaria orders the descent of the three choppers.
In this jungle, danger is everywhere. The commandos have to act quickly before the traffickers call for reinforcements. Last week one of their helicopters was shot down and nine policemen were killed.
....within a few minutes, the Major's men discover....a man alone.
ATMOSPHERE WITH FARMER
Major
There, there there, come out of there. That way. Raise your hands. Turn around. Raise your hands, my friend. Calmly. Who are you with?
Farmer
What?
Major
Who are you with? Raise your hands.
Farmer
I'm all alone. I live here all alone.
Major
Is there a laboratory around here?
Farmer.
No. My place is a little further. I don't have anything here.
Major
Over there facing us, is there a laboratory?
Farmer
Yes sir. And besides, they've ruined my vegetable field.
Major
This field is yours?
Farmer
Yes Sir.
Major (to his soldier)
Hey, secure the place over there.
COMMENTARY
The man says he's a farmer but Major Santamaria is suspicious.
Major
Do you have any fuel inside?
Farmer
No.
Major
You have gas?
Farmer
I, I have gas for....
Major
You have gas?
Farmer
For, for the motor saw.
Major
For the motor saw?
Farmer
Yes sir
Major
Show me the motor saw and show me the gas you have!
Farmer
Sure, sure. I don't have anything to fear, my conscience is clear.
COMMENTARY
Gas is used to transform the coca leaves into paste to obtain cocaine. If there's a lot of fuel it is an indication that the farmer is a trafficker.
Farmer
Look at the motor saw.
Major
Get out of here. Go over there. There! Stay there, stay there! How long has it been since you've used this motor saw?
Farmer
About three months
Major
That field over there, who does it belong to?
Farmer
The field over there. Come with me!
Major
How many hectares?
Farmer
I have a little field, 2 hectares. And over there further on, that belongs to someone else....
Major
Are there coca crops next to here?
Farmer
Yes. Right here.
Major
Where?
Farmer
Over here. We're going to go there. The other fields are further away in the jungle.
Major
Show me the coca field.
Farmer
Let's go!
COMMENTARY
The man knows the area and the coca fields well. With the jungle paths riddled with mines and booby traps, the commandos will use him as a scout.
ITW Major
Thierry
There's no risk of running into mines here?
Major
No. We don't think that the path has been mined because the farmer agreed to come with us. If not, he would have refused to accompany us.
You can see that this jungle is very dense. You can spend a lot of time looking for a laboratory, even if you've located the point from the helicopter. You can see how difficult this terrain is, but people like this guy know their way around.
COMMENTARY
Cocaine brings in between fifty and seventy million dollars revenue per year to the FARC. This is enough to buy powerful weapons-and fighters.
Government soldiers pay a high price for this war: nearly 20 anti-drugs commandos die and 40 are seriously wounded every week in Colombia.
We arrive at the coca clearing.
ATMOSPHERE COCA FIELD WITH FARMER
Major
How much coca paste can you get with a field like this one?
Farmer
That depends. It all depends on the chemist. Sometimes you can get 10, 15, even 20%. It all depends.
Major
And is it very easy to grow?
Farmer
Of course! And one kilo of that, when you have money in your pocket, there's more than for a calf!
Major
And who buys the coca paste?
Farmer
There are plenty of people who buy it!
Major
Organizations?
Farmer
Yes, yes
Major
Armed groups in the region too?
Farmer
But they are the ones who buy it all! They don't leave any for anyone else.
COMMENTARY
The laboratory we are searching for is very close by...
Major Santamaria lets the farmer go - there is no information against him and he has been helpful. Now the area must be secured.
MAJOR with soldiers
Go have a look over there. Check around from a hundred to two hundred meters from here. Be sure you check well everything that's around here!
Get going, and pay attention please. Be very careful.
COMMENTARY
In this jungle there are thousands of kidnappings and bombings every year. Mines, traps and snipers make the soldiers wary. The commandos go silently through the jungle.
The laboratory seems to be deserted. But the Major is careful.
Major
Bring the other group here! Condor! Bring the other group!
ITW MAJOR LABORATORY
Thierry
There's no one?
Major
No. They left because they heard our helicopters.
Major (to his soldier)
Follow him, follow him.
Thierry
Is it dangerous around here?
Major
Yes. The fact that they haven't shot at us doesn't mean there aren't any enemies in the area.
This is why I sent some men ahead of us and also over there and to that side...
COMMENTARY
The inspection begins. First the enormous tanks for fuel: empty. But they are the proof that the traffickers are well-supplied, even in the middle of the jungle.
ITW YOUNG SOLDIER
Thierry
What are you looking for?
Soldier
Products like this.
Thierry
What's that used for?
Soldier
It's to make coca paste. With plaster and cement. Here we have fuel, cement, plaster and coca leaves. They are macerated, mixed up and then this juice is sent into a pipe to filter it and obtain what is called coca paste.
COMMENTARY
The major has also found a GPS, and an accounting book. These make it possible to trace the network back to its ringleaders.
ATMOSPHERE NOTEBOOK
Major
Oh Lopez! Come take this and see what you can make of it!
We can see their account book here: what they spend and what they produce every week and every month.
Look at this fuel bill paid on credit.
Here are the bills.
We can know how many people work here. We can see here: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7....there are 8 people who work here.
In this forgotten corner of the jungle, it's not normal to find all this.
COMMENTARY
Barely fifteen minutes after their arrival, the soldiers set the laboratory on fire and move out. The longer they hang around, the greater the risk of running into armed groups.
Last year in Colombia, the Anti-Drug Brigades destroyed hundreds of clandestine laboratories like these. They arrested 63,000 people for drug trafficking.
Major
Let's get out of here. Quick!
Come on, let's get going!
COMMENTARY
In Colombia, coca crops cover over 160,000 hectares. Farmers burn down the forest and cut the trees which are still standing. The chemicals used to turn coca into cocaine, contaminate what remains of the jungle and its rivers creating a real ecological catastrophe which Major Santamaria and his men are only able to slow.
The mission is finished for today. We return to base at San José de Guaviare. An elite police garrison, super trained, super equipped, protected by walls of sand bags.
Two hundred men take turns every day on the frontline of a war which seems endless.
ITW MAJOR
The money which the traffickers earn with that is really a lot, a lot...It's sure that they are going to rebuild their laboratory but we will always be behind them. We won't give up.
Thierry
And this money finances the guerilla?
Major
Yes, mostly the guerilla and also the paramilitary. The farmer told us that behind the traffickers, there are always the big wheels of the illegal armed groups: the paramilitary and the guerilla. They fight among themselves over the coca market.
COMMENTARY
The commandos who fight against these armed groups are young, sometimes very young men. They are attracted by the good salary and the prestige of this dangerous job.
Last year in Colombia, 600 soldiers and policemen were killed during operations and 1350 seriously injured.
Since the beginning of the year, thirty airplanes and four anti-drug helicopters have been hit by guerilla rocket fire.
ITW YOUNG SOLDIER
Thierry
How old are you?
Soldier
22
Thierry
How long have you been here.
Soldier
Two years.
Thierry
You're not afraid?
Soldier
No, so far I haven't been afraid.
Thierry
What's been your hardest experience so far?
Soldier
It wasn't long ago, in October.
Thierry
What happened?
Soldier
A confrontation with the rebels.
Thierry
The FARC?
Soldier
Yes Sir.
Thierry
What happened to you?
Soldier
Nothing to me but they killed one of my companions...
Thierry
And have you killed anyone?
Soldier
Not yet. No, Sir, not yet.
COMMENTARY
These Anti-Drug Commandos have been trained by the American military. The United States also provides the helicopters. And it's American pilots who are in charge of spreading pesticide to destroy the coca crops.
Since the establishment of the "Colombia Plan" seven years ago, the US has spent 5 billion dollars in this country.
Second farmer/POPPY:
COMMENTARY
The guerilla movement originated in Tolima province, in the west of the country. Up here in the inaccessible mountains of the Andes Cordillera the FARC-Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-were created over forty years ago.
Here also, the traditional crops have been replaced by coca, poppy and cannabis: three to four harvests a year on fertile lands.
Don Jairo is a farmer in Tolima. He lives all alone in this cabana.
Like all the farmers in the region, he had to bow to the law of the FARC and start to grow drug crops. He now lives off illegal poppy and marijuana crops.
The farmer
I talk to my little plants. I tell them to grow well, to be beautiful because they are going to be sent far away, in an airplane.
They like them a lot over there in France, isn't that right?
They like them a lot so they have to be made happy.
Thierry
Is it more profitable to sell marijuana?
Farmer
It sure is! It's more profitable to grow illegal crops than to plant red beans. But we work mostly with the poppy.
Thierry
Is the poppy more profitable?
Farmer
Yes, Sir. But especially for that, we get permission from the guerilla. Because here we aren't poppy users.
COMMENTARY
For Don Jairo the enemy is America and its airplanes which spread pesticide over his precious crops. These pesticide-spreading operations are very controversial. They seriously pollute the land, the airplanes often target the wrong areas, and after seven years, there has been no decrease in drug crops.
Farmer Don Jairo
Here, we work. We never know when we're going to be sprayed.
Thierry
What happens?
Farmer Don Jairo
Last time there were small airplanes. They were flying close to the ground. We thought they were going to kill themselves, those sons of bitches.
In fact, they came straight at us and peed on us.
That's how we say it here. They released their glysophate and they soaked us.
All the fields were burned. The last spraying came from over there.
With the wind, it goes all over the fields. And over there, they killed my vegetables and my carrots. The "gringos" are going to have to wait for the next crop.
COMMENTARY (on a farmer who is smelling his marijuana)
Don Jairo also grows poppies.
Farmer Don Jairo
This is latex. It's that little white dot that you see. That's what we pick. We pick kilos of it, we sell it and with that, the others take care of it!....
COMMENTARY
Poppy is the raw material of another product: heroin. Colombia is growing increasing amounts of it.
CAPSULES 2 MEETINGS 3 CAFÉ
COMMENTARY
We have returned to Bogotá and we are with our cocaine smugglers. Today our contact is supposed to let us see the preparation of a mule: their name for the tourists who smuggle cocaine capsules in their stomachs.
Man 1
So, you're getting out of the project?
Thierry
No, no.
Man 1
It should be dead easy for you!
Thierry
But the first time, it's not easy!
Man 1
No, it's like the first time for a woman who's a virgin.
It's only the first day. After that, they like it and they ask for it again. They like it even more than we do and they don't want to stop anymore.
So don't worry about that side of it.
Pretty soon you're going to see someone who is going to take a trip.
Thierry
And the one who's going to leave, where is he? Is he a European?
Man 2
No, he's Columbian, but he's an American resident. He has an American passport.
Man 1
It's as if he were a gringo. Yes, yes.
And you, Albert, do you work in Europe?
Thierry
Yes and I don't make much money. The minimum, about 1200 euros a month.
Man 1
And here you're going to make in one day as much as you make in six months: 6000 euros.
Without suffering, without sweating...and even without any stress.
Thierry
Sweating all the same: because it's hard on the nerves.
Man 1
Come on, we're going to show you, like that you'll be more enthusiastic. We're going to take a taxi.
HIDDEN CAMERA PLACE CAPSULES
COMMENTARY
Direction: the workshop for the capsule preparation.
Our contact is going to introduce us to a smuggler. His name is Pedro. He's a specialist in preparing the capsules.
Thierry
But how many are there? Can I look?
Man 1
There are different sizes. Here, five and six grams. So you don't get tired when you eat.
Thierry
Ah yes, you can smell an odor. How long does it take to prepare the capsules?
Man 1
About two days for a kilo, night and day. It's tiring, it's shitty work, but it's safe. Don't worry, everything is very well prepared.
Thierry
There's no risk they'll open up in the stomach?
Man 1
No, no. Because they're very well coated with several layers of latex and wrapped in wax.
Otherwise there'd be about fifty deaths a day.
Thierry
Why? Are there are lot who smuggle every day?
Man 1
Yes, it's every day, pal.
Thierry
How many are you going to carry?
Man 1
Between 900 grams and a kilo.
COMMENTARY
This packet of pure cocaine is going to be split up into small quantities to make the capsules.
Thierry
How much does this quantity of cocaine cost?
Man 1
About 1500 euros. In fact, a kilo costs 1800 euros wholesale.
Thierry
If I can ask, how much are you going to get?
Man 1
The market varies a lot in Europe. But on an average, it's between 30,000 and 35,000 euros the kilo. It depends on the country.
Thierry
You've never been caught, Pedro?
Man 1
No, thank heavens, no. You know, this is a delicate business and anyone who is a betrayer or who talks has to take the consequences....
COMMENTARY
This is no idle threat.
He puts the cocaine powder in a finger of a latex glove. Now he moves to a machine which is going to compress the cocaine into a small capsule.
Man 1
You arrive with no problem. You travel with no problem. You eat....and we too, we're going to eat...
Thierry
But to expulse all that, it must be complicated?
Man 1
No, it's the same as if you were going to shit. As simple as that. Don't worry: everything which goes in comes out.
Thierry
And if you get hungry during the flight?
Man 1
In addition, we encourage you to eat to avoid suspicion. During a long flight, if you don't eat, it's odd.
Thierry
And if you need to go to the toilet before the end of the flight?
Man 1
But it's to avoid that that you take anti-diarrhea pills. Like that, you don't have any need to go to the toilet.
Thierry
And there's no risk that the action of the gastric acids causes them to burst open?
Man 1
No, the last layer is wax. The gastric acids can't penetrate it. In addition, the capsules have four layers of latex glove plus the stretchable film and then two other glove layers and finally the wax.
Thierry
But how can you swallow something so big?
Man 1
That's the worst part, pal, because it takes a long time.
COMMENTARY
Each latex layer is closed at its end by a familiar string: dental floss.
Man 1
As simple as that.
Thierry
Have you been doing this for a long time?
Man 1
Pal, for fourteen years!
Thierry
Fourteen years?!
Man 2
Pedro is a professional!
Thierry
And how many trips have you made?
Man 1
A lot, pal. A lot. I've been to Italy, Germany, Holland, France, the United States, Mexico...and Canada too!
Man 2
Of course, for you, you have to control your nerves!
Thierry
How do you control your nerves?
Man 1
It all depends on you. You have to be calm! Listen: the only one who knows you're carrying it is the one who sends you-and you!
No one else will know. Just remember that!
Thierry
Yes but all the flight controls, the X-rays...?
Man 1
If you are worried, if you are nervous, of course you'll get caught. But the dogs can't smell anything, nor the machines, nor the bip-bips.
Let me tell you that when you take your trip, be very careful of your friends. You never know. You can't tell anyone that you're taking a trip loaded because you never know who might betray you. That's where there can be a slip-up.
Thierry
What kind of wax?
Man 1
It's the wax used for dentures. Before we were making it with paraffin but had a gasoline taste.
The advantage with this wax is that it doesn't have any taste or odor. It's much better.
Thierry
And so all that goes in the stomach?
Man 1
Yes, all that. So you can figure it out: if you swallow 100 capsules, that's a kilo. They'll all be just like what you've just seen...
Man 1
So this evening, I am going to start to swallow them. Albert, you can come tomorrow. The safest for you is to come see what I do when I swallow.
COMMENTARY
We arrange a meeting for the next morning to see Pedro swallowing his capsules....the next day, when we arrive, Pedro has already been swallowing his cocaine capsules for four hours.
Pedro
Yes, yes, we're going soon to the airport. I have only that left to swallow.
Thierry
You're almost finished?
Pedro
Yes, that's it. I'm going to stop. I can't do anymore....
Thierry
And how many have you already swallowed?
Pedro
117
Thierry
It's as easy as that?
Pedro
It's easy. But look, you take it, you do like this. And that's all.
Thierry
Let me see. Open your mouth.
Pedro
You don't believe me or what, pal? It's simple!
Thierry
How much have you swallowed?
Pedro
About one kilo and 78 grams.
But it has to be worth the effort. Because such a long trip for a little bit of merchandise isn't worth it.
That's enough now. We're going to get out of here.
Thierry
How many capsules in all?
Pedro
119 capsules. About 1 kilo 100.
Man 2
Above 900 grams, he'll be paid more. He's going to have 1500 euros more. Ok Albert, we're going to leave because Pedro has to catch his flight.
Thierry
Have a good trip. When do you arrive in Europe?
Pedro
I'll be there tomorrow morning.
Thierry
OK. Good luck. Glad to have met you.
51 43" COMMENTARY
That was our last meeting with the traffickers.
We leave fast, we don't want to risk them finding out that we are not interested in their proposition.
Michael 2
COMMENTARY
If he'd known how it was going to end. Michael would never have got involved. Prison is a very tough experience. From the start of his detention, he's had to learn how to avoid the violence.
Michael ITW Knife-Prison "Have to be tough"
Michael
They're all armed here, either with knives or even with scissors, with pens. You're doing nothing, you're waiting in line to eat, you have someone who comes up behind you and bam, they're at you with a knife, scissors, a pen.
Thierry
And what do you do then?
Michael
You have to talk tough. You have to be tough. When the other people look at you they have to say to themselves "he's tough." Like that, they'll attack the people who are weak. If you talk quietly, they're going to say, he's just a kid, a baby. They're going to hit you, they're going to stab you.
You have to talk tough and cold and loud.
God it's hot. You've got a swimming pool and you can't even go swimming. 35 degrees!
Thierry
You're not bad off. You've even got a swimming pool.
Michael
A swimming pool-but we can't ever put a finger in the water. Maybe the commander. The commander can go in. But us, no!
COMMENTARY
Michel thought that transporting drugs was a breeze.
ITW Mike
I prepped myself to stay as normal as possible, as Zen as I could. You can't ever be thinking that you have drugs, that you might get caught. No, you have to think of something else. As for me, I was thinking of someone.
Thierry
Who?
Michael
I was thinking of my mother. After I got it out (the drug), I'd go back to my country, be peaceful with my mother.
Thierry
What was the preparation like?
Michael
About an hour or two. I learned to walk with that pain and those kilos. You can think that four kilos isn't a lot but when you have four kilos of cocaine, it's not possible. Two kilos on each leg and you've got the tape that's pulling at the hairs, and it hurts. I didn't shave my legs, I put the tape straight on.
And afterwards, I took a taxi and I got into the airport. When I saw that they were searching people, I couldn't leave the airport. I had to go straight on. I tried to pass by and when they touched me, they felt the drugs I had on my legs.
As I didn't want to collaborate, they told me I could have problems. I said, "Too bad, I'm not going to talk."
Thierry
Was it a friend?
Michael
No, it was a person I knew. I knew him briefly, for about a week, not longer.
Thierry
And you trusted him just like that?
Michael
You can say that I trusted him. He told me I could get by, that it was possible to get by....and when I got there I realized it wasn't possible to get by.
Thierry
And how much money did you get?
Michael
Nothing. I got nothing. When I am going to get out, I'll be back at the same point I was, without money.
Thierry
Your goal was to get 10,000 euros.
Michael
It was to have some money, yes, 10,000 euros
Thierry
Is it too high a price to be here for 10,000 euros?
Michael
I don't know... 10,000 euros is worth nothing to me next to freedom. Freedom is worth much more than money. Freedom is worth much more. Freedom, I don't know how to explain it, it's wonderful, you can go out, you can do what you want.
COMMENTARY
Michael was in it for the easy money. But now he has five more years to spend behind bars. He is hoping to reduce this to two years for good behavior.
Atmosphere prison-whistles
COMMENTARY
But Michael has another hope: that he can finish his detention in France, an be closer to his family.
Thierry
Do you have a good relationship with the others?
Michael
Yes, it's going fine.
COMMENTARY
We were able to follow Michael all the way to his cell. A big dormitory with 30 beds, all occupied.
Thierry
What do you have in your bag, Michael?
Michael
I have some things of mine: a package of cakes, cigarettes, soap to wash my clothes, things like other people. I have some cologne. And I'm looking for the letters my mother wrote me.
Thierry
Do you have a lot of letters from your family?
Michael
No, I have only two letters from my mother. I write them but it's hard to send them. Here, I have two letters from my mother which she wrote me.
ITW Michael reads his letters.
Michael
"My little darling, I received news of you from the French consulate. I don't know what happened but don't worry at all, we are going to do everything we can to help you and it won't be very long. You are always my little boy whom I love and I won't abandon you.
I go to see your little cat, he's doing fine. I fed him. We will take care of your papers, don't worry. We will do everything we can so that you can be with us as soon as possible. I love you very much. Mama.
That's the only letter I've received from my mother.
Thierry
How does it make you feel?
Michael
It's hard, very hard because I can't see her. I hope one day to get a letter from my father but I don't think he'll write me.
Thierry
Why?
Michael
I don't know. I don't know why. If my mother forgives me, I feel OK. If my mother doesn't forgive me, I don't feel OK.
COMMENTARY Michael
At the time of our meeting, Michael had only received these two letters from France. In the face of this enormous feeling of solitude, he has had to adapt to his new life.
COMMENTARY Conclusion people
Michael is still being held in Colombia. Until now, none of his family has been able to visit him, they just can't afford the flight.
Pedro, the smuggler who told us everything, was not intercepted by the police at his departure from Bogotá. His cargo of cocaine reached Europe safely.
Major Santamaria of the Anti-Drug Brigade is attending a specialized training program in the United States. He continues to track down the drug traffickers in the jungle
COMMENTARY end (6" images "Brittany")
COLOMBIA exports some 800 tons of cocaine every year: a world record which brings in more than 20 billion dollars.....