Inmates turned into sex workers: Another day in a Mexican prison

by MexicoReporter | November 16, 2007 at 07:10 am

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Jeremy Schwarzt, the correspondent for Cox Newspapers here in Mexico City, left this on his blog last night. His comments are an example of the levels of corruption present in Mexico's penal system.

Inmates turned into sex workers: Another day in a Mexican prison

By Jeremy Schwartz | Thursday, November 15, 2007, 01:50 PM

Corruption in Mexico’s prisons has always been the stuff of legend, but the situation at Mexico City’s women’s prison has reached an even smarmier level.

According to the Reforma daily, the head of the Santa Martha prison is pimping out female prisoners, bringing them to nearby men’s prisons where they trade sex for money from male prisoners and guards. Of course, top prison officials got a generous cut from the prostitution operation.

According to guards, the female prisoners get between $5 and $20 for having sex in the dank tunnels connected to the men’s prisons. The scheme apparently worked like this: prison officials would sign out female prisoners, claiming they had a date with a judge.

A couple years ago, Mexico was outraged when luxurious living conditions (think surround sound, leather couchesfresh lobster) for imprisoned drug lords came to light. It is still commonly accepted that money can buy an inmate almost anything in a Mexican prison.