Primera parte - A los 13 años probé drogas: me embaracé y empecé a venderlas | Tere #Penitencia 181
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Tere's father taught her to work and earn money from age four, fostering an early entrepreneurial spirit.
- ❖She experienced sexual abuse from her stepfather starting at age eight, which she kept secret due to threats.
- ❖Tere began using cocaine at 13 and later extorted her abuser for money to fund her drug habit.
- ❖At 15, she became pregnant by a 30-year-old police officer who was also a drug supplier.
- ❖Her US citizenship and fluency in English made her a valuable asset for drug trafficking across the border, which she began at 16-17.
- ❖Tere describes the 'crab in a bucket' mentality among women in Mexican prisons, where solidarity is rare.
- ❖She credits therapy within prison for helping her process her childhood abuse and understand it wasn't her fault.
- ❖After 10 years, Tere is in a phase of 'total reinsertion,' valuing personal growth and relationships over past 'power' or material comforts.
Insights
1Childhood Trauma as a Precursor to Criminality
Tere's sexual abuse by her stepfather, starting at age eight, was a significant turning point, leading to drug use and a breakdown of her 'nerd' student persona. The inability to speak about the abuse and the subsequent emotional damage directly fueled her rebellious phase and involvement in crime.
She states, 'A lo mejor estuve un [pause] por abusos, aparte de mi padrastro... Él empezó a hacerme tocos como desde los 8 años... Yo creo que es el contexto de casi todas las que estamos aquí hemos pasado por un abuso, por abuso sexual caña.' ()
2Leveraging Citizenship and Intelligence for Drug Trafficking
Tere's US citizenship, fluent English, and innate negotiation skills (honed by her father) made her an ideal candidate for drug traffickers. She quickly realized the financial opportunity in transporting controlled substances and later marijuana across the border, transforming her 'nerd' intelligence into a tool for illicit gain.
She recounts, '¿Sabes cuál fue la clave para que digan, 'Hey, come here. ¿Dónde vives? ¿En qué colonia vives aquí en Nuevo Laredo?' No, yo vivo en Laredo, Texas. Ah, sí. Hola. ¿Cómo estás? Este, mucho gusto. Laredo, Texas. Sí, tienes papeles. Y yo sí, sí. Perfecto.' () and 'Y empecé a cruzar carros de marihuana para Estados Unidos.' ()
3The Path to 'Total Reinsertion' Through Maturity and Reflection
After nearly a decade in prison, Tere has undergone a profound personal transformation, moving from a defiant mindset to one of 'total reinsertion.' This involves deep self-reflection, valuing intangible aspects of life like family and time, and processing past traumas through therapy, leading to increased sensitivity and maturity.
She states, 'Este es mi de agosto 16 del año pasado. A la fecha estoy en total reinserción. Padre, porque he aprendido bastante. He cambiado mucho mi forma de pensar, mi forma de sentir. Creo que ahora soy más sensible.' ()
Bottom Line
Tere's early entrepreneurial training from her father, who encouraged her to sell collected nuts and repaired ceramics for pocket money, inadvertently laid the groundwork for her later understanding of illicit markets and negotiation tactics in drug dealing.
This highlights how foundational skills, even positive ones, can be twisted into criminal applications if not guided by strong ethical frameworks or if individuals face severe trauma and lack healthy outlets.
Programs aimed at at-risk youth could focus on channeling natural entrepreneurial drives into legitimate ventures, providing mentorship and ethical frameworks to prevent misdirection.
The prison environment, despite its harshness, provided Tere with the necessary space and therapeutic support to finally confront and process her childhood sexual abuse, something she couldn't do in the outside world.
This suggests that for some individuals, the structured and isolated environment of incarceration, coupled with professional psychological support, can paradoxically become a catalyst for healing and self-discovery that was unavailable in their chaotic past.
Investing more in robust, trauma-informed psychological services within correctional facilities could significantly improve rehabilitation outcomes, recognizing that healing past wounds is often a prerequisite for successful reinsertion.
Opportunities
Childhood Ceramic Repair & Resale
As a child, Tere would buy broken ceramic figures cheaply, repair them with glue, and resell them at a flea market. This demonstrates an early understanding of value addition and market arbitrage.
Cross-Border Controlled Substance Arbitrage
Tere identified a significant price discrepancy for controlled prescription medications between Mexico and the US. She would purchase boxes of pills cheaply in Mexico and sell individual pills at a much higher price in US schools, leveraging her border access.
Marijuana Trafficking Logistics (Driver/Courier)
Leveraging her US citizenship and ability to cross the border without suspicion, Tere became a driver for marijuana trafficking, earning thousands of dollars per trip. This highlights the demand for reliable, 'clean' couriers in illicit supply chains.
Key Concepts
Crab in a Bucket Mentality
Tere describes the lack of solidarity among women in prison as 'jaivas en un bote' (crabs in a bucket), where if one tries to rise, others pull her down, preventing anyone from succeeding or improving their situation. This highlights a pervasive competitive and envious dynamic in confined, high-stress environments.
Education as Power (Misdirected)
Tere's mother instilled in her the belief that 'education is the only thing no one can take from you.' While Tere applied this to gaining knowledge, even 'bad' knowledge, it also manifested in her leveraging her intelligence and understanding of systems (like border crossings and drug markets) for criminal gain, demonstrating how a core principle can be misapplied without ethical grounding.
Lessons
- Recognize the profound, long-term impact of childhood trauma, especially sexual abuse, on an individual's life trajectory and potential for criminal involvement.
- Advocate for and support comprehensive psychological services and trauma-informed care within correctional facilities, as these can be critical for genuine rehabilitation.
- Understand that 'reinsertion' is a deeply personal and often lengthy process of maturity and self-reflection, not just about serving time, and requires valuing intangible aspects of life.
- Challenge the 'crab in a bucket' mentality in any competitive environment by actively fostering solidarity and mutual support, recognizing that collective uplift benefits everyone.
- Consider how innate talents like intelligence and entrepreneurial drive can be misdirected without proper guidance and support, and explore ways to channel them positively in at-risk populations.
Notable Moments
Tere's father teaches her to work and sell items at age four, fostering an early entrepreneurial spirit.
This early experience of earning money and negotiating shaped her understanding of commerce, which she later applied to illicit activities.
Her aunt blames her for her father's death, telling her it was 'her fault' for making him angry and for praying for his death.
This moment of misplaced blame at a young age likely contributed to her sense of guilt and confusion, further compounding her trauma.
Tere begins extorting her stepfather for money after he abuses her, using the funds for drugs.
This illustrates a tragic shift from victim to someone leveraging a dark secret for personal gain, highlighting the destructive cycle of abuse and its consequences.
Tere becomes pregnant at 15 by a 30-year-old police officer who was also her drug supplier.
This event encapsulates the extreme vulnerability and exploitation she faced, entangled with both personal trauma and criminal networks.
Her US citizenship and fluent English are identified as 'perfect' assets by drug traffickers, leading her to become a cross-border courier.
This shows how personal attributes, intended for legitimate opportunities, can be exploited by criminal organizations, demonstrating a dark side of globalization and border dynamics.
Quotes
"Las mujeres en el centro penitenciario donde estés somos jaivas. ¿Sabes cuando metes a las jaivas en un bote y va saliendo una y te jala? Te jala porque no quiere que sobresalgas."
"Estudia porque es lo único que no te van a poder quitar en esta vida. Aprende, lee y eso lo aplico hasta el día de hoy. Mis conocimientos nadie me los quita, así sean conocimientos buenos, así sean conocimientos malos, pero tengo conocimientos."
"No es nuestra culpa porque yo decía que era mi culpa."
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