Reasonable Doubt: A Tale of Two Kidnappings (2021) s01e02 Episode Script
The Kidnapping
1
[man 1, on phone] Mom? How are you?
- [man 2] Let her talk.
- [man 1] How are you?
Hello?
Mom?
Hello?
[man 2] Look, get the money for tomorrow
or I'll send her in pieces.
This is not a game.
[phone crackle]
[man 3] You have 48 hours.
I'll only give you 48 hours.
Or, I swear,
I'll send her in little pieces.
[man 1] I already have some money.
[man 2] Okay, then listen.
[man 1] Give the phone to my mom.
[man 3] Don't fuck around.
If you do, your mom is dead, got it?
[woman] It was May 26th.
I have three rooms for rent.
They were supposed to rent two of them.
While I was showing them the rooms,
they grabbed my arms
and said I was being kidnapped.
That's when they dragged me to the car.
They took me somewhere
and put me on a canoe.
They took me up a mountain,
dragging me like an animal.
At 8:00 p.m., they took me to the house
where I was going to be held.
They kept me captive there for eight days.
I was tied up, blindfolded.
I didn't sleep at all
until my family paid the ransom.
One day, they told me
to get ready to leave.
They said I was a filthy old lady.
They treated me horribly.
They moved me again.
They weren't letting me go,
even though my family had paid the ransom.
They kept whispering,
so I figured they'd kill me.
They called some guy from Bayo
and asked him
if the area was safe and clear,
so they could dump me
somewhere over there.
[voice breaks] They left my lying there.
When I took off the blindfold,
I got dizzy and fell.
After eight days of darkness,
the light was overwhelming.
They left me lying there.
I tried to flag down the trucks,
but no one would stop for me.
A NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY SERIES
[theme music playing]
[tense music playing]
PUBLIC TRIAL COUR
[judge] Your witness, please.
[attorney 1] Yes, Your Honor.
FIRST HEARINGS OF THE GLP CASE
JUNE 28TH, 2015
[attorney 1] What do you do for a living?
[witness] I'm a farmer.
[attorney 1] Do you know any of the men
that are accused for this crime?
- [attorney 2] Objection.
- Reason?
It's an inappropriate question.
The witness doesn't know
who of the people here are accused.
One of the most important changes
with this new criminal justice system
was a new way of recording the hearings.
They installed cameras
in the courts, on the ceilings, and walls.
Now, there's an official video record
of the proceedings.
[attorney 1] And before that,
did you see Mr. Gonzalo often?
Objection, Your Honor. Too suggestive.
[attorney 1] Okay
[judge] Sir?
[attorney 1]
Yes, I'll reformulate the question.
ACCUSED INMATE
I had an attorney.
During the first hearing, this attorney
He tried asking,
I don't know how many questions,
and they were all like,
"No, try it again."
He wasn't very competent as a lawyer.
[attorney 1] What do you do for a living?
Objection. He already answered.
[attorney 1] What were you doing
on May 26th?
[attorney 2] Objection. He answered.
They kept objecting to all his questions.
[attorney 1] Do you remember if,
on May 26th,
28th, 29th or 30th of the current year,
you had any contact with Mr. Gonzalo?
[attorney 2] Objection.
Reason?
It's a compound question,
very general, ambiguous,
and can be confusing.
He told me take a plea deal
and go for a short trial.
He said he could work out a deal.
The lawyer would call his sister asking
for money to file a constitutional appeal,
claiming Héctor would be out in a month.
I'd call the lawyer
to ask how things were going.
I'd call every couple of months,
and he always sounded drunk.
[Gonzalo] I told this lawyer
to go to the gas station
to get their security footage,
as well as the store's.
I told him that the footage
would show what happened.
He said, "Forget about
this gas station business."
He said that it was in the past.
"You're free."
That we'd been cleared in the ACP case.
LAWYER AND RESEARCHER
We continue to face a system
where the accused
have no means of defense,
because they can't choose
their court-appointed lawyer.
They don't pay them.
The institution isn't designed
for them to win.
I noticed that the defense attorneys
for Héctor, Gonzalo, Juan Luis and Darwin,
weren't even able to formulate
simple questions during the hearing.
So I decided to look for an attorney
who was actually qualified
to handle a case like this.
Someone recommended Andrés Andrade.
I heard he was a great lawyer,
extremely qualified.
Plus, he had previously worked
for the State General Attorney.
I thought he was perfect.
He was an amazing choice
because he understood the institution
and, as such, could expose it.
MAY, 2015
GLP IS KIDNAPPED
JUNE - HÉCTOR, GONZALO,
JUAN LUIS AND DARWIN ARE ARRESTED
FIRST HEARINGS FOR THE GLP CASE
FEBRUARY, 2016
ROBERTO MEETS GONZALO
APRIL, 2017
ANDRÉS TAKES THE CASE
651 DAYS IN PRISON
APRIL 3RD, 2017
[man] I first started working
for the State General Attorney,
at the invitation of the
Attorney General Fernando Valenzuela.
He offered me a position
in the Major Crimes division.
After a number of situations
I wasn't comfortable with,
I decided to tender my resignation.
I opened my own practice.
DEFENSE LAWYER
It was around that time,
once I had my own firm,
which specialized in litigation
for this new trial system
that I got a call from Roberto Hernández,
and he asked me
to take part in this particular case.
Eventually, we reached a point
where we brought a proposal
to the men and their families,
that their defense would be unified
with me as the lead attorney.
Alberto and I made a great team.
We had good chemistry.
DEFENSE LAWYER
I was wrongly convicted
and spent six years in jail.
After going through
such a jarring experience,
I pursued a career in law,
as a trial lawyer.
As soon as Andrés took over the case,
he started explaining everything to us.
We could see how qualified he was,
how well-spoken he was.
The difference was clear as day,
just from the way he spoke.
Other prisoners in Macuspana
started contacting us,
wanting us to look at their cases.
Surprisingly, most of them
were accused of kidnapping,
which is almost impossible,
statistically speaking.
The moment I noticed the way he spoke,
I told the other guys
"This guy is way better
than our last lawyer."
He reassured us,
and never told us to take a plea.
He was handling our case well.
The issue is that they were being held
on grounds of attempted kidnapping.
However,
Darwin was arrested somewhere else
for totally different reasons.
Héctor, Juan Luis and Gonzalo
were arrested at the gas station
for the attempted kidnapping of ACP,
allegedly.
However
they were held in custody
only so they could set up a police lineup
for the kidnapping of GLP,
who is ACP's sister.
FIRST HEARING OF PUBLIC TRIAL
JUNE 6TH, 2017
Hello.
[Roberto] Hi, how are you?
Thanks for coming.
- Thank you.
- Thanks to you.
[Roberto] How are you?
Good morning.
I'm Roberto.
I'm not part of the defense team.
I'm interested in the truth
of what really happened.
But my job is that.
To document all of this
on camera, and tell the truth.
- How are you? Good morning.
- [Roberto] Hi, Andrés.
- How are you?
- [Andrés] I'm great. Nice to see you.
[Roberto] I'm just explaining who you are.
[both laugh]
- [Roberto] This is Andrés.
- [Andrés] Right.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
I'm Andrés Andrade.
I haven't had the pleasure yet.
Let me explain quickly.
We're studying the case in great detail.
There are many elements
that could help us succeed.
We're going to mount
the best defense possible.
[Roberto] How much are you going to charge
for taking these four cases?
No charge whatsoever. Zero pesos.
- No expenses, no fees. Nothing.
- [woman] Thank you, God bless you.
No thanks needed. It's my pleasure.
[attorney] Juan Luis López García,
Gonzalo García Hernández
and Darwin Morales Ortiz,
violently,
forced the victim
into a green Jetta vehicle,
and told her that she and her family
would be deprived of life.
Héctor Muñoz Muñoz was in charge
of taking care of the victim
and overseeing her.
Their active participation will be proved
beyond a reasonable doubt.
The State General Attorney
started to get worried
once Andrés Andrade took over the case.
They decided to send in a Major Crimes
prosecutor, Francisco Vera Ayala,
to assist the prosecutor,
María del Rosario Delfín Rosales.
Attorney Delfín is the best
in the Major Crimes Division.
She's their top prosecutor.
She's in charge of all the big cases.
- And this is a big case.
- Exactly.
María Rosario Delfín is the prosecutor.
From the first time we saw her,
we were warned about her.
The fact that the victim was kidnapped
on May 26th, 2015, is not disputed.
We are categorically disputing
the participation of Héctor,
Darwin, Gonzalo and Juan Luis.
It will be proved
that there has been a complete lack
of criminal investigation
regarding the kidnapping
of the victim of undisclosed identity.
The State General Attorney
has tried to compensate this failure
forcing and inducing the victim
to incorrectly and illegally identify
these four men.
So what happened?
At some point,
after ACP accused them of kidnapping,
he and the prosecution realized
the matter couldn't go forward.
They had zero evidence, none at all.
So they decided to go after them
for his sister's kidnapping.
ACP and the prosecution
pressured his sister, GLP.
They set up a faulty lineup,
biased and purposely skewed,
so that she would identify them
as the men who kidnapped her.
[Andrés] If, when this debate is over,
the court sees
that there could be a possibility
that these men didn't take part
in the kidnapping,
it is your obligation to absolve them.
Nothing further.
The court needs you to turn over
all the information you have.
Where Darwin was, where Juan Luis was,
where Héctor was,
where Gonzalo was.
They're depending on you for any alibis.
You have to be ready,
and not make anything up.
You must be ready to tell the truth.
WITNESSES MEETING
[Andrés] I went
to the Major Crimes office.
On my way out, I ran into César Oliveros,
the Major Crimes prosecutor.
He saw me and walked over.
I've known him for years.
He looked angry.
He goes, "Are you defending
kidnappers now?"
I was taken aback,
but I greeted him politely.
I said, "I have several cases,
but if you mean the one"
"Yeah, the guys from Macuspana."
He goes, "They're guilty, you know?"
I told him he was wrong.
"No, those guys are guilty."
"They were caught red-handed.
It's a done deal."
I told him I actually wanted
to discuss the case,
but he said, "No, no, no."
He said, "It's a slam dunk."
"They're guilty. Period."
How are you feeling? Emotionally?
Good, I'm not worried.
Angry maybe?
- Well
- A little?
[chuckles] A little, but it's all good.
Yeah.
- Okay. Shall we get started?
- [Andrés] Yeah.
Hello! Please come in.
[chairs scraping]
Don't answer anything
until they finish asking the question.
It's something that happens to all of us.
We finish the question in our head
and answer quickly.
Let's say we were ready
to object to the question.
Maybe the question would damage our case,
and we could get it thrown out.
But if you answer too soon,
the objection isn't valid.
- [Alberto] She's Juan Luis's mom.
- [woman] I'm Juan Luis's mom.
[Andrés] Ma'am, what is your testimony?
What are you testifying about?
That he came home on the 25th
to celebrate his kid's birthday.
We went to her house, to my Mom's house.
Whenever there was a birthday,
she would always host the party.
We came back from shopping
and it was late
DEFENSE WITNESS
so I told my son to stay home.
And he said, "No, we need to go,
we're leaving in the early morning."
My partner, Juan Luis,
was unjustly accused.
I know for a fact that,
on the day of the events he's accused of,
he was with me.
What day do you mean?
May 26th.
But, just to be clear,
we were together from the 25th.
Nothing further.
[Gonzalo] On May 26th,
I was probably five hours away.
I was working
with Mrs. Hermelinda. With her son.
At their place.
I was fumigating.
DEFENSE WITNESS
That day, I went to see him
and ask him to help us fumigate.
- What time did you go see him?
- At 6:00 a.m.
[Roberto] Where were you
on May 26th, 2015?
ACCUSED INMATE
[Héctor] I was at work.
I worked at Techint.
When we get to work at 7:00 a.m.,
we sign the attendance sheet.
At 7:00 a.m.
- The company is called Techint?
- Yes.
- [Robert] You're a backhoe operator?
- [Héctor] Yes, backhoe.
You went in at 7:00 a.m.
and left at 4:00 p.m.
- And the kidnapping was at?
- [Héctor] At 7:00 a.m.
[Darwin] I was working
with Ms. Yazmín at the butcher's shop.
I slaughtered some pigs.
My bosses can attest to the fact
that I never missed work.
I was there every day.
I never let them down.
If I wasn't sure that he was there
that day, I wouldn't come here.
On that day,
he was working at my shop with me.
[attorney] Okay. Do you remember
what he was wearing?
Objection, Your Honor.
That is completely irrelevant.
Do you think his way of presenting himself
at work is irrelevant?
[Andrés] Objection.
- It's irrelevant.
- And inappropriate.
Objection sustained.
Do you remember seeing Mr. Darwin
talking at some point to
the man who works in the opposite stall?
[Andrés] Objection.
This question has nothing to do
with the interrogation procedure
and it's irrelevant.
[judge] Objection sustained.
[tense music playing]
That van out there is from Major Crimes.
- And the van behind it.
- It doesn't have any plates.
The van behind it
is also from Major Crimes.
Let's go over the facts one more time.
Last year, in September what day was it?
September 13th.
On September 13th
they barged into your house.
Yes.
Out of the 30 people in your house,
did you recognize any of them here today?
- Two of them. Two.
- Two of them?
What vehicle did they leave in today?
They left in the same white van
they drove to my house in.
Okay. I took pictures of a white van.
- This white van?
- [Yazmín] That's it.
- That's the same van.
- Okay.
[distant sirens wailing]
[Yazmín] It was around 9:00 p.m.
Bam! Bam! Banging on the door.
- [man shouting]
- [banging]
[Yazmín] A hooded man,
with an assault rifle,
flashed a light in my eyes.
I turned to the front window
and saw 15 guys
banging on the front door.
"Dear God, what's going on?"
When they managed to open the door,
a man dragged me by my hair
towards the bedroom.
They kept yelling at me.
"Where are the drugs?"
"Where are the guns?"
I didn't know
what they were talking about.
They ransacked my bedroom,
my clothes, flipped the bed.
I went to wake up my children
who were asking what was going on.
[glass shattering]
A man walked up to me.
Some didn't cover their faces.
They were all in uniform. The prosecutors.
They even had their ID's on them.
A man walked over
and told me to calm down.
But this other guy grabbed me
and then hit me with his weapon.
He yelled, "What's your name?"
I asked who they were.
"You don't get to ask questions.
I ask the questions, bitch."
Why were they doing this?
I was sure that
it was about Darwin's case.
I asked if this was
because I testified in Darwin's case,
because they had my ID.
That's why they were doing this to us.
All crimes considered
to have a major impact on society
fall into the purview of this division.
They handle kidnappings, murder,
rape, crimes where money is involved,
or that are highly violent.
If you go through news stories
from that time,
there are many accusations
of extortion, unlawful detention,
instances of torture.
Without any oversight or accountability,
you're creating a monster.
I was someone
who knew their inner workings
and who resigned in protest
because of their methods,
and then came back with cameras.
It made people nervous.
[preacher] but the illness came
for a reason.
Today we thank you, Lord,
for giving us once again the chance
to worship you and hear your advice.
Holy Spirit of God,
according to your word,
if two of you shall agree on earth,
anything they ask
for shall be done for them.
Father, we now ask,
with full faith in You
[preacher's voice fades]
[preacher] You know his first
and last name, Father.
Dear God,
this illness that causes him pain
The Bible says in Isaiah, chapter 53
[inmate] cut his tongue for snitching!
[Mayra] I know it isn't easy being here,
but it isn't easy out there either.
You know that very well.
You know I'm fighting
for the kids and for you.
I've told you that.
Just keep praying
and don't be pessimistic.
- You hear me?
- Yeah.
- [Mayra] Take care of yourself.
- Yeah, take care.
[Mayra] All right. Goodbye. Take care.
It's impossible to support
your family from here.
It's incredibly painful
not being able to help them.
I've seen so many guys here
lose their wives and families.
It's hopeless.
Things are different outside than in here.
Being here, far from my family
from my son
I've been separated from him
since he was only four.
GONZALO'S SISTER
His kid, like any other kid,
he asks for toys.
Every time he called, he'd ask his dad
to buy him a toy car with his paycheck.
My brother had lied and told him
he was away working.
He'd tell his son he'd get paid soon,
so I had to pitch in a little
and pay for those things.
We didn't want the boy to be sad.
I was the sole provider for my family.
I was taking care of two elderly people.
At Guillermo's butcher shop,
sometimes there was leftover meat.
I would ask if I could buy it,
but Guillermo let me take it.
That's how I would support my family.
It's been expensive going back and forth
between here, Villahermosa and Macuspana.
It's an expense.
The court doesn't pay for those expenses.
[Juan Luis]
Eventually I accepted my situation.
I had to be realistic about this,
and get myself some work.
Because I had no other choice.
I learned how to weave hammocks.
I also used to make blouses.
When they open our cells
at seven in the morning,
you "stick to the frame,"
as they say here.
You weave and weave.
If I start a hammock,
it takes me, at most,
seven or eight days to finish.
The hammock stays there
until you find a buyer.
Say, you sell it for 600 pesos,
you have to buy more thread.
Each hammock nets you
between 100 and 130 pesos.
That's for a hammock made in here.
[Eva] Whenever he finishes one,
he calls me to pick it up.
I sell them for him.
And once the client pays,
I buy the stuff he needs.
[Gonzalo] I never imagined
she'd be the one who'd stand by my side.
I remember when we were little.
Maybe when we were around ten years old,
we used to fight all the time.
[Héctor] If we don't do something here,
what else can we do?
Do you understand?
We need something, you know?
Weaving keeps me distracted.
It makes time go faster.
If you don't have an occupation,
your own thoughts get to you.
They make you sick.
If they knew how Darwin lives,
the situation his family is in,
they would quickly realize
he's no kidnapper.
You can't spend a ransom
in two or three days.
Some days,
they can't put food on the table.
They live day to day.
[melancholic music playing]
The prosecution has two jobs,
which are clear and simple
when they do it right.
First, they have to prove
the event happened,
and they have to prove culpability.
They have to prove the crime
was committed by the accused.
We will now listen to the evidence.
The first one is a DVD,
which will be played now.
Is it ready?
[man 1, on recording] Yes?
[man 2] Look, get the money for tomorrow
or I'll send her in pieces.
This is not a game.
[man 1] Hello?
[man 3] Hi, buddy.
Can you get 50,000 more pesos?
I'll release your mom right now.
[man 1] Look, I just got here.
I already have 109,000.
Tomorrow, I'm meeting
some colleagues from work
who will donate money.
Why don't you call tomorrow?
[attorney] Please, say where you work.
I work in Major Crimes.
PROSECUTION WITNESS
Please, state the reason
why you are in this Hearing Court.
Sure. For a report I presented
on August 25th.
What that report shows
is the communication
between the presumed kidnappers
and the victim's family.
With your analysis,
were you able to identify
the identity of the kidnappers?
[Rosa] No.
[Andrés] Thanks. Nothing further.
[reporter 1] More than 560 kidnappers
operating in Tabasco
were arrested from 2013.
Thus, at least 100 criminal gangs
of kidnappers were dismantled.
[reporter 2] In Tabasco, over 80 gangs
have been broken up,
and almost 500 kidnappers
were arrested and taken to trial.
The prosecutor's office of Tabasco
informed this Tuesday
that they had dismantled
three gangs of kidnappers.
Four gangs of kidnappers were dismantled
in which, at least,
21 people were involved.
Five kidnappers were arrested in Tabasco.
[reporter 3]
The State General Attorney's office
managed to break up
two gangs of kidnappers.
[man] We would like to remind you
that, beyond the results and the numbers,
which so far add up
to 400 arrested kidnappers
under the current administration,
the goal remains the same:
to enforce justice for the well-being
and peace of mind of Tabasco's residents.
[Ana Laura] It is the most serious,
important, and headline-grabbing crime.
What tends to happen
with our justice system
is that the Prosecutor's office
conducts an investigation
and arrests their suspects,
while local authorities do the same
and arrest different suspects.
There are different suspects
accused of the same kidnapping.
STATE GENERAL ATTORNEY
ATTENTION AND PROTECTION
OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES
[Roberto] Mrs. GLP identified all of them
that very night, June 20th.
She identified Darwin at 3:00 a.m.
A few days later,
Mrs. GLP hops on a plane
and goes to the AG offices in Mexico City
to identify entirely different people.
Criminal Case file 33 is a file
that contains the criminal investigation
against a group of people
known as Los Potencianos.
GLP positively identified
these Potencianos
as the people who had kidnapped her.
It was a clear and evident contradiction.
It's very important for the judges
to be made aware of this file,
because they will decide whether
Héctor, Gonzalo, Juan Luis and Darwin
are responsible for the kidnapping
of Mrs. GLP.
[pensive music playing]
[woman] Go on!
[footsteps]
[woman shouts] Hello!
Is Mrs. Gladys here?
Tell her it's Eva.
Can I speak to her for a moment?
[GLP] I don't want more trouble.
You accuse me of this, of that
[Eva] No, of course not. Not us.
[GLP] I'm not scared,
but I want no trouble.
[Eva] No
She told us she didn't know
the guys in question.
She said she never identified them.
So Eva told her,
"That's what we want you to say."
[GLP] But I didn't see them.
I was kidnapped for eight days.
I was blindfolded.
I didn't see where I was
or who had taken me.
My brother's lawyer made me say
they were the kidnappers
and that was their car.
[Mayra] She seemed nervous.
She kept saying
we should go talk to her brother.
Mr. ACP.
She didn't recognize them.
Rather, before going in,
they told her what number to identify.
I asked, if they called her,
would she go to the hearing?
"If they call me, yes."
[Eva] We were told
that you refuse to testify,
because you're scared they'll hurt you.
[GLP] Why would I be scared
of them hurting me?
[Eva] That's what we're wondering. Why?
[indistinct shouting]
716 DAYS IN PRISON
GLP TESTIFIES IN COUR
I couldn't sleep last night
because we don't know.
Only God knows what will happen today.
We've been here almost two years.
One year and 11 months.
I pray to God everything goes well.
I'm a little nervous.
We want justice from the authorities,
not the opposite.
Today is the hearing.
It's the final hearing
in the case against us.
Public Trial.
It's scheduled for ten o'clock.
We're going to see the doctor.
[guard yells] Héctor Muñoz!
I pray to God everything goes well today.
God willing, I trust we'll walk free.
STATE POLICE
[indistinct conversation]
It was an emotionally charged day.
The prosecution's star witness
was taking the stand.
During her testimony,
we'd have to bring attention
to all her falsehoods.
We would introduce
the Criminal Case file 33.
It was a bombshell day.
- [judge] Careful!
- [clerk] Watch the step.
[judge] Go on.
Easy, ma'am. It's okay.
[GLP] I won't remember everything,
because it's been two years
since it happened.
During the time you were kidnapped,
did you see anybody?
[GLP] Honestly, just one person, once.
He was brown-skinned.
He was watching me.
I didn't see anyone else.
I was blindfolded the whole time.
I could only hear them.
I heard a woman, kids,
but I never saw their faces.
Ma'am, at the moment you were taken,
did you see anyone?
[GLP] No, I was shocked.
I don't remember seeing anything.
Please, state the reason
why you couldn't recognize them.
[GLP] Because of my eyesight.
I had surgery, and my vision is blurry.
Even looking at you,
I see your face in darkness.
I came because I was summoned,
but I'm not doing well.
When I heard Mrs. GLP say those words,
I thanked the Lord.
See, my family had gone to talk to her,
so I'd like to think her heart was moved
and that's why she said it wasn't us.
To be clear, you are saying
that you were not able to see
any of the three men
that kidnapped you on May 26th?
[GLP] If I saw them,
I wouldn't recognize them.
Right, so you couldn't see them properly
because of your poor eyesight.
[GLP] Yes, that's right. What can I say?
- I can't see well.
- [Andrés] You can't see well.
So you couldn't identify the people
that kept you in the safe house?
- [GLP] No.
- Okay.
That's all.
He made the decision
not to bring up case file 33
and keep the bombshell undetonated,
because during the trial,
GLP admitted she didn't see them.
Will you start
your interrogation procedure now?
[Andrés] We won't present the evidence.
No? Okay. Go on, prosecution.
The prosecution has proved
beyond a reasonable doubt
that Mrs. GLP,
victim of undisclosed identity,
was deprived of her freedom
on May 26th, 2015.
The victim claimed that,
at the time, she did identify them,
and that she testified
before officers of the Prosecutor's office
from the Anti-kidnapping Special Unit
[Andrés] Contrary to what they say,
it was proved beyond a reasonable doubt
that Darwin, Gonzalo and Juan Luis
weren't even close
to the location of the incident
on the day and at the time
of the presumed kidnapping.
The atmosphere was extremely tense.
In the back,
the guys were gripping their seats so hard
you could hear it.
They were grinding their teeth,
fidgeting constantly.
Our stomachs were in knots
because anything can happen.
On the other hand,
the prosecution, in her closing speech,
is not being truthful,
because she's declaring
that the victim, in her statement,
said that besides reporting
before the Prosecutor's office,
she also took part
in a police lineup of the accused,
which was not stated by the victim
when presenting her testimony today.
The judge was paraphrasing
each of our arguments.
Almost all the arguments
in our closing statement.
I was beside myself.
I said, "Now they're going to walk free."
Therefore, this court decides
to rule in favor
of Juan Luis López García,
Gonzalo García Hernández,
Darwin Morales Ortiz
and Héctor Muñoz Muñoz,
who shall be set free immediately.
[Gonzalo] We got our freedom back.
We got our release papers.
The prosecution had threatened us
with a 50-year sentence.
But, thank God, we got a ruling
clearing us of all charges.
Freedom, thank God.
We hugged each other, cried together.
We weren't found guilty. Ha!
When they didn't find us guilty,
I felt so relieved.
We were all so happy.
For our attorneys,
it meant that the case was over,
but for us it meant
that the nightmare had finally ended.
When I heard those words,
saying I was innocent,
a chill ran through my body
I was so excited.
I cried tears of joy
because I was finally free.
- [man] Bravo!
- [applause]
[applause continues]
- [Darwin] The lawyer wants to talk to us.
- [Roberto] It's over.
- Raúl.
- [Andrés] We'll give you five minutes.
I thought I could finally be
with my family.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
There was a dirty trick.
They had it all set up.
They issued the warrant
for ACP's case days earlier.
They reopened the case
while we were at trial.
Unfortunately, Darwin was the only one
who was able to leave at that time,
because he wasn't implicated
in the ACP case.
We had an arrest warrant
for attempted kidnapping,
not for kidnapping,
but the "attempted" kidnapping of ACP.
What did the prosecution do?
What kind of trick was that?
It was a rotten thing to do.
I looked at my children.
I didn't say anything
and walked straight into my son's room.
I just started crying and crying,
and my mother asked me what happened.
I remember that I felt my world
crumbling around me that day.
I felt a lot of things.
They knew they lost.
So they had to think of something else
to keep us
[scoffs] in jail.
[Eva] Everything changed.
We were all upset,
because we didn't understand it then,
and we don't understand now.
Why those who are supposed
to impart justice and enforce laws,
why they do things like this.
[Roberto]
How could the prosecutor do this?
María del Rosario Delfín Rosales
signed their release papers,
admitting she had no evidence
to charge them with kidnapping.
Then, two years later,
without any new evidence,
she petitions a judge
for an arrest warrant
to start a process against them
for ACP's kidnapping.
With the same evidence,
she signs their release forms
acknowledging she lacks enough evidence,
and ignores that fact
to issue new arrest warrants.
It says here,
"Notification of arrest warrant."
"Macuspana, Tabasco. May 16th, 2017."
Since May 16th.
"Arrest warrant issued
for Juan Luis López García,
Héctor Muñoz Muñoz
and Gonzalo García Hernández
for the crime of attempted kidnapping
of the victim identified as ACP."
They arrested my brother
for that on June 20th, 2015.
The authorities will see
who the criminal is here.
Because what they're doing
is an act of injustice.
Yet another injustice.
[ominous music playing]
[locks clanging]
[theme music playing]
Subtitle translation by Julieta Gazzaniga
[man 1, on phone] Mom? How are you?
- [man 2] Let her talk.
- [man 1] How are you?
Hello?
Mom?
Hello?
[man 2] Look, get the money for tomorrow
or I'll send her in pieces.
This is not a game.
[phone crackle]
[man 3] You have 48 hours.
I'll only give you 48 hours.
Or, I swear,
I'll send her in little pieces.
[man 1] I already have some money.
[man 2] Okay, then listen.
[man 1] Give the phone to my mom.
[man 3] Don't fuck around.
If you do, your mom is dead, got it?
[woman] It was May 26th.
I have three rooms for rent.
They were supposed to rent two of them.
While I was showing them the rooms,
they grabbed my arms
and said I was being kidnapped.
That's when they dragged me to the car.
They took me somewhere
and put me on a canoe.
They took me up a mountain,
dragging me like an animal.
At 8:00 p.m., they took me to the house
where I was going to be held.
They kept me captive there for eight days.
I was tied up, blindfolded.
I didn't sleep at all
until my family paid the ransom.
One day, they told me
to get ready to leave.
They said I was a filthy old lady.
They treated me horribly.
They moved me again.
They weren't letting me go,
even though my family had paid the ransom.
They kept whispering,
so I figured they'd kill me.
They called some guy from Bayo
and asked him
if the area was safe and clear,
so they could dump me
somewhere over there.
[voice breaks] They left my lying there.
When I took off the blindfold,
I got dizzy and fell.
After eight days of darkness,
the light was overwhelming.
They left me lying there.
I tried to flag down the trucks,
but no one would stop for me.
A NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY SERIES
[theme music playing]
[tense music playing]
PUBLIC TRIAL COUR
[judge] Your witness, please.
[attorney 1] Yes, Your Honor.
FIRST HEARINGS OF THE GLP CASE
JUNE 28TH, 2015
[attorney 1] What do you do for a living?
[witness] I'm a farmer.
[attorney 1] Do you know any of the men
that are accused for this crime?
- [attorney 2] Objection.
- Reason?
It's an inappropriate question.
The witness doesn't know
who of the people here are accused.
One of the most important changes
with this new criminal justice system
was a new way of recording the hearings.
They installed cameras
in the courts, on the ceilings, and walls.
Now, there's an official video record
of the proceedings.
[attorney 1] And before that,
did you see Mr. Gonzalo often?
Objection, Your Honor. Too suggestive.
[attorney 1] Okay
[judge] Sir?
[attorney 1]
Yes, I'll reformulate the question.
ACCUSED INMATE
I had an attorney.
During the first hearing, this attorney
He tried asking,
I don't know how many questions,
and they were all like,
"No, try it again."
He wasn't very competent as a lawyer.
[attorney 1] What do you do for a living?
Objection. He already answered.
[attorney 1] What were you doing
on May 26th?
[attorney 2] Objection. He answered.
They kept objecting to all his questions.
[attorney 1] Do you remember if,
on May 26th,
28th, 29th or 30th of the current year,
you had any contact with Mr. Gonzalo?
[attorney 2] Objection.
Reason?
It's a compound question,
very general, ambiguous,
and can be confusing.
He told me take a plea deal
and go for a short trial.
He said he could work out a deal.
The lawyer would call his sister asking
for money to file a constitutional appeal,
claiming Héctor would be out in a month.
I'd call the lawyer
to ask how things were going.
I'd call every couple of months,
and he always sounded drunk.
[Gonzalo] I told this lawyer
to go to the gas station
to get their security footage,
as well as the store's.
I told him that the footage
would show what happened.
He said, "Forget about
this gas station business."
He said that it was in the past.
"You're free."
That we'd been cleared in the ACP case.
LAWYER AND RESEARCHER
We continue to face a system
where the accused
have no means of defense,
because they can't choose
their court-appointed lawyer.
They don't pay them.
The institution isn't designed
for them to win.
I noticed that the defense attorneys
for Héctor, Gonzalo, Juan Luis and Darwin,
weren't even able to formulate
simple questions during the hearing.
So I decided to look for an attorney
who was actually qualified
to handle a case like this.
Someone recommended Andrés Andrade.
I heard he was a great lawyer,
extremely qualified.
Plus, he had previously worked
for the State General Attorney.
I thought he was perfect.
He was an amazing choice
because he understood the institution
and, as such, could expose it.
MAY, 2015
GLP IS KIDNAPPED
JUNE - HÉCTOR, GONZALO,
JUAN LUIS AND DARWIN ARE ARRESTED
FIRST HEARINGS FOR THE GLP CASE
FEBRUARY, 2016
ROBERTO MEETS GONZALO
APRIL, 2017
ANDRÉS TAKES THE CASE
651 DAYS IN PRISON
APRIL 3RD, 2017
[man] I first started working
for the State General Attorney,
at the invitation of the
Attorney General Fernando Valenzuela.
He offered me a position
in the Major Crimes division.
After a number of situations
I wasn't comfortable with,
I decided to tender my resignation.
I opened my own practice.
DEFENSE LAWYER
It was around that time,
once I had my own firm,
which specialized in litigation
for this new trial system
that I got a call from Roberto Hernández,
and he asked me
to take part in this particular case.
Eventually, we reached a point
where we brought a proposal
to the men and their families,
that their defense would be unified
with me as the lead attorney.
Alberto and I made a great team.
We had good chemistry.
DEFENSE LAWYER
I was wrongly convicted
and spent six years in jail.
After going through
such a jarring experience,
I pursued a career in law,
as a trial lawyer.
As soon as Andrés took over the case,
he started explaining everything to us.
We could see how qualified he was,
how well-spoken he was.
The difference was clear as day,
just from the way he spoke.
Other prisoners in Macuspana
started contacting us,
wanting us to look at their cases.
Surprisingly, most of them
were accused of kidnapping,
which is almost impossible,
statistically speaking.
The moment I noticed the way he spoke,
I told the other guys
"This guy is way better
than our last lawyer."
He reassured us,
and never told us to take a plea.
He was handling our case well.
The issue is that they were being held
on grounds of attempted kidnapping.
However,
Darwin was arrested somewhere else
for totally different reasons.
Héctor, Juan Luis and Gonzalo
were arrested at the gas station
for the attempted kidnapping of ACP,
allegedly.
However
they were held in custody
only so they could set up a police lineup
for the kidnapping of GLP,
who is ACP's sister.
FIRST HEARING OF PUBLIC TRIAL
JUNE 6TH, 2017
Hello.
[Roberto] Hi, how are you?
Thanks for coming.
- Thank you.
- Thanks to you.
[Roberto] How are you?
Good morning.
I'm Roberto.
I'm not part of the defense team.
I'm interested in the truth
of what really happened.
But my job is that.
To document all of this
on camera, and tell the truth.
- How are you? Good morning.
- [Roberto] Hi, Andrés.
- How are you?
- [Andrés] I'm great. Nice to see you.
[Roberto] I'm just explaining who you are.
[both laugh]
- [Roberto] This is Andrés.
- [Andrés] Right.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
I'm Andrés Andrade.
I haven't had the pleasure yet.
Let me explain quickly.
We're studying the case in great detail.
There are many elements
that could help us succeed.
We're going to mount
the best defense possible.
[Roberto] How much are you going to charge
for taking these four cases?
No charge whatsoever. Zero pesos.
- No expenses, no fees. Nothing.
- [woman] Thank you, God bless you.
No thanks needed. It's my pleasure.
[attorney] Juan Luis López García,
Gonzalo García Hernández
and Darwin Morales Ortiz,
violently,
forced the victim
into a green Jetta vehicle,
and told her that she and her family
would be deprived of life.
Héctor Muñoz Muñoz was in charge
of taking care of the victim
and overseeing her.
Their active participation will be proved
beyond a reasonable doubt.
The State General Attorney
started to get worried
once Andrés Andrade took over the case.
They decided to send in a Major Crimes
prosecutor, Francisco Vera Ayala,
to assist the prosecutor,
María del Rosario Delfín Rosales.
Attorney Delfín is the best
in the Major Crimes Division.
She's their top prosecutor.
She's in charge of all the big cases.
- And this is a big case.
- Exactly.
María Rosario Delfín is the prosecutor.
From the first time we saw her,
we were warned about her.
The fact that the victim was kidnapped
on May 26th, 2015, is not disputed.
We are categorically disputing
the participation of Héctor,
Darwin, Gonzalo and Juan Luis.
It will be proved
that there has been a complete lack
of criminal investigation
regarding the kidnapping
of the victim of undisclosed identity.
The State General Attorney
has tried to compensate this failure
forcing and inducing the victim
to incorrectly and illegally identify
these four men.
So what happened?
At some point,
after ACP accused them of kidnapping,
he and the prosecution realized
the matter couldn't go forward.
They had zero evidence, none at all.
So they decided to go after them
for his sister's kidnapping.
ACP and the prosecution
pressured his sister, GLP.
They set up a faulty lineup,
biased and purposely skewed,
so that she would identify them
as the men who kidnapped her.
[Andrés] If, when this debate is over,
the court sees
that there could be a possibility
that these men didn't take part
in the kidnapping,
it is your obligation to absolve them.
Nothing further.
The court needs you to turn over
all the information you have.
Where Darwin was, where Juan Luis was,
where Héctor was,
where Gonzalo was.
They're depending on you for any alibis.
You have to be ready,
and not make anything up.
You must be ready to tell the truth.
WITNESSES MEETING
[Andrés] I went
to the Major Crimes office.
On my way out, I ran into César Oliveros,
the Major Crimes prosecutor.
He saw me and walked over.
I've known him for years.
He looked angry.
He goes, "Are you defending
kidnappers now?"
I was taken aback,
but I greeted him politely.
I said, "I have several cases,
but if you mean the one"
"Yeah, the guys from Macuspana."
He goes, "They're guilty, you know?"
I told him he was wrong.
"No, those guys are guilty."
"They were caught red-handed.
It's a done deal."
I told him I actually wanted
to discuss the case,
but he said, "No, no, no."
He said, "It's a slam dunk."
"They're guilty. Period."
How are you feeling? Emotionally?
Good, I'm not worried.
Angry maybe?
- Well
- A little?
[chuckles] A little, but it's all good.
Yeah.
- Okay. Shall we get started?
- [Andrés] Yeah.
Hello! Please come in.
[chairs scraping]
Don't answer anything
until they finish asking the question.
It's something that happens to all of us.
We finish the question in our head
and answer quickly.
Let's say we were ready
to object to the question.
Maybe the question would damage our case,
and we could get it thrown out.
But if you answer too soon,
the objection isn't valid.
- [Alberto] She's Juan Luis's mom.
- [woman] I'm Juan Luis's mom.
[Andrés] Ma'am, what is your testimony?
What are you testifying about?
That he came home on the 25th
to celebrate his kid's birthday.
We went to her house, to my Mom's house.
Whenever there was a birthday,
she would always host the party.
We came back from shopping
and it was late
DEFENSE WITNESS
so I told my son to stay home.
And he said, "No, we need to go,
we're leaving in the early morning."
My partner, Juan Luis,
was unjustly accused.
I know for a fact that,
on the day of the events he's accused of,
he was with me.
What day do you mean?
May 26th.
But, just to be clear,
we were together from the 25th.
Nothing further.
[Gonzalo] On May 26th,
I was probably five hours away.
I was working
with Mrs. Hermelinda. With her son.
At their place.
I was fumigating.
DEFENSE WITNESS
That day, I went to see him
and ask him to help us fumigate.
- What time did you go see him?
- At 6:00 a.m.
[Roberto] Where were you
on May 26th, 2015?
ACCUSED INMATE
[Héctor] I was at work.
I worked at Techint.
When we get to work at 7:00 a.m.,
we sign the attendance sheet.
At 7:00 a.m.
- The company is called Techint?
- Yes.
- [Robert] You're a backhoe operator?
- [Héctor] Yes, backhoe.
You went in at 7:00 a.m.
and left at 4:00 p.m.
- And the kidnapping was at?
- [Héctor] At 7:00 a.m.
[Darwin] I was working
with Ms. Yazmín at the butcher's shop.
I slaughtered some pigs.
My bosses can attest to the fact
that I never missed work.
I was there every day.
I never let them down.
If I wasn't sure that he was there
that day, I wouldn't come here.
On that day,
he was working at my shop with me.
[attorney] Okay. Do you remember
what he was wearing?
Objection, Your Honor.
That is completely irrelevant.
Do you think his way of presenting himself
at work is irrelevant?
[Andrés] Objection.
- It's irrelevant.
- And inappropriate.
Objection sustained.
Do you remember seeing Mr. Darwin
talking at some point to
the man who works in the opposite stall?
[Andrés] Objection.
This question has nothing to do
with the interrogation procedure
and it's irrelevant.
[judge] Objection sustained.
[tense music playing]
That van out there is from Major Crimes.
- And the van behind it.
- It doesn't have any plates.
The van behind it
is also from Major Crimes.
Let's go over the facts one more time.
Last year, in September what day was it?
September 13th.
On September 13th
they barged into your house.
Yes.
Out of the 30 people in your house,
did you recognize any of them here today?
- Two of them. Two.
- Two of them?
What vehicle did they leave in today?
They left in the same white van
they drove to my house in.
Okay. I took pictures of a white van.
- This white van?
- [Yazmín] That's it.
- That's the same van.
- Okay.
[distant sirens wailing]
[Yazmín] It was around 9:00 p.m.
Bam! Bam! Banging on the door.
- [man shouting]
- [banging]
[Yazmín] A hooded man,
with an assault rifle,
flashed a light in my eyes.
I turned to the front window
and saw 15 guys
banging on the front door.
"Dear God, what's going on?"
When they managed to open the door,
a man dragged me by my hair
towards the bedroom.
They kept yelling at me.
"Where are the drugs?"
"Where are the guns?"
I didn't know
what they were talking about.
They ransacked my bedroom,
my clothes, flipped the bed.
I went to wake up my children
who were asking what was going on.
[glass shattering]
A man walked up to me.
Some didn't cover their faces.
They were all in uniform. The prosecutors.
They even had their ID's on them.
A man walked over
and told me to calm down.
But this other guy grabbed me
and then hit me with his weapon.
He yelled, "What's your name?"
I asked who they were.
"You don't get to ask questions.
I ask the questions, bitch."
Why were they doing this?
I was sure that
it was about Darwin's case.
I asked if this was
because I testified in Darwin's case,
because they had my ID.
That's why they were doing this to us.
All crimes considered
to have a major impact on society
fall into the purview of this division.
They handle kidnappings, murder,
rape, crimes where money is involved,
or that are highly violent.
If you go through news stories
from that time,
there are many accusations
of extortion, unlawful detention,
instances of torture.
Without any oversight or accountability,
you're creating a monster.
I was someone
who knew their inner workings
and who resigned in protest
because of their methods,
and then came back with cameras.
It made people nervous.
[preacher] but the illness came
for a reason.
Today we thank you, Lord,
for giving us once again the chance
to worship you and hear your advice.
Holy Spirit of God,
according to your word,
if two of you shall agree on earth,
anything they ask
for shall be done for them.
Father, we now ask,
with full faith in You
[preacher's voice fades]
[preacher] You know his first
and last name, Father.
Dear God,
this illness that causes him pain
The Bible says in Isaiah, chapter 53
[inmate] cut his tongue for snitching!
[Mayra] I know it isn't easy being here,
but it isn't easy out there either.
You know that very well.
You know I'm fighting
for the kids and for you.
I've told you that.
Just keep praying
and don't be pessimistic.
- You hear me?
- Yeah.
- [Mayra] Take care of yourself.
- Yeah, take care.
[Mayra] All right. Goodbye. Take care.
It's impossible to support
your family from here.
It's incredibly painful
not being able to help them.
I've seen so many guys here
lose their wives and families.
It's hopeless.
Things are different outside than in here.
Being here, far from my family
from my son
I've been separated from him
since he was only four.
GONZALO'S SISTER
His kid, like any other kid,
he asks for toys.
Every time he called, he'd ask his dad
to buy him a toy car with his paycheck.
My brother had lied and told him
he was away working.
He'd tell his son he'd get paid soon,
so I had to pitch in a little
and pay for those things.
We didn't want the boy to be sad.
I was the sole provider for my family.
I was taking care of two elderly people.
At Guillermo's butcher shop,
sometimes there was leftover meat.
I would ask if I could buy it,
but Guillermo let me take it.
That's how I would support my family.
It's been expensive going back and forth
between here, Villahermosa and Macuspana.
It's an expense.
The court doesn't pay for those expenses.
[Juan Luis]
Eventually I accepted my situation.
I had to be realistic about this,
and get myself some work.
Because I had no other choice.
I learned how to weave hammocks.
I also used to make blouses.
When they open our cells
at seven in the morning,
you "stick to the frame,"
as they say here.
You weave and weave.
If I start a hammock,
it takes me, at most,
seven or eight days to finish.
The hammock stays there
until you find a buyer.
Say, you sell it for 600 pesos,
you have to buy more thread.
Each hammock nets you
between 100 and 130 pesos.
That's for a hammock made in here.
[Eva] Whenever he finishes one,
he calls me to pick it up.
I sell them for him.
And once the client pays,
I buy the stuff he needs.
[Gonzalo] I never imagined
she'd be the one who'd stand by my side.
I remember when we were little.
Maybe when we were around ten years old,
we used to fight all the time.
[Héctor] If we don't do something here,
what else can we do?
Do you understand?
We need something, you know?
Weaving keeps me distracted.
It makes time go faster.
If you don't have an occupation,
your own thoughts get to you.
They make you sick.
If they knew how Darwin lives,
the situation his family is in,
they would quickly realize
he's no kidnapper.
You can't spend a ransom
in two or three days.
Some days,
they can't put food on the table.
They live day to day.
[melancholic music playing]
The prosecution has two jobs,
which are clear and simple
when they do it right.
First, they have to prove
the event happened,
and they have to prove culpability.
They have to prove the crime
was committed by the accused.
We will now listen to the evidence.
The first one is a DVD,
which will be played now.
Is it ready?
[man 1, on recording] Yes?
[man 2] Look, get the money for tomorrow
or I'll send her in pieces.
This is not a game.
[man 1] Hello?
[man 3] Hi, buddy.
Can you get 50,000 more pesos?
I'll release your mom right now.
[man 1] Look, I just got here.
I already have 109,000.
Tomorrow, I'm meeting
some colleagues from work
who will donate money.
Why don't you call tomorrow?
[attorney] Please, say where you work.
I work in Major Crimes.
PROSECUTION WITNESS
Please, state the reason
why you are in this Hearing Court.
Sure. For a report I presented
on August 25th.
What that report shows
is the communication
between the presumed kidnappers
and the victim's family.
With your analysis,
were you able to identify
the identity of the kidnappers?
[Rosa] No.
[Andrés] Thanks. Nothing further.
[reporter 1] More than 560 kidnappers
operating in Tabasco
were arrested from 2013.
Thus, at least 100 criminal gangs
of kidnappers were dismantled.
[reporter 2] In Tabasco, over 80 gangs
have been broken up,
and almost 500 kidnappers
were arrested and taken to trial.
The prosecutor's office of Tabasco
informed this Tuesday
that they had dismantled
three gangs of kidnappers.
Four gangs of kidnappers were dismantled
in which, at least,
21 people were involved.
Five kidnappers were arrested in Tabasco.
[reporter 3]
The State General Attorney's office
managed to break up
two gangs of kidnappers.
[man] We would like to remind you
that, beyond the results and the numbers,
which so far add up
to 400 arrested kidnappers
under the current administration,
the goal remains the same:
to enforce justice for the well-being
and peace of mind of Tabasco's residents.
[Ana Laura] It is the most serious,
important, and headline-grabbing crime.
What tends to happen
with our justice system
is that the Prosecutor's office
conducts an investigation
and arrests their suspects,
while local authorities do the same
and arrest different suspects.
There are different suspects
accused of the same kidnapping.
STATE GENERAL ATTORNEY
ATTENTION AND PROTECTION
OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES
[Roberto] Mrs. GLP identified all of them
that very night, June 20th.
She identified Darwin at 3:00 a.m.
A few days later,
Mrs. GLP hops on a plane
and goes to the AG offices in Mexico City
to identify entirely different people.
Criminal Case file 33 is a file
that contains the criminal investigation
against a group of people
known as Los Potencianos.
GLP positively identified
these Potencianos
as the people who had kidnapped her.
It was a clear and evident contradiction.
It's very important for the judges
to be made aware of this file,
because they will decide whether
Héctor, Gonzalo, Juan Luis and Darwin
are responsible for the kidnapping
of Mrs. GLP.
[pensive music playing]
[woman] Go on!
[footsteps]
[woman shouts] Hello!
Is Mrs. Gladys here?
Tell her it's Eva.
Can I speak to her for a moment?
[GLP] I don't want more trouble.
You accuse me of this, of that
[Eva] No, of course not. Not us.
[GLP] I'm not scared,
but I want no trouble.
[Eva] No
She told us she didn't know
the guys in question.
She said she never identified them.
So Eva told her,
"That's what we want you to say."
[GLP] But I didn't see them.
I was kidnapped for eight days.
I was blindfolded.
I didn't see where I was
or who had taken me.
My brother's lawyer made me say
they were the kidnappers
and that was their car.
[Mayra] She seemed nervous.
She kept saying
we should go talk to her brother.
Mr. ACP.
She didn't recognize them.
Rather, before going in,
they told her what number to identify.
I asked, if they called her,
would she go to the hearing?
"If they call me, yes."
[Eva] We were told
that you refuse to testify,
because you're scared they'll hurt you.
[GLP] Why would I be scared
of them hurting me?
[Eva] That's what we're wondering. Why?
[indistinct shouting]
716 DAYS IN PRISON
GLP TESTIFIES IN COUR
I couldn't sleep last night
because we don't know.
Only God knows what will happen today.
We've been here almost two years.
One year and 11 months.
I pray to God everything goes well.
I'm a little nervous.
We want justice from the authorities,
not the opposite.
Today is the hearing.
It's the final hearing
in the case against us.
Public Trial.
It's scheduled for ten o'clock.
We're going to see the doctor.
[guard yells] Héctor Muñoz!
I pray to God everything goes well today.
God willing, I trust we'll walk free.
STATE POLICE
[indistinct conversation]
It was an emotionally charged day.
The prosecution's star witness
was taking the stand.
During her testimony,
we'd have to bring attention
to all her falsehoods.
We would introduce
the Criminal Case file 33.
It was a bombshell day.
- [judge] Careful!
- [clerk] Watch the step.
[judge] Go on.
Easy, ma'am. It's okay.
[GLP] I won't remember everything,
because it's been two years
since it happened.
During the time you were kidnapped,
did you see anybody?
[GLP] Honestly, just one person, once.
He was brown-skinned.
He was watching me.
I didn't see anyone else.
I was blindfolded the whole time.
I could only hear them.
I heard a woman, kids,
but I never saw their faces.
Ma'am, at the moment you were taken,
did you see anyone?
[GLP] No, I was shocked.
I don't remember seeing anything.
Please, state the reason
why you couldn't recognize them.
[GLP] Because of my eyesight.
I had surgery, and my vision is blurry.
Even looking at you,
I see your face in darkness.
I came because I was summoned,
but I'm not doing well.
When I heard Mrs. GLP say those words,
I thanked the Lord.
See, my family had gone to talk to her,
so I'd like to think her heart was moved
and that's why she said it wasn't us.
To be clear, you are saying
that you were not able to see
any of the three men
that kidnapped you on May 26th?
[GLP] If I saw them,
I wouldn't recognize them.
Right, so you couldn't see them properly
because of your poor eyesight.
[GLP] Yes, that's right. What can I say?
- I can't see well.
- [Andrés] You can't see well.
So you couldn't identify the people
that kept you in the safe house?
- [GLP] No.
- Okay.
That's all.
He made the decision
not to bring up case file 33
and keep the bombshell undetonated,
because during the trial,
GLP admitted she didn't see them.
Will you start
your interrogation procedure now?
[Andrés] We won't present the evidence.
No? Okay. Go on, prosecution.
The prosecution has proved
beyond a reasonable doubt
that Mrs. GLP,
victim of undisclosed identity,
was deprived of her freedom
on May 26th, 2015.
The victim claimed that,
at the time, she did identify them,
and that she testified
before officers of the Prosecutor's office
from the Anti-kidnapping Special Unit
[Andrés] Contrary to what they say,
it was proved beyond a reasonable doubt
that Darwin, Gonzalo and Juan Luis
weren't even close
to the location of the incident
on the day and at the time
of the presumed kidnapping.
The atmosphere was extremely tense.
In the back,
the guys were gripping their seats so hard
you could hear it.
They were grinding their teeth,
fidgeting constantly.
Our stomachs were in knots
because anything can happen.
On the other hand,
the prosecution, in her closing speech,
is not being truthful,
because she's declaring
that the victim, in her statement,
said that besides reporting
before the Prosecutor's office,
she also took part
in a police lineup of the accused,
which was not stated by the victim
when presenting her testimony today.
The judge was paraphrasing
each of our arguments.
Almost all the arguments
in our closing statement.
I was beside myself.
I said, "Now they're going to walk free."
Therefore, this court decides
to rule in favor
of Juan Luis López García,
Gonzalo García Hernández,
Darwin Morales Ortiz
and Héctor Muñoz Muñoz,
who shall be set free immediately.
[Gonzalo] We got our freedom back.
We got our release papers.
The prosecution had threatened us
with a 50-year sentence.
But, thank God, we got a ruling
clearing us of all charges.
Freedom, thank God.
We hugged each other, cried together.
We weren't found guilty. Ha!
When they didn't find us guilty,
I felt so relieved.
We were all so happy.
For our attorneys,
it meant that the case was over,
but for us it meant
that the nightmare had finally ended.
When I heard those words,
saying I was innocent,
a chill ran through my body
I was so excited.
I cried tears of joy
because I was finally free.
- [man] Bravo!
- [applause]
[applause continues]
- [Darwin] The lawyer wants to talk to us.
- [Roberto] It's over.
- Raúl.
- [Andrés] We'll give you five minutes.
I thought I could finally be
with my family.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
There was a dirty trick.
They had it all set up.
They issued the warrant
for ACP's case days earlier.
They reopened the case
while we were at trial.
Unfortunately, Darwin was the only one
who was able to leave at that time,
because he wasn't implicated
in the ACP case.
We had an arrest warrant
for attempted kidnapping,
not for kidnapping,
but the "attempted" kidnapping of ACP.
What did the prosecution do?
What kind of trick was that?
It was a rotten thing to do.
I looked at my children.
I didn't say anything
and walked straight into my son's room.
I just started crying and crying,
and my mother asked me what happened.
I remember that I felt my world
crumbling around me that day.
I felt a lot of things.
They knew they lost.
So they had to think of something else
to keep us
[scoffs] in jail.
[Eva] Everything changed.
We were all upset,
because we didn't understand it then,
and we don't understand now.
Why those who are supposed
to impart justice and enforce laws,
why they do things like this.
[Roberto]
How could the prosecutor do this?
María del Rosario Delfín Rosales
signed their release papers,
admitting she had no evidence
to charge them with kidnapping.
Then, two years later,
without any new evidence,
she petitions a judge
for an arrest warrant
to start a process against them
for ACP's kidnapping.
With the same evidence,
she signs their release forms
acknowledging she lacks enough evidence,
and ignores that fact
to issue new arrest warrants.
It says here,
"Notification of arrest warrant."
"Macuspana, Tabasco. May 16th, 2017."
Since May 16th.
"Arrest warrant issued
for Juan Luis López García,
Héctor Muñoz Muñoz
and Gonzalo García Hernández
for the crime of attempted kidnapping
of the victim identified as ACP."
They arrested my brother
for that on June 20th, 2015.
The authorities will see
who the criminal is here.
Because what they're doing
is an act of injustice.
Yet another injustice.
[ominous music playing]
[locks clanging]
[theme music playing]
Subtitle translation by Julieta Gazzaniga