Luis Gutierrez

"They told me I was used as a Blind Mule."

On the night of November 17, San Diegan Esmeralda Rocha (not her real name) was crossing the border back to her home from Tijuana as she regularly does every weekend, when in San Ysidro's International Port of Entry in the Sentri  lane she was told to get out of her car by a U.S. border agent and got handcuffed instantly. Once under custody and waiting for a couple of hours in a room, two agents showed up and started to read Esmeralda's rights while showing her photos of two persons that were found hidden on her trunk. They told her she could face federal charges.

Esmeralda decided not to wait for a lawyer but to answer all their questions. She told them she had no idea about it, but some unusual things happened early that day during her visit to Tijuana. One of the people she saw that day was a new friend she had gone out with just once. They met through Instagram, and he got her trust by chatting on WhatsApp.

“That day he actually asked me if I took my car with me to Tijuana more than once and asked me where I parked. I told him I didn't want to drive any longer so he told me he could drive my car and take us to a restaurant called El Muchacho Alegre in Zona Rio and he would pay all and even put gas on the tank. So I gave him my keys. I guess that was a big mistake”.

"Without my Sentri I wait in line for about three hours."

Luis Gutierrez

After dinner, Esmeralda had a performance she wanted to attend so they went together and parked at the Avenida Revolucion and 3rd Street parking lot. She explained that during the whole event, he was using his cell phone constantly and even came up with a random story about needing to meet his cousin all of a sudden.

In the car he insisted on going with her to Plaza Pueblo Amigo, the last exit right before the border  where he would hop off to meet his cousin. Minutes later, she was under the custody of the border patrol.

“I showed them the chat on my cellphone and his pictures. They told me I would not be the only or the last person that this happens to and that they have an eye on him already, but since he's in Mexico there is nothing they can do. They told me I was used as a Blind Mule. Because I have a clean record, a good job, and family it is obvious it is not worth it for me to take the risk of losing what I have.”

Although Esmeralda wasn't charged for any felony, she had to pay $1,200 for the tow fee. Her car was searched for any tracking devices or drugs hidden in it. Plus, the vehicle plates were linked to this episode at the border, so she had to sell it and lost about $2,000. But she said the worst part of it is that she lost Sentri card and she has all this on her record now.

“I don't go to Tijuana now as often as before for sure; without my Sentri I wait in line for about three  hours; I used to cross in 20 minutes with it. Plus every time they search my car. The Customs agents told me if I report it to Tijuana's police or try to find him it could be dangerous for me because sometimes they are working together."