Mauricio Rueben with his family during prison visitation

I was indicted for a conspiracy of marijuana trafficking and money laundering. Prior to this I had never been arrested on any such charges, however, someone told the authorities that I was their supplier. That is all it took. The person whom informed on me was trying to make a deal. He had been set up in a sting operation by DEA agents.

Long before I ever went to court, the government took all I had. In military maneuvers, it is called "Disarming the enemy," in the War on Drugs it is called, "Seizure". They both serve the same purpose; it renders the enemy helpless. One can hardly fight and win against the U.S. government, but without funds for the fighting campaign, one is destined to lose.

Needless to say, I lost. I am now serving a 30 year sentence and after my release I will have 10 years of urine testing to endure under whenever I'm asked to produce a sample.

All this has happened to me because I wouldn't make up names of people to snitch on. For the same reason I was sent to a high security prison and one of the farthest from my home. I was sent to USP Terre Haute. Of course my wife and family couldn't visit me there often. The cost was just too much. After a year or so, I talked them into sending me closer to my home. They said, "Sure Rueben."

Next thing I knew I was on a plane to God knows where, until I got there; The Hot House, USP Leavenworth. Please keep in mind that I am a first time, non-violent offender, yet, here I am going from penitentiary to penitentiary. These are the highest security prisons in the U.S., without going Max, which are underground.

Kansas was a little closer to my home, which is Houston, Texas, but the cost for my family to visit was still too high. I did two years, more or less there. During that time I was not able to see my family at all.

I'm finally in Texas, but I don't know for how long. My family is so happy that they are able to see me that they have almost forgotten that I am in prison. Maybe that is what these people wanted. I'm barely holding my life together -- my family's support keeps me going.

Mauricio's original story posted in 1997