San Pedro Prison

I've recently been reading the book "Marching Powder" about a guy who spent 5 years in San Pedro, a prison in La Paz. He was an Englishman who was busted trying to smuggle cocaine out of Bolivia. What he reveals about San Pedro is absolutely amazing. The inmates have to buy their own cell, their families can live there and come and go as the please, there are restaurants and stores all run by the inmates (Coca-Cola even has an exclusive deal to only sell coke products in the prison), and most shocking is that some of the best coke is produced inside the prison and smuggled out and sold. Basically the prisoners can do whatever they please at a price - the place is the epitome of corruption.



So anyway, this guy Thomas McFadden decides that in order to make a living in prison (they have to buy everything, even food) he would conduct tours of the place. For something like three or four years he conducted tours of the prison; bribing the guards to let tourists in, even letting them stay over night to party. It became such a popular tour that Lonely Planet even mentioned it in it's La Paz chapter of it's tour book.



Apparently, after Thomas was released in 2000 the tour continued, run by other inmates. The tours should have stopped alltogether when his book was published in 2003 but I've heard from some that you can still get in. Last night Alex and I spoke with a taxi driver who was certain we'd get in so today we had a go at it. An Aussie guy staying in our room was also intersted in going so we set off this morning to walk the five blocks to the prison. About half way there the Aussie goes white and says to me, "mate, I've got like 3 different illegal drugs in my pocket, do you think it will be a problem?" Uhhhhh, fuck yea I think to myself, we're trying to get into prison! He decides that hiding them in his sock was sufficient. So we get to San Pedro plaza which is quite a nice little city square park and on the far end is the prison. We walk up and Alex asks if we can go inside. They ask who we are visiting - no one of course we inform them, we just want to get in to see the place. "No Touristas, Muy Peligroso," they say, but also inform us we can go ask the warden. They take our passports and we head up to the wardens office. The guy is accomodating in every way but one - he wont let us in, the government won't allow it. I keep thinking how much do we have to bribe this guy to let us in but its no use, we can't get in. On our way out we take a few pictures and this guy in a black suit approaches us and make us delete them all.



I probably made it seem like I'd get into the prison, and I really wish I had, but regardless it was still pretty sweet to see the place and get close. Read the book, it rules. I should be outta Bolivia in a few days then off to Peru and Maccu Piccu. Can't wait.