Here’s a warning for college students and other young American travelers: If you’re planning a trip abroad, misdeeds can mess up your life, your health and hit your parents in the pocketbook.
You need only look at the case of Jennifer Davis, 20, a would-be model from Danville, Ill., and Krista Barnes, 19, of Los Angeles. Last month both were sentenced to 6 years in a Lima, Peru, prison. Davis, who was living in Los Angeles, and Barnes, her roommate, were arrested at Lima’s airport in September 1996 with more than 7 pounds of cocaine in each of their suitcases as they checked in to return to L.A. They had agreed to carry drugs in return for a free three-day vacation and $5,000. Since their arrest, both women have been held in Lima’s Santa Monica de Chorrillos women’s prison awaiting disposition of their case. They could be transferred back to a U.S. prison to serve their sentence.
Interviewed by a Chicago Tribune reporter last year, Davis, who has developed health problems, said she was assured she would not be caught. “Boy, was I stupid.”
Every year the State Department hopes that students as well as American travelers will avoid doing something stupid. Each year more than 2,500 U.S. citizens are arrested abroad, more than one-third on drug-related charges, and many more for rowdy behavior.
The State Department makes a special effort to alert students about the risks of overseas travel. “We warn students about the hazards of use or possession of illegal drugs, and the risk of arrest for disorderly behavior connected with alcohol abuse,” said James P. Rubin, State Department spokesman. As part of its program to reach students, the State Department sends information to more than 1,000 college and university newspapers. (Additional country information is available by an automated fax system, 202-647-3000, and on the Internet at travel.state.gov)
“You should be aware that there are increased efforts by many countries to stop the flow of illegal narcotics,” the State Department warns. “If you think there is no real danger in buying or carrying just a `small’ amount of drugs on your overseas trip, you might be in for a very unpleasant surprise. Americans have been arrested for possessing as little as a third of an ounce of marijuana.”
When many Americans travel abroad, they pack an ample supply of arrogance that makes them feel like they’re superior — above foreign law.
“You might assume that, as an American citizen, you are immune from prosecution under foreign laws and that the U.S. Constitution follows you wherever you go,” the State Department notes. “Unlike the U.S., few countries believe `you are innocent until proven guilty.’ The truth is that Americans suspected of drug violations can face severe penalties, even the death penalty, in some foreign countries (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, among them). It is not uncommon to spend months or even years in pretrial detention, only to be sentenced to a lengthy prison stay without parole in a foreign jail.” Davis and Barnes spent 18 months in the abysmal Lima prison before they were sentenced by a judge in March. The women could have received 8- to 15-year terms, but received lighter sentences because they cooperated with officials who prosecuted and convicted three members of a Peruvian drug ring.
The State Department emphasizes that once you leave U.S. soil, U.S. laws and constitutional rights no longer apply. U.S. consular officers can visit jailed Americans to see they are being treated humanely, but they can’t get them out of jail or intervene in a foreign country’s legal system.
When Americans are arrested abroad, someone in the ministry of interior or security or, in some instances, the ministry of foreign affairs generally notifies the U.S. embassy or consulate by phone, explained a State Department spokeswoman. “Sometimes we find out from the victim’s family because the first thing the person requests of prison authorities is to notify family.”
The consular officer who comes to meet a jailed American brings along a Privacy Act waiver, possibly information on the country’s legal system and court procedures and a list of lawyers who have voluntarily expressed a willingness to work with U.S. citizens in trouble, she said.
An American who signs the privacy form waives his or her rights to privacy and agrees that the facts about the case can be disclosed in a number of ways.The waiver can be broad enough to include everyone or so restrictive that it includes only a parent, she explained.
As for the list of lawyers, the State Department’s spokeswoman said: “We do not vouch for these lawyers. All we can say is that as of the date the list was compiled, the lawyers were available, were practicing in town and were interested in American clients. We will make calls to the lawyer on behalf of the jailed American, ask questions and act as an intermediary. The decision to hire and pay for the lawyer is the American’s.”
The Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Overseas Citizens Services (202-647-5225) can arrange the wiring of money to an American in trouble or even arrange for a loan. “Later on, as the detention becomes more lengthy, and certain other needs become apparent, such as medical help, we will intercede with prison authorities to ensure whatever level of medical care that’s available to other prisoners is available to the jailed American,” the spokeswoman said.
“Once the case goes to trial, a consular officer, in most cases, will monitor the proceedings. We cannot advocate on the American’s behalf or act as a legal representative, but we can ensure the American is not discriminated against because of his or her citizenship.”
Although a trip abroad might signal party time, Americans can find themselves jailed for being intoxicated in public areas and for drunk driving. Don’t assume that foreign resort areas, for example, are more relaxed than those in the States.
And don’t be a patsy if someone asks you to carry a package or drive a car across a border, the State Department warns. “Once that package or anything in the car is in your possession, you become responsible for it. You will be blamed for it, no matter who has put it there. You might unknowingly become a narcotics trafficker.”
The bottom line for anyone planning a trip abroad: Don’t be stupid.
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Alfred Borcover’s e-mail address is aborcover@aol.com
