Tucked away in the desert of Mexico lies the high-security bunker known as El Hongo. This prison is deemed perfectly incorruptible, a rare find in a country where corruption is rampant and runs through all levels of society like cancer. El Hongo is a veritable high-tech fortress with sensors, cameras, mobile phone jammers, and fifteen guard towers with snipers to ensure nothing can get in or out.
El Hongo houses some of the most dangerous criminals in Mexico. Organized crime, cartel bosses, and corrupt government officials have all passed through its walls, and the inmates’ aggression and violence towards each other is well documented. The danger these prisoners pose is so high that anyone who makes trouble is sent to the punishment block. With sentences up to seventy years, many of the inmates have nothing to lose.
One such inmate is Gabriel, a member of the Hispanic gang “Blythe Street” from LA, who has been behind bars for fifteen years on charges of kidnapping. Gabriel has been kept in special custody, away from other prisoners, for ten years. However, he is far from as isolated as he makes his jailers believe.
Another inmate, Gilbert, has been locked up for more than 16 years and hasn’t been outside the prison walls since. He snuffed out innumerable human lives as part of a Mexican cartel. In prison, he has to learn to come to terms with the loneliness and dull monotony of his daily life without any help from the outside.
The commander of El Hongo is Carlos. As custodian of evil, the commander has been watching over El Hongo for ten years. One minute of straying attention could cost Carlos his life, and the inmates can virtually smell the tension of their guards.
“El Hongo: Mexico’s Toughest Prison” is a documentary that delves into the lives and psychology of the prisoners in this high-security facility. It reveals the challenges of maintaining a prison where violence and aggression are commonplace and how the use of technology makes it even harder. This documentary is a must-watch for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of Mexico’s justice system.
Watch it now and see things from a different perspective.
