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MARCHING POWERS

'It can't be any worse.' The capitán laughed at this and translated it for the other guards, who also laughed.

'Really? You are sure?' he asked, smiling.

I already had a mental image of what a South American prison would be like. There would be fifty prisoners crammed into a single room. The small amount of food we would get would be infested with maggots. The toilets would be overflowing. Rats would crawl over my face in the middle of the night. The guards would be corrupt and violent. They would torture prisoners. And the inmates would have blunt, homemade knives with which to attack new inmates.

As a foreigner, I mightn't last long in a Bolivian jail. However, I knew that if I stayed at the FELCN, I would die anyway. Besides, there was a slight chance that I might survive in prison – they would give me some food, a blanket and a uniform that would be warmer than my suit. I might even get a bed. There would at least be a prison doctor. With a little nutritious food, I could get back enough strength to protect myself in a fight.

Two weeks before, I would have done anything to avoid being sent to a Bolivian prison. However, at that moment, I actually wanted to go.

'Yes,' I nodded. 'I would prefer to be in prison.'

When the capitán and his men had finished laughing, he looked at me sternly. 'You know what they do to the gringos in the prison of Bolivia, my friend?' I shook my head.

'This is what they will do to you.' He put his hands forward as though he was clutching someone's hips and started pumping his groin back and forth, making grunting noises. The three guards laughed again and joined in groaning and squealing as he thrusted. 'You still want to be in the prison?'

'Yes,' I answered determinedly, meeting his gaze. The other guards stopped laughing and waited for the capitán's reaction. He made another joke in Spanish, probably saying that I would enjoy being raped. I continued to stare back at him while they laughed.

'Fine, then, my friend.' He threw his hands in the air. 'You will go to the court. Then after you will see how is the prison in Bolivia.'