Maria has a difficult life in Colombia where she does not have any opportunities apart from working on a plantation. She is also the only provider in her family and has a tense relationship with the relatives who expect her to cover their expenses (Marston, 2004). Maria is pregnant, but she refuses to marry the father of the child because they are not in love. Poverty and the lack of any prospects in life ultimately lead her to search for ways to escape the current circumstances.
Maria works on a plantation where she has the physically challenging job of removing thorns from roses. The working conditions on the plantation are of extremely low quality, and workers’ basic rights are not respected there. For instance, Maria’s boss refuses to let Maria go to the bathroom when she starts feeling unwell and makes her clean the flowers after she vomits on them.
Maria’s mother fears that her daughter will not be able to find another job because the plantation is the only decent workplace in the vicinity. Yet, the situation itself is particularly tragic because people living in the village simply do not have any choice. Moreover, the Colombian government does not take any measures to resolve the issue, which causes people to adjust and accept the situation.
The gang leader who interviews Maria asks her basic questions about certain aspects, which let him decide whether she can perform the task. He asks her if she can “take directions” and ensures that she does not have problems with her stomach (Marston, 2004, 25:40). He also offered Maria a sum of money to make her less nervous and establish trust.
Before swallowing the drug pellets, Maria tells her family that she will travel to another town for an office job. She also meets Lucy, who teaches her the right way to ingest the drugs using grapes. She successfully swallows sixty-two pellets and receives plane tickets and an address which she can use to prove to customs officers that she has somewhere to stay.
The gang leader threatens Maria that the criminals will harm her family if she tries to defy the directions.
During the flight, Maria’s digestive system prematurely removes two pellets which she has to swallow once again. After arriving in the United States, the customs officers become suspicious of Maria, but due to her pregnancy, she avoids being X-rayed (Marston, 2004). The process of retrieving papas goes without any problems for Maria.
Lucy starts feeling unwell during the flight, and her issues continue to get worse. It is possible to assume that one of the pellets breaks inside of her, thus causing an overdose that ultimately kills her. The criminals cut Lucy’s body open to collect her pellets.
The movie improved my understanding of the drug war by making me discover diverse perspectives. First of all, I discovered that people who act as mules often engage in criminal activities because they encounter extremely harsh life circumstances and consider drug trafficking as a legitimate way to escape their predicament. Secondly, I understood that the drug war is to a considerable extent ineffective because it usually targets mules and not gang leaders who minimize their exposure to risks. Finally, I realized that the drug war fails to meet its objectives and does not prevent the deaths of people such as Lucy, who die because their superiors do not value their lives.
Reference
Marston, J. (2004). Maria full of grace. HBO Films.