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 Americas & Beyond | April 2008 
Jailed Brenda Martin Says She'll be Home in Days
 CBC News
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| | Brenda Martin has spent more than two years in a Mexican prison awaiting trial on money laundering charges. (Paul Hunter/CBC) | | |
An imprisoned Canadian awaiting a verdict in her fraud trial in Mexico said Wednesday she believes it's only a matter of days before she'll be back home.
Martin, who has been very critical of the Canadian government for not acting quickly or forcefully on her behalf until recently, is now counting on the pressure of Canada's ambassador to Mexico for a quick verdict in her case.
In an interview Wednesday with CBC News from a Guadalajara-area prison, Martin said she recently had a meeting with the Canadian ambassador and her trial judge, who assured them he would have his decision by Friday.
"I'm going to Canada," Martin said.
"The ambassador said to the judge: 'This is what I'm reporting back to the Canadian government and the Canadian people, that if that decision is not made on Friday, we will be at your door on Monday.' So I'm just, I'm holding onto that."
Despite intense political pressure, the judge legally has until the end of May to deliver his verdict.
If she's acquitted, Martin could be released within a few hours. If she's found guilty, officials are preparing to transfer her from Mexico to Canada to serve her sentence.
Martin is accused of laundering money and helping her former employer defraud 15,000 victims of $60 million US through an internet investment scam called Tri-West Investment Club.
Martin says she had no knowledge of the scam organized by Alyn Richard Waage of Edmonton. Waage, who is serving a 10-year jail sentence in a U.S. prison for the fraud, has testified that Martin is innocent. Martin worked as his chef in Puerto Vallarta from May 2000 to March 2001.
During the interview with the CBC's Connie Watson, Martin showed off a special necklace, strung with two hearts and a saint given to her by Mexican inmates and one of her many Canadian supporters.
"The Canadian public is my biggest hero right now," she said through tears. "They have sent so many wonderful, encouraging letters to my mother, prayers for me. And I hope that I can meet every one of those people in person."
Martin a 'public figure' in jail: prison director
The attention paid to her ordeal has turned Martin a bit of a star inside the women's prison, said Jose Gonzalez, director of the penitentiary system in the state of Jalisco.
"She's had a lot of visits from the media, Canadian politicians and Mexican officials," Gonzalez told CBC News in Spanish. "So she's like a public figure to the other women inside the prison."
Gonzalez said Martin has received special attention because of her fragile mental state, the fact she has no family in the area and doesn't speak Spanish.
However, many of the male and female guards working at the jail said they've had enough of the famous Canadian prisoner they all know by name.
Her high profile case has created problems and extra stress for them, they said.
Martin said the first thing she'll do when she hits Canadian soil is fall on her knees and kiss the ground. |
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