Slavery still exists in the American south; it’s just not legal anymore, that’s all.
Three men who imported farm labor slaves from Central America are going to federal prison.
Javier Sanchez Mendoza Jr., 24, got 30 years; Aurelio Medina, 42, got 5 years and 4 months; and Yordon Velazquez Victoria, 45, got 15 months.
The victims were “forced … to work for little or no pay in terrible conditions,” prosecutors said. And this case isn’t a one-off. “Prosecutors said the investigation into forced labor in south Georgia and elsewhere is continuing through a federal case in which 23 people are charged,” ABC News reported (see story here).
The story notes that Mendoza and Medina are illegals who’ll be deported after serving their sentences.
This points out something: If you go to another country and break its laws, they have jurisdiction over you, and just because you’re not a citizen or didn’t enter the country illegally doesn’t mean you can’t end up in their prisons.
Generally speaking, the government of wherever you physically are can do pretty much whatever they like with you, and due process is pretty skimpy in a lot of places.
That’s something to keep in mind when contemplating traveling outside the U.S.
Picture: The “good old days” some people yearn for