00:00:04,280 - 00:00:07,440

Establishing shots on the balcony

-For the past 1.5 years, Colombia has been home

00:00:07,520 - 00:00:08,960

to Elisabeth Baumgartner.

00:00:09,160 - 00:00:12,920

But she only sees this street in Bogota,

00:00:13,000 - 00:00:16,640

Sync with close up of Elisabeth

trapped between her studio and this terrace.

00:00:16,720 - 00:00:24,040

-This is the only place where I can breathe fresh air, and move.

00:00:26,200 - 00:00:31,240

For the past 1.5 years, I've always been locked up here

00:00:31,320 - 00:00:36,120

and can't move; I'm not used to this.

00:00:36,200 - 00:00:40,280

Elisabeth about to light a cigarette

-This pensioner who lived in the canton of St. Gallen has been placed

00:00:40,360 - 00:00:44,640

under house arrest, accused of of transporting 3 kg of cocaine.

00:00:44,720 - 00:00:46,120

She is 68 years old.

00:00:46,240 - 00:00:49,160

-Yes, it's like that.

00:00:49,240 - 00:00:54,720

Sync/close up of Elisabeth

If someone had told me that 1.5 years ago I would have thought people were crazy

00:00:54,800 - 00:01:00,240

and said that this is the order of psychiatry.

00:01:02,240 - 00:01:07,680

Title: FRAMED IN COLOMBIA

It can't be real, it's impossible.

00:01:16,760 - 00:01:19,440

Establishing shots of Bogota’s cityscape

-If Elisabeth found herself in Bogota,

00:01:19,520 - 00:01:23,480

a city with a larger population than Switzerland, it's because of her husband.

00:01:23,560 - 00:01:27,640

Airplane landing over barbed wire

In September 2021, he received an e-mail that he has won

00:01:27,720 - 00:01:30,880

20 million dollars, but to get that inheritance

00:01:30,920 - 00:01:34,000

‘Bienvenidos’ sign at Bogota airport

he has to go to Bogota.

00:01:34,080 - 00:01:37,680

The trip is free, the stay in this hotel is paid,

00:01:37,760 - 00:01:41,040

Elisabeth refuses at first.

00:01:41,640 - 00:01:45,720

Name card: Elisabeth Baumgartner

-He insisted so much that in the end

00:01:45,800 - 00:01:49,560

I said I was going with him.

00:01:49,640 - 00:01:57,360

When you've been married for 30 years, you don't give up right away.

00:01:59,480 - 00:02:03,480

Shots of tourists taking selfies, aerial views of Bogota

-On arrival, the couple received 1'000 dollars of pocket money,

00:02:03,560 - 00:02:07,640

they do some sightseeing, visit Bogota.

00:02:07,720 - 00:02:11,560

But above all, they were waiting for their contact:

00:02:11,640 - 00:02:16,720

a 20-years-old man who tells them after a few days that there is a change of plans.

00:02:16,800 - 00:02:22,920

Now, they must go to Belgrade to sign for a package which they must deliver to Serbia.

00:02:23,960 - 00:02:29,000

Sync of Elisabeth inside her flat

-They were rolls of fax paper... white fax papers

00:02:29,080 - 00:02:33,520

in a transparent plastic package. packaging.

00:02:33,600 - 00:02:38,040

And the books were this size, A4 size,

00:02:38,120 - 00:02:42,040

and laminated.

00:02:44,320 - 00:02:48,680

Visual of traffic arriving at the airport at nigh time

-With their suitcase, they take a taxi to the airport.

00:02:49,200 - 00:02:52,920

-We only had one shared suitcase between the two of us.

00:02:52,960 - 00:02:56,400

I didn't have my own suitcase.

00:02:56,480 - 00:03:02,840

Close up of a label being applied to a suitcase

It was my husband's suitcase, but it had my name on the label.

00:03:02,920 - 00:03:08,360

It was written on this label: "Elisabeth Baumgartner.

00:03:13,800 - 00:03:19,760

Sync of Elisabeth in her flat

The plane's engine had already started, we were ready to take off.

00:03:19,840 - 00:03:25,440

I was comfortably seated, I had taken off my shoes,

00:03:25,600 - 00:03:30,560

Shots of an airplane

the headphones, the television, everything was set.

00:03:30,640 - 00:03:36,280

The stewardess then approached me and called my name.

00:03:36,360 - 00:03:39,120

I replied: "Yes, what is it?"

00:03:39,200 - 00:03:41,640

She said, "Come with me."

00:03:43,400 - 00:03:46,080

GVs of people seated waiting at the airport

-At the entrance of the plane, two policemen wait for her.

00:03:46,080 - 00:03:49,480

She walks through the airport in handcuffs, her husband behind her.

00:03:49,480 - 00:03:53,200

Then they are taken into the cell block.

00:03:56,920 - 00:04:01,520

Sync of Elisabeth speaking in her flat

-They opened the suitcase, took out the rolls of paper

00:04:01,600 - 00:04:06,720

and the two books, which they opened a little bit.

00:04:06,920 - 00:04:11,240

And then I look and there's white powder coming out.

00:04:11,360 - 00:04:18,280

I look at this and think: "My God, this is heroin!"

00:04:18,360 - 00:04:25,880

It all seemed so weird, it never occurred to me

00:04:25,960 - 00:04:28,920

that there might be cocaine.

00:04:29,040 - 00:04:31,640

Stills of Elisabeth’s suitcase and packets of cocaine

I didn't even know what it looked like.

00:04:32,840 - 00:04:35,800

-This is what the police find in the suitcase:

00:04:35,880 - 00:04:38,200

more than three kilos of pure cocaine.

00:04:38,280 - 00:04:43,240

Police image stills of cocaine

Elisabeth is immediately arrested; the luggage was checked in her name.

00:04:43,400 - 00:04:47,000

For the Colombian police, she is the guilty one.

00:04:47,080 - 00:04:52,440

Her husband eventually returns to Switzerland without being bothered.

00:04:55,480 - 00:05:01,120

Shots of female prisoners, with their faces blurred

After ten days in a cell at the airport, she is transferred to El Buen Pastor.

00:05:01,240 - 00:05:05,240

The largest detention center for women in Colombia.

00:05:07,360 - 00:05:12,480

Police dog and guard

We received exceptional authorization to film on site.

00:05:13,840 - 00:05:18,120

1'800 women, most of them convicted for drug trafficking.

00:05:18,120 - 00:05:23,440

GVs of laundry, balconies and women (faces blurred)

Not speaking Spanish, Elisabeth feels completely isolated.

00:05:24,120 - 00:05:28,960

Lost in the midst of this life that swarms in the corridors.

00:05:32,640 - 00:05:36,440

-It's so big, there was so much pressure.

00:05:36,800 - 00:05:40,880

Sync of Elisabeth in her flat

It was indescribable, just indescribable.

00:05:43,280 - 00:05:48,520

They just locked me in there.

00:05:48,600 - 00:05:53,400

Close ups of padlocks, hands on cell bars

There's nothing there.

00:05:54,720 - 00:06:02,040

When it rains, you have to try to use everything you can.

00:06:02,120 - 00:06:08,680

Exterior shots of the buildings, with plastic sheets covering hanging laundry

Plastic bags, garbage bags, old rags,

00:06:08,760 - 00:06:13,280

and try to stick these things to the grids,

00:06:13,360 - 00:06:19,360

to pull them tight so that it doesn't rain in the bed.

00:06:24,280 - 00:06:27,480

-She stays there for 3 weeks, she is still in shock.

00:06:27,560 - 00:06:31,560

Elisabeth showing her documents from prison

-This is my number, at the prison.

00:06:32,200 - 00:06:34,160

I think it's not me

00:06:34,160 - 00:06:37,360

Elisabeth staring at the camera

because I don't recognize myself on this.

00:06:41,320 - 00:06:48,000

It's like you see on TV, on crime pictures.

00:06:48,040 - 00:06:52,760

There is no name in prison, only a prison number.

00:06:54,560 - 00:06:57,280

Elisabeth feeding pet fish in a tank

-Thanks to the help of the embassy who finds her this apartment,

00:06:57,280 - 00:07:00,440

she gets the right to live under house arrest,

00:07:00,440 - 00:07:03,200

reduced to feeding fish.

00:07:06,800 - 00:07:10,240

She pays for this studio with her AHV pension,

00:07:10,240 - 00:07:13,880

GVs of Elisabeth’s flat

and her neighbours give her some money to survive.

00:07:14,640 - 00:07:18,240

As for her husband, she doesn't want to hear to hear about him.

00:07:18,400 - 00:07:20,160

Sync of Elisabeth

-For me. it's dead.

00:07:21,080 - 00:07:27,120

Because it's a part of my life that was stolen.

00:07:27,240 - 00:07:28,600

It’s MY life.

00:07:29,000 - 00:07:33,640

I have no more anger. Everything is just dead.

00:07:33,640 - 00:07:38,360

He is the one who put me in this situation.

00:07:38,440 - 00:07:43,160

He bears full responsibility for what happened.

00:07:44,160 - 00:07:48,880

He also says that, that it's his fault.

00:07:49,240 - 00:07:53,200

But he is not in Colombia, he is a free man!

00:07:56,760 - 00:08:01,680

Bogota’s cityscape, cuts to images of Gams, Switzerland

-More than 9'000 km away, Gams, a village of 3'500 inhabitants

00:08:01,760 - 00:08:06,800

in the canton of St. Gallen where Elisabeth lived with her husband.

00:08:06,880 - 00:08:09,360

Peter, smoking at a cluttered desk

Peter accepted to receive us,

00:08:09,440 - 00:08:12,400

but he doesn't seem to have really realized what happened.

00:08:12,480 - 00:08:15,720

And it is almost with candor that this former chimney sweep

00:08:15,800 - 00:08:19,440

78 years old tells his side of the story.

00:08:20,000 - 00:08:24,480

Name card: Peter Baumgartner

-I first received an email...

00:08:24,560 - 00:08:28,240

...but that time I deleted it.

00:08:28,320 - 00:08:35,280

Shots of the emails Peter received

But about a month later, I received the same email.

00:08:35,520 - 00:08:47,040

Sync of Peter talking

It said: you have won a free trip to Bogota, all expenses paid.

00:08:47,200 - 00:08:52,480

It was our 30th marriage anniversary.

00:08:52,520 - 00:08:57,040

Close up of Peter’s hand clicking a computer mouse

And I thought, "Great, we can go to Bogota!"

00:08:58,960 - 00:09:02,440

-He receives by mail the plane tickets a few days later.

00:09:02,480 - 00:09:06,920

Peter has no idea that this free trip

00:09:06,920 - 00:09:09,800

has more than the promised 20 million in store.

00:09:10,120 - 00:09:14,200

Sync of Peter talking at his desk

-The week we spent there there was great, we went up with the little train

00:09:14,280 - 00:09:16,600

on the mountain, everything was wonderful,

00:09:16,680 - 00:09:18,680

until our contact arrived.

00:09:21,040 - 00:09:23,480

Sync of Peter talking in his kitchen

-The man asks him if he can take a package.

00:09:23,880 - 00:09:27,240

-There, I said: "Yeah, no problem."

00:09:27,840 - 00:09:31,480

Elizabeth asked if all this was legal, he said

00:09:31,560 - 00:09:37,560

that everything was serious and legal.

00:09:37,920 - 00:09:40,040

And I said, "No problem."

00:09:40,240 - 00:09:43,800

So I put this package in the suitcase.

00:09:44,120 - 00:09:46,440

-And you never thought

00:09:46,520 - 00:09:49,560

that there might be a problem with this gift?

00:09:49,600 - 00:09:55,880

-I never, ever thought of that, I really didn't. It didn’t occur to me.

00:09:57,000 - 00:10:00,200

Photographs of Elisabeth on the wall

-When he goes back to Switzerland leaving his wife in Colombia,

00:10:00,320 - 00:10:03,960

Peter admits that he felt a little bit bad.

00:10:04,120 - 00:10:09,520

-It was scary. Why did my wife have to stay there?

00:10:09,600 - 00:10:12,560

Did you feel guilty?

00:10:12,640 - 00:10:16,760

Yes, I had everything organized, didn't I?

00:10:18,120 - 00:10:25,160

I planned this trip to Bogota for our 30th wedding anniversary.

00:10:26,960 - 00:10:30,800

Sync of Peter talking in his kitchen

My wife had doubts, she didn't want to go with me.

00:10:30,920 - 00:10:35,480

At first, anyway, and then I said, "Come on!"

00:10:35,600 - 00:10:38,400

But because I never thought that in Colombia

00:10:38,400 - 00:10:41,080

you could be ripped off like that.

00:10:42,880 - 00:10:48,200

Driving shots of the streets of Colombia

-Yet stories like this one don’t surprise many people anymore in Colombia.

00:10:48,360 - 00:10:51,520

It’s the world's largest cocaine producer.

00:10:51,600 - 00:10:55,640

Generic street views

1'400 tons exported in 2021, the majority on cargo ships,

00:10:55,720 - 00:10:58,840

and a small part by human mail

00:10:58,920 - 00:11:03,880

as explained by Diego Quintero Martinez.

00:11:05,680 - 00:11:08,720

Name card: Diego Quintero Martinez, Coordinator, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

-Every day you can see

00:11:08,760 - 00:11:11,200

Sync interview of Diego

these stories, more dramatic...

00:11:12,720 - 00:11:15,400

...than the ones that came before.

00:11:15,920 - 00:11:20,360

In most cases, the person knew what they were carrying,

00:11:21,200 - 00:11:23,320

in other cases, no.

00:11:23,360 - 00:11:25,840

They take advantage of the vulnerability of some people,

00:11:25,880 - 00:11:28,160

Frosted panes of glass emblazoned with the UN’s logo

their physical characteristics; age or disability.

00:11:28,640 - 00:11:30,960

-For traffickers, pay a trip to mules

00:11:31,040 - 00:11:34,680

is a good investment, the losses being quickly amortized.

00:11:35,080 - 00:11:44,880

Sync of Diego’s interview

-Look, 1 kg at the door of the laboratory costs 1'500 dollars.

00:11:45,080 - 00:11:50,800

That same kilo in Bogota, ready to be transported to the airport

00:11:50,800 - 00:11:54,840

must cost 2’500 dollars.

00:11:54,880 - 00:12:02,920

However, buying the same kilo in Antwerp costs 100'000 euros.

00:12:03,040 - 00:12:04,040

It's worth it.

00:12:04,160 - 00:12:08,240

A plane ticket to Europe in economy class, purchased in advance,

00:12:08,320 - 00:12:10,120

costs 1'500 euros.

00:12:12,480 - 00:12:20,800

And this kilo reaches Europe, they cut it, dilute it 4 times.

00:12:21,000 - 00:12:25,560

In other words, 1'000 grams becomes 4'000 grams.

00:12:25,680 - 00:12:28,560

And each gram costs 100 euros.

00:12:28,640 - 00:12:31,000

This is a very good deal.

00:12:32,120 - 00:12:35,160

They could even bring them in business class.

00:12:38,480 - 00:12:41,120

Elisabeth walking across the street with the Swiss vice-consul

-Bogota's courthouse.

00:12:41,200 - 00:12:44,440

4 days later, we meet again Elisabeth.

00:12:44,520 - 00:12:47,720

After 1.5 years of waiting, it is finally the day of her trial.

00:12:47,760 - 00:12:50,840

She is accompanied by the by the Swiss vice-consul.

00:12:50,920 - 00:12:53,720

She couldn’t sleep the night before.

00:12:56,760 - 00:13:01,440

Sync of Elisabeth speaking to the camera outside the courthouse

-This is the first time that I go outside again.

00:13:03,480 - 00:13:06,360

It's just strange.

00:13:07,920 - 00:13:12,040

It’s a very powerful feeling.

00:13:13,680 - 00:13:18,000

Elisabeth entering the courthouse

-She is finally going to be judged, but her lawyer was clear:

00:13:18,040 - 00:13:22,080

To avoid 12 to 20 years in prison for carrying 3kg of cocaine,

00:13:22,120 - 00:13:24,280

Elisabeth listening to her lawyer in the courtroom

she has to plead guilty.

00:13:24,320 - 00:13:26,720

She made this deal with the judge

00:13:26,760 - 00:13:28,760

since it was impossible to prove her innocence.

00:13:28,800 - 00:13:32,760

The drugs were found in a suitcase in a suitcase with her name on it.

00:13:33,360 - 00:13:35,960

Screen recording of Elisabeth in the courtroom via Zoom

But when the time came to plead guilty

00:13:35,960 - 00:13:39,080

The words struggled to come out because she didn’t do it.

00:13:39,680 - 00:13:44,280

Screen recording of the translator speaking at the court

-Is it clear to you that you accept?

00:13:44,360 - 00:13:48,160

That this is right, and that it is the truth?

00:13:52,840 - 00:13:55,080

- Speak up. - Yes.

00:13:55,080 - 00:13:57,240

Yes, I accept.

00:13:58,600 - 00:14:00,840

-A difficult "yes" to pronounce,

00:14:00,880 - 00:14:07,440

Elisabeth leaving the court with her lawyer

Elisabeth got 5 years and 4 months in prison, and a 140'000 dollars fine

00:14:07,760 - 00:14:10,320

At the exit, her lawyer is satisfied.

00:14:13,200 - 00:14:17,760

Name card: Diego Henao Vargas, Lawyer

-We reached a plea bargain after negotiations.

00:14:17,800 - 00:14:22,560

The sentence is the minimum punishment required by Colombian law.

00:14:22,600 - 00:14:24,360

The minimum for this type of crime.

00:14:24,400 - 00:14:27,960

We also Elizabeth to be held under house arrest.

00:14:28,400 - 00:14:32,160

-In principle, prison is mandatory for this type of crime.

00:14:34,520 - 00:14:39,520

Driving shots of the streets of Colombia

After court, Elisabeth returns to her house under surveillance.

00:14:39,600 - 00:14:43,080

A few more minutes of freedom...

00:14:44,520 - 00:14:47,400

...but the day is definitely rich in emotion.

00:14:47,440 - 00:14:51,320

Maribel and Elisabeth hugging in the doorway of the flat

Maribel, the owner of her home, has organized a little surprise

00:14:51,400 - 00:14:54,000

to the one who is now part of the family.

00:14:56,240 - 00:14:58,520

-Thank you very, very much.

00:14:58,560 - 00:15:02,400

-How are you feeling? -I’m still alive, I’m still alive.

00:15:02,840 - 00:15:07,800

Elisabeth lighting the candle on a birthday cake

-By chance, Elisabeth is celebrating her birthday today.

00:15:08,080 - 00:15:15,880

Smiling and singing neighbours

Happy birthday to you!

00:15:18,520 - 00:15:21,200

-But this moment of comfort does not last,

00:15:21,200 - 00:15:24,800

the verdict of the trial leaves its mark.

00:15:25,080 - 00:15:30,480

Sync of Elisabeth talking to the camera, with her guests in the background

-It was the best option that was offered to me.

00:15:30,680 - 00:15:33,080

If I had refused that deal,

00:15:33,120 - 00:15:38,400

the chances of an acquittal would have been 2%.

00:15:39,400 - 00:15:42,280

And I didn't want to take that risk.

00:15:42,320 - 00:15:49,040

It was a tall order to risk at least 12 years old,

00:15:49,040 - 00:15:52,200

and probably end up in jail.

00:15:52,240 - 00:15:55,040

Rain falling through the window of her flat

I wouldn’t have survived it.

00:15:59,440 - 00:16:06,000

-She has almost 4 years left to serve here, all by herself.

00:16:06,000 - 00:16:09,720

Close up of Elisabeth’s origami birds

so she kills time by making paper birds.

00:16:10,000 - 00:16:16,520

-In fact, in Japan, this bird is a symbol of luck.

00:16:18,480 - 00:16:25,760

Elisabeth speaking to the camera in sync, folding a paper bird

And they say that when you have made 1'000 birds, everything will be fine.

00:16:25,800 - 00:16:28,040

This is a Japanese proverb.