From a religious trip to a federal prison: the case of the Mexican teacher arrested for drug trafficking after a luggage mix-up
Based on the video from Imagen Noticias on YouTube — watch original
What began as a journey of faith to attend World Youth Day in Brazil and meet Pope Francis ended in severe drug trafficking charges. After losing her passport during a layover in Peru and being forced to return to Mexico City, teacher Ángel de María Soto Zárate reported irregularities in the delivery of her luggage, where authorities ultimately found 10 kilograms of cocaine. The teacher is currently imprisoned in the women's penitentiary in Tepic, Nayarit.
An international journey for religious purposes took a drastic turn and ended in criminal proceedings for drug trafficking. Mexican teacher Ángel de María Soto Zárate had planned to travel to Brazil to participate in World Youth Day, a massive Catholic Church event where she hoped to achieve her personal goal of meeting Pope Francis. However, a series of setbacks during her flight itinerary led to the discovery of a drug shipment in luggage tagged under her name and her subsequent incarceration in a federal prison.
The teacher's itinerary suffered its first major disruption during a layover in Lima, the capital of Peru. While at the Peruvian airport before boarding her connecting flight to Brazil, Soto Zárate realized she had lost her passport. Without the required documentation to continue to her final destination, the teacher was forced to cut her trip short and board a return flight to Mexico City.
Upon arriving at Mexico City International Airport, the teacher went to the baggage claim area to retrieve her belongings. At that point, anomalies regarding the handling of her bags began. Soto Zárate identified a piece of luggage that was handed to her, but immediately noticed that the suitcase was not hers. Although the item did not match her physical belongings, the attached tag displayed the exact same baggage tracking number as the one on her ticket.
Faced with the discrepancy between the registered tag number and the appearance of the luggage, the teacher decided not to take the suitcase and formally reported the issue to airport authorities so they could track down her original luggage.
Moments after filing the report regarding the error in the baggage assignment, airport staff informed Soto Zárate that her actual belongings had been located inside the terminal. However, upon delivery and visual verification, the teacher examined the suitcase once again and clarified to authorities that she did not recognize this second piece of luggage as hers either.
Despite the passenger reiterating that it was not her luggage, airport staff and authorities proceeded to inspect the contents of the returned bag. During the physical inspection, officers discovered a shipment of 10 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside the suitcase.
The discovery of the drugs in a piece of luggage bearing her travel code led to the teacher's immediate arrest at the capital's airport. Despite having previously alerted staff to the anomaly with the tracking tags and refusing to claim the suitcase containing the narcotics, Soto Zárate was formally charged with drug trafficking.
Following her arrest in Mexico City, Ángel de María Soto Zárate was transferred to the women's prison in Tepic, in the state of Nayarit, where she remains in custody awaiting the resolution of her legal status following the seizure of the 10 kilograms of cocaine.
