Mexican inmate chosen to share message with Pope Francis
JUAREZ, Mexico -- The CERESO prison in Juarez, Mexico, houses thousands of inmates, many tied to drug trafficking.
It has a history of violence.
Five years ago gang members overtook guards, seized their guns and opened fire on rival prisoners. Seventeen were killed. But the dangers inside Mexico's notoriously corrupt prisons persist.
Just last week another Cartel fueled riot erupted at a prison in Monterrey -- more than 50 died there.
On Tuesday in Morelia, Pope Francis appealed to young people who are often swept up in the violence of the drug trade. People like Evila Quintana who is in the Juarez prison.
She was convicted of money laundering, tied to organized crime.
"People forget about us," she said in Spanish. "But we also have needs and the spiritual need is fundamental."
It's within these walls she found what she says was missing on the outside -- her faith. It's also what she leans on to deal with being away from her 8-year-old daughter Camilla.
"It's been one of the most difficult things. For me, being a mother means everything," she said.
Camilla is Evila's inspiration.
And she's the reason Evila is trying to prove herself here to qualify for early release.
Her transformation is so well-known here, that she won the prison contest to see which inmate would share a message with the pope.
"Not everyone here is evil," she said. "There are those of us who truly seek redemption."
Having the pope here in person for Evila is a miracle.