Finally we were lead into a small building with separate classroom type spaces where the prisoners were already waiting. I was surprised that a maximum security prison would allow the visitors to have such close contact with the residents, although later I discovered that all these men had achieved an elevated status due to good behavior and as a result have higher privileges. The only way for me to find "Ron" was to wait for everyone else to be seated because we had never seen each other before. We spoke for 2 hours but due to the language challenges only actually communicated about 30 minutes worth of information. Ron told me I was the first visitor he'd had in 3 years. His wife and children have given up on their family ties. Apparently 15 years, and 3 more to go, was too much to bear. Ron has a difficult time speaking about why he is in prison although I have been able to piece together the picture. He carries a tremendous amount of guilt and shame for his crimes which is doubled when he thinks about the way his family has become estranged. He also fears that there maybe be some bad people looking for him upon his release which is why he wants to leave the country when he is free. The USA is his first choice after having lived there for 2 years about 20 years ago. He worked on a fishing boat somewhere on the east coast and absolutely loved his life there. Ron knows the chances of him returning there with his criminal record are slim which is why he has a plan B, Argentina.