Rodriguez went on to say that although he tried to keep a low profile and conceal who he was, things didn’t work out they way he wanted them to. He went on to describe how he attempted to get out of his situation.

“Usually, there’s opportunities to get yourself out of certain situations over there in Mexico,” he said. “I was hoping for that. I had a wad full of cash with me at the time and [I] tried to see if I could catch a break. Tried to see if they could help me out, and because it wasn’t the police, it was actually the Border Patrol, the National Guard, they don’t play no games and I didn’t realize that.”

Rodriguez said he was charged with drug smuggling as a result, and trying to pay his way out of it didn’t work. He said he had considered getting rid of the marijuana before crossing the border, but came to the belief that nothing would happen, and in hindsight should have followed his gut. 

He then went into the process of getting out of prison, recalling several court dates he felt he had won and would make progress that ultimately did not come. 

“They really didn’t have no sense of urgency to move my case forward and it took so long,” he said. “Honestly, I was looking at probably even being there until late June or July. Luckily, I got an amazing legal team, and we were able to work some things out. But there’s a whole bunch of requirements and stuff behind it that I got to stick to.”