By: FreeTaita
It is with great joy in our hearts that we write to update our community with news that the criminal charges against Taita Juan have been dropped as of today, November 16, 2010. At some point within the next couple of days, the court will begin the process of transferring Taita Juan out of prison and into the immigration authorities who will make arrangements for his return to Colombia. We will have more details by the end of today, in the meantime thank you again for keeping this prayer alive and strong. We did it!
By: FreeTaita
On Tuesday, October 19, 2010, indigenous Colombian healer Taita Juan Agreda Chindoy was detained in the Houston International Airport. He was formally arrested by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for possession of his traditional medicine Ayahuasca. He is now being charged as a federal criminal and is facing up to 20 years in federal prison.
Taita Juan is certified by his community and by the Colombian ministry of health as a traditional healer. He is one of the few remaining indigenous spiritual leaders in the world that holds the ancestral medicinal knowledge of an ecosystem that is rapidly disappearing. Taita Juan is a father, a husband and a godfather to more than 20 children. With more than 3000 supporters from several countries in the world, his life and work have touched many.
By: FreeTaita
We are grateful to all of you for the astounding support we’ve received since October 19th. We want you to know that we are progressing with negotiations with the prosecutor and we hope to be able to share more news at the end of next week. Due to the sensitivity of Taita’s case, we’ve been advised by our lawyers not to disclose more details at this time. This has been very challenging as we understand how deeply this situation has moved the greater ayahuasca community and especially those who are close to Taita Juan. Please trust that we will keep you informed as soon as we receive clearance from Taita’s attorneys that releasing further information will not jeopardize a speedy end to this situation. We are confident that Taita is equipped with two of the best possible legal teams in the country. Lead attorney Kent Schaffer, is a Houston criminal lawyer with over 25 years of experience. Supporting Mr. Schaffer are Nancy Hollander and her team from New Mexico. Nancy was the lead attorney that was successful before the Supreme Court in granting the UDV church legal authorization for the religious use of ayahuasca.
By: FreeTaita
On Friday October 29th, Taita Juan was able to reach friends and family by phone. It was the first time since his imprisonment that Taita Juan had been in touch and he has been in touch a few times since. We were able to connect Taita Juan to his wife Carmen, in Colombia, via Internet phone. It was a bittersweet emotional exchange and the joy and love between them was deeply moving. Taita is in better spirits now that he has talked with his loved ones and now that he has a better understanding of the status of his situation. He tells us that the federal prison he has been transferred to is a lot more comfortable than the detention center where he shared a cell with 10 other prisoners.
Taita Juan has been told about the huge amount of support that the Free Taita Juan campaign has received from his community. We were proud to tell him that, so far, the campaign has raised over $14,000 to support his defense.
