A Kidnapping Scandal The Florence Cassez Affair (El caso Cassez-Vallarta: Una novela criminal) is a true-crime documentary series based on the novel of the same name, written by Jorge Volpi. It is directed by Gerardo Naranjo and written by Alejandro Gerber Bicecci.
It questions whether Florence Cassez was the mastermind of a kidnapping ring. Or a victim of corruption? This documentary examines one of Mexico’s most controversial cases. There are 5 episodes in total with a runtime of about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
The series includes interviews with Florence herself, along with the then minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Olga Sánchez Cordero; Nicolás Sarkozy, former president of the French Republic and Felipe Calderón, former president of the Mexican Republic.
A Kidnapping Scandal The Florence Cassez Affair examines the case of Florence Cassez and Israel Vallarta, alleged kidnappers and one of the most notable and scandalous cases in Mexico’s history. Through interviews and analysis of public records, the documentary details the irregularities of this case and throws light on the people at the centre of what became a diplomatic scandal between Mexico and France.
The case of Florence Cassez and Israel Vallarta, accused of kidnapping in 2005, uncovered the criminal practices of two governments, Presidents Vicente Fox (from 2000 to 2006) and Felipe Calderón (2006-2012), and some institutions like AFI, who coordinated in destroying any possibility to know the truth.
On December 8, 2005, police arrested the couple on the side of a highway. Instead of taking them to the police station, authorities returned them to Vallarta’s ranch, where the AFI had invited TV reporters to witness a staged raid where they claimed to rescue three kidnapping victims. They arrested Cassez and Vallarta again, this time on camera, and accused them of running a prominent gang of kidnappers.
The series reveals how the great staging of the century was conceived by the head of AFI. And in a meticulous presentation of the facts and its main protagonists, the viewer witnesses horrifying details with the full awareness that something like this can happen to anyone. So where are both the alleged criminals now?
Florence Cassez
She is the French woman who got convicted in Mexico of belonging to the kidnapping gang Los Zodíacos (The Zodiacs). She received a 60-year sentence for the crimes of kidnapping, organized crime, and illegal possession of firearms. Being a French citizen her case created some tensions between the two countries, involving then presidents Nicolás Sarkozy and Felipe Calderón.
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In August 2010, lawyers for Florence Cassez filed an appeal to the Mexican Supreme Court, arguing that her arrest was unconstitutional and that her rights were violated. Most Mexicans consider Cassez to be guilty since she was indicted on the charges brought against her and freed on technical grounds.
Many believe in the live broadcast of their arrest from the ranch which was confessed to being staged by AFI, later on. But since the cases of such crimes is a sensitive issue for the public, they want someone to blame it on and see them getting punished for it.
On 23 January 2013, the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico ordered Cassez’s immediate release due to police simulating her arrest for the purpose of filming the day after her actual arrest. She was repatriated to France the very next day and she still lives there, maintaining her innocence.
Israel Vallarta
It is said that police were actually behind Israel Vallarta as he had been identified by another kidnapping victim name Valeria while trying to figure out the area in which she was held captive. And many other similar cases were connected to him as people identified his voice to be of the boss and during the arrest, 3 civilians were rescued, claiming to be his victims.
After the arrest, Vallarta confessed to being the ring leader of the kidnapping gang but said that Cassez was not involved. However, he later claim that he had been forced to sign a false confession after being tortured. And the author Jorge Volpi and other interviewees including journalists and lawyers, point out discrepancies in testimony and fabrication of evidence but to no avail.
Along with Israel, some of the Vallarta family were also arrested on the grounds of being in the kidnappers’ gang but later released due to lack of evidence. However, Israel has been held in prison for the past 17 years, and still awaits his trial and sentencing. Cassez had separated her case from him and with the help of her country she was able to get out of the case.
While in jail, he got married to a woman, who is actively trying to get him out of prison. The police power abuse, the set-ups, the lack of an adequate justice system in Mexico, the impossibility of reaching the truth, the creation of witnesses, the planting of evidence, everything has made his case a mess with no way to reach the truth in due time.
A Kidnapping Scandal The Florence Cassez Affair is streaming on Netflix.