The Devil's Highway
 

In Pre-Production
 

“El Camino Del Diablo” recounts the true event that occurred in May 2001. 26 Mexicans from the state of Veracruz hired a coyote (human smuggler) and paid an average of $2,000 dollars each to be taken across the U.S. border. The group was traveled by bus across the country, (4000miles) to the state of Sonora. There they were deposited into a dirty motel room. The next morning Maradona and Mendez two young polleros (guides) were to take them across. Maradona who was the experienced guide, never showed up. Mendez was forced to make the trip alone. The group was packed into a passenger van, uncomfortable, no A/C. They drove for more than 3 hours to their destination, after that, they would start walking. They were promised to walk no more than 3 hours, they ended up walking for 5 days.

By the second day the walkers were tired, little water was left, some started to dehydrate. Their bodies started loosing all liquids and salts, so much so, blood started to function as sweat. Their skin became irritated and their clothes became unbearable to wear. As they removed their shirts to stop the friction, the sun would burn their skin. They started drinking their own urine, the Men tore their faces open chewing saguaros and prickly pears, leaving gutted plants that looked like animals had torn them apart with their claws.

On the third day Mendez, the guide, asked for their money and abandoned them in the middle of the desert. By the end of the fifth day, border patrol found 10 survivors and 14 dead. Their catastrophe inspired the largest manhunt in Border Patrol history. The survivors were offered jobs in the U.S. and were promised never to work under the sun in exchange for them to serve as material witnesses against Mendez. He was sentenced for 16 years.

El Camino Del Diablo reveals the minute-by-minute details of their tragedy. Due to deep investigation, it also gives an unprecedented view into three secret worlds: the world of the "illegals" who risk it all to try to make a better life for their families; the Border Patrol in all its conflicts, controversies, and manhunting skills; and, finally, the outlaw elite that now controls the demimonde of the Coyotes, those smugglers who move walkers through the vast killing ground that is El Camino Del Diablo.