# What happened to that American girl in jail in the mountians of Columbia? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 30, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-that-american-girl-in-jail-in-the-mountians-of-columbia/319208 "2005-08-30T03:47:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-that-american-girl-in-jail-in-the-mountians-of-columbia/319208/1 "2005-08-30T03:47:37Z")
What ever happened to that American girl who was jailed for helping the rebels in the mountains of Columbia or some other Latin American country? Is she still there? Did she really try to help them? Was she just used by the rebels? ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-that-american-girl-in-jail-in-the-mountians-of-columbia/319208/2 "2005-08-30T03:52:41Z")
Are you speaking of [Lori Berenson](http://www.freelori.org/)? ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-that-american-girl-in-jail-in-the-mountians-of-columbia/319208/3 "2005-08-30T04:19:52Z")
Yes, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-that-american-girl-in-jail-in-the-mountians-of-columbia/319208/4 "2005-08-30T04:23:55Z")
It must be Berenson. There’s no American girl in any jail in Col **O** mbiam, that I know of. She’s still there in jail (in Peru, rather). She had an appeal recently, but lost it. Her family and lawyer haven’t given up, yet. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-that-american-girl-in-jail-in-the-mountians-of-columbia/319208/5 "2005-08-30T04:26:52Z")
That is, there’s no American girl in a Colombian jail as a controversial political prisoner. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-that-american-girl-in-jail-in-the-mountians-of-columbia/319208/6 "2005-08-30T22:46:33Z")
You mean Lori Berenson? The MIT graduate who claims to have had no knowledge that her roommates and best friend were part of a terrorist organization? :dubious: [http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/98eng/admissibility/peru%2011876.htm](http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/98eng/admissibility/peru%2011876.htm) [http://www.counterpunch.org/riley12032004.html](http://www.counterpunch.org/riley12032004.html) [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20000904/levi](http://www.thenation.com/doc/20000904/levi) [http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-0057514.html](http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-0057514.html) [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/08/09/international/i201745D52.DTL](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/08/09/international/i201745D52.DTL)