The latest report on deportations by the United States government determines that in 2011 the largest number of deportations were carried out since the creation of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.

In 2009, a total of 387,790 people were deported by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. Of these, 251,664 deportees had no criminal record. That same year, 1,188 Peruvian citizens were deported. Of these, 813 had no criminal record.

Since 2003, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency has used forced sedation for deportation operations. Sedatives are given to people who do not have a psychiatric diagnosis that requires such medication. Sedation is determined by the officers in charge of the deportation process if they believe the detainee shows signs of resistance at the time of being expelled from the country.

Since 2003, doses of up to 55 mg of anxiolytics, amnestics, sedatives and muscle relaxants have been administered to people undergoing deportation. The drugs used are Haldol, Cogentin and Ativan.

In 2006, the Peruvian government signed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, the objective of which was to eliminate obstacles to trade, consolidate access to goods and services, and promote private investment in and between the two countries. In 2009, the application of the agreement began.

The video shows me receiving a dose of a sedative to read the Free Trade Agreement between Peru and the United States, after previously providing information on the number of Peruvian deportees and the forced use of sedatives in deportation processes. The installation is presented with a printed document that includes institutional information on the same practice of forced sedation in deportation processes carried out by member countries of the European Union.

2012 · video · 5'06'' · Download the document here