He was accused of being an American spy in Iran and Maradona saved him from dying in prison: “I went from cannon fodder to king”

It's April 2019. The sun rises and the thermometer does not exceed 18 degrees Celsius. 130 kilometers from the border with Turkmenistan, in a makeshift prison in Iran where light does not penetrate, there is an Argentine among all Iranians. His name is Franco Ezequiel Costanzo and, according to his document, he is 35 years old. He is being held on charges of being an American spy. And that could mean death. Legal or not, but death. In the backpack lives its truth. He is from Buenos Aires and a lawyer, and in 2009 he kicked the board to do what he loves most: traveling the world.

He was stopped in the city of Lotfabad, along with a couple of friends while he was camping under the vastness of the starry sky. “We had asked before where we could lay the tent. We respect their laws and regulations: do not drink alcohol, play music and always wear long pants”, he tells Infobae on the phone, as early as one afternoon in March 2022.

However, three years ago, that same night three policemen decided to arrest them. “They questioned us by surprise, while we were making a fire. They looked into everything. And not satisfied with the answers, they told us that we had to go to the police station to continue with the inquiries. Once in the place we spent five endless hours and our passports were held back,” he explains.

The next day they had to make an hour's journey to Dargaz to retrieve the documents: “When we arrived we realized we were in trouble. It wasn't a police station, it was a prison.” Without speaking the language, Franco tried to explain his situation and ensure his rights. “I told them I was a traveler, but the authorities refused to make a call to my family or someone who could help me,” he recalls.

Judge Franco and his friends were breaking the law, which is why he accused them of “holding a meeting with people of the opposite sex in public spaces.” Without a word, from the inquiry room they went straight to a ward with 70 other inmates who had committed all kinds of crimes.

What followed was desperate. “I had only stepped on a prison in my practice as a lawyer. Here he was the only foreigner, without speaking the language, in a republic where human rights are not respected and the sentences are severe.”

The Argentine spent five days incommunicado and awake. “There was no way to sleep, if you closed one eye you were a ballot. All I wanted was to talk to my family.”

The hand of God

In prison they opened access to the courtyard. I had been in the shadows for days. Franco started into the light. “I'm going to see a little bit of the sky, I thought.” Before, a threat had come to him: a penetrating look from the leaders of the pavilion. “I ignored them, and I walked.” A few meters later, the situation became more aggressive. “Several inmates were approaching to corner me. I could see they were hiding something sharp. Two seconds passed, and I shouted 'Argentina, Argentina, Argentina! ' That distracted them a little, but they kept getting closer.”

He had to resort to a more universal word. “Then I invoked the master, the greatest, God.” From his heart - or with his heart at a thousand revolutions per minute - he uttered the magic word, several times: “Maradona, Maradona, Maradona!”. It worked like a master key: “At that moment I could see the different reactions. The capos of the opposing gangs opened their eyes wide and gave the order to stop the aggression.” They approached to talk to him and offer him food, clean clothes and new sheets. “I went from cannon fodder to king,” he remembers now with a smile. The world star saved his life in an Iranian prison: he just had to name him.

A few days later, by an administration of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, Franco was released. The trial continued for several months and at the beginning of 2022 he was found not guilty. “I'm going back to Iran!” , he assures. “It's an incredible place, the people are unique, the food is delicious, the landscapes are unforgettable,” he emphasizes despite his experience.

This is just one of the hundreds of anecdotes that Franco keeps in his travel history. In 2007 he was held for five hours by members of the FARC in Colombia. He also lived in a temple in Burma. During the pandemic, when air borders were closed, he lived in a jungle in northern Costa Rica: naked, without electricity, internet or mains water, hydrated and bathed in a ravine, and fed on fruits and medicinal plants.

He is not a nomad or a backpacker: he defines himself as a traveler. “I get involved with stories, people and culture. It's not the same thing,” he says. He's been doing it for twelve years. He stepped on five continents and walked through more than 80 countries. In each destination he tells local stories, little known through his social networks @frankito .intergalactico. “I travel to be found,” he summarizes.

His motivation to live light, he says, comes from the teachings of Pantheism (God and nature as one) and Taoism (the simplicity of life): “I am faithful to my curiosity. Most people would love to explore the universe. Hypothetical fears paralyze us and that is why many choose stability. I gave up all that to be true to myself.”

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