Yanira Maldonado spoke out from a Mexican jail about her struggle. The Arizona mother of seven was jailed last week on drug charges. Mexican soldiers allegedly found twelve pounds of marijuana hidden under Maldonado's seat on a public bus.

"I'm not a killer. I'm not a criminal. I'm just here by mistake because people are not doing their work," she said. "This is not right. I need to be back with my family. I need to be out of here. I need help."

She said she's been "reading the scriptures, reading the Book of Mormon, praying, fasting" to cope. "And all the support that I've been getting from my family, my husband, my children, and everybody out there reaching out to help."

The Mormon mother of seven children from Arizona was arrested after marijuana was found under her seat on a commercial bus. Her family says that this "nightmare" is "about money". Her family says the arrest was a mistake, and that she should not be in prison in Nogales, Mexico. The fact that she is, they claim, has to do with Mexico's corrupt justice system.

"Never in our lives did we deal with drugs, or do drugs," her husband, Gary Maldonado, told press.

"I was at the checkpoint. They asked us to get off bus. And they were checking for drugs or I don't know what else," she said. "And they say they found something under my seat. But I never saw anything. They didn't show me anything. It was just amazing all that, what they did." 

The couple's daughter, Anna Soto, 21, said, "If you would've known my mom, if you would've met her - you would know she had nothing to do with it."

"I'm a good mom. I love the gospel. I'm LDS. And we work hard to have what we have," Maldonado said. "You know, we're not rich, but we're very honest and we always do our best to help other people."

In Mexico, extortion of foreigners is a long-standing practice in certain corrupt sectors. Allegedly, bribes are often expected. According to Soto, an attorney suggested that her father offer cash to the police in exchange for his wife's release. When Gary Maldonado was able to raise $5,000, the money was refused - because, they suspect, by then it was too late.

"He took it to them and they said, 'Oh, it's not about the money anymore'," Soto said.

Multiple Mexican and American officials press has spoken to anonymously have questions about the arrest and believe Maldonado was framed.

Soto visited her mom in prison on Sunday. "She started crying and...she's like, 'I have faith that people will help us, that we will get out of this together as a family', she told press.

Another daughter, Brenda Pedraza, choked back tears as she spoke about her mom. "I still need her, you know, being a new mom. I still need her advice, her guidance. We've heard that the minimum is 10 years. Ten years is a whole lifespan. We don't have that time, 10 years, to be separated," she said.

Allegedly, twelve pounds marijuana was found under the bus seats where the Mormon couple, both of whom are U.S. citizens, were sitting. They were returning from a funeral in Mexico to their Phoenix, Arizona-area home.

A Mexican official, speaking under conditions of anonymity, says he has huge questions about the arrest.

"Can you imagine?" the official asked. "A passenger by himself or herself would have been unable to carry almost six kilos of marijuana onto a bus without being noticed. She must've been framed."

Officers first told Gary he was under arrest, but then realized they'd made a mistake and that the drugs were under his wife's seat. They then arrested Yanira Maldonado and took her away. Gary frantically tried to locate his wife and didn't find her until the next morning. During that time, a relative of Yanira told press, she "had a rough night. Their interrogation included putting her in a non-air-conditioned room and waking her up several times in the middle of night - trying to get her to sign documents that she said she couldn't read," Brandon Klippel told press.

"You hear all of these horror stories about Mexico and you think it's just something in the movies, right?" said Klippel, "You don't believe it's something that could happen to someone you know. But, when it happens to your brother and your sister - it's hard, it's tough to take."

Yanira Maldonado's feelings about Mexico have changed dramatically. Before the incident occurred, Maldonado says she would often tell friends to not be worried about visiting Mexico.

"I used to tell people, 'Come to Mexico. It's not true what they're saying. I go every year to visit my family. ... I come, I drive myself, nothing happens'...Look what's happening to me now. I cannot say that anymore," Maldonado said to CNN. "I don't want anybody to go through this."

The family has called on U.S. Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, who spoke to Maldonado on Sunday and whose office released a statement saying he is "personally monitoring the situation and has had multiple conversations with the deputy Mexican ambassador." Other U.S. officials have also stepped in after public attention to the case.

Yanira Maldonado remains in prison in Mexico on drug charges. Her husband and children hope that she is released soon. A Mexican judge is weighing the case. Her daughter has asked officials to "please do their part and really investigate."