Mexican authorities rescued 81 migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico itself, who were held hostage in Reynosa, Tamaulipas (northwest), near the U.S. border, according to official sources on July 17.
Mexican authorities rescued 81 migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico itself, who were held hostage in Reynosa, Tamaulipas (northwest), near the U.S. border, according to official sources on July 17.
The victims, who intended to cross the U.S. border said, “they had been held hostage for several days in a two-story building,” located in Reynosa, on the border with McAllen (Texas), according to government authorities, who added that the kidnappers managed to escape.
Among the undocumented men and women were 39 people from Honduras, 38 from Guatemala, three from El Salvador, and one Mexican national, said an official statement.
Official estimates suggest that over 140,000 undocumented foreigners, mostly from Central America, enter Mexico every year in an attempt to reach the United States.
Some of these individuals suffer abuse perpetrated by immigration authorities, as well as kidnapping, extortion, hazing, and murder from organized crime.
In addition, some migrants hire the services of the so-called “polleros” or coyotes (smugglers), who are responsible for guiding them in their journey towards the border and their crossing to U.S. territory.