Mass kidnappings on the rise

TAPACHULA (EFE).— Yesterday, migrants reported a wave of massive kidnappings by organized crime in Tapachula, Chiapas, where criminals placed a stamp on their arms and demanded they pay money to free them.

Miguel Mejía, a migrant from Honduras who omitted his real name for security reasons, told EFE that last weekend he was kidnapped along with a group of people from Central America, Peru, Ecuador and other countries who arrived in Tapachula.

He and other victims, who also hid their real identity, pointed out that criminal groups now monitor migrants on motorcycles and in vans with long weapons to intimidate them and take them to unknown places, where they are kept locked up.

“When we tried to evade and get out of there, they said that we had to join the rest of the group or, if not, we had to follow them, you couldn’t go back,” he narrated.

They took 1,500 Mexican pesos each (about $90) from these migrants, placed a stamp on them, and took videos after paying to identify the people.

“There were 15 of us on the road, but when we arrived (at the kidnapping site) there were more people, between 60 and 70. There were dark-skinned people and Venezuelans. (The criminals) take our phones, put seals on the cameras and search our bags.”

ExploitationVulnerable

Organized crime takes advantage of the vulnerability of migrants.

Irregular migration

The situation occurs after the 77% increase in irregular migration during 2023, when the Mexican government detected more than 782,000 migrants in this situation.

March report

The Stop Kidnapping group yesterday reported a “historic” figure of 521 victims of this crime in March.