In several absolutely confusing statements and interventions in the press, the authorities in the state of Tamaulipas, in the Gulf of Mexico, have confirmed the kidnapping of 31 people, apparently migrants, from a bus traveling between Monterrey and the border. The kidnapping occurred after 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 30, on the section of the highway connecting Reynosa and Matamoros. In a statement published on Monday evening, the State Security spokesman reported the rescue of five Venezuelan citizens on the same stretch of road. It is not clear whether the five would be part of the 31.
One of the bus drivers reported the kidnapping on the same Saturday. According to his story, partly recounted in statements from the spokesman's office and in interviews with its owner Jorge Cuéllar, five vans with armed men intercepted the Grupo Senda bus and forced the migrants to get off. The criminals had stopped the vehicle between Reynosa and the city of Río Bravo, a few kilometers to the east. They did not take all the passengers, five escaped and remained in the vehicle with the drivers who called 911.
This is the same modus operandi of the criminal groups that in 2011 disappeared dozens of people in the same region, a little further south, particularly in San Fernando. Criminals who intercepted buses and other vehicles and took the passengers, in a logic of war between criminal groups at the border. For criminals, migrants, whether from southern states or neighboring countries, are mere commodities, labor for their fights. To prevent them from joining their rivals, they killed them. Hundreds were found dead in the region during these years.
Since Saturday, state and federal authorities have been combing the area where migrants often flock in search of the border with the United States. The discovery of the five migrants on Monday night made people think about the 31 people and possible clues to their rescue. In his statement, the spokesman explained that the National Guard spotted a white Ford Fusion on the highway between Monterrey and Matamoros at kilometer 30 in Reynosa. “When the Ford detected the presence of National Guard units, it took evasive maneuvers through traffic and subsequently ceased operations. Two men got out of the vehicle and fled on foot. During the inspection of the vehicle, five people of Venezuelan nationality were found, including two minors,” the statement said.
The migrants said they were traveling in a Grupo Senda bus like the 31 when the Ford Fusion intercepted the vehicle. The two men who fled allegedly forced them to get out and get into their truck. In interviews with local media, spokesman Cuéllar stated: “This is another case,” but did not explain what elements allowed him to eliminate the connection between both cases.
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