This Wednesday, the Mexican government reported the rescue of 32 migrants kidnapped on December 30 near the border with the United States. Among the victims were four Colombian citizens who were born in Venezuela and lived in Cúcuta, said Andrés Hernández, Colombian consul in Mexico, by telephone. It is an eight-year-old girl, her father is 41 and her mother is 28, as well as another 42-year-old man who is not related to the family. “It's a coincidence that they all came from the same place and left at the same time,” says Hernández. The consul assures them that they have been medically examined and are doing well. They have refused to return to Colombia with the help of the Colombian government and plan to continue their journey in hopes of reaching the United States.
The four entered Mexico through Cancun airport at the tip of the southeast coast, Hernández says. From there they began their journey north. They crossed the country until they reached the state of Tamaulipas, which borders the United States to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the east and is home to some of the worst atrocities against migrants in this country. In August 2010, the Zetas cartel kidnapped and then executed 72 migrants in the municipality of San Fernando, 150 kilometers from the border with the North American state of Texas. The tragedy is now known as the 72 Massacre.
The highway that connects the cities of Reynosa and Matamoros runs about two hours north of San Francisco. The four Colombian migrants traveled there by bus along with 32 other people from Venezuela, Ecuador, Honduras and Mexico. At around 7:30 p.m., less than an hour from the international border, five vans carrying armed men intercepted the vehicle and kidnapped 32 people. They only released the four Mexicans.
According to Hernández, the kidnappers were the coyotes themselves, who had paid the migrants to help them cross the border. “Because of the way the crime was committed, we ruled out that it was a Mexican cartel or an armed organization,” he said. This is an “express kidnapping for the purpose of extortion,” a crime that is becoming increasingly common in Mexico. According to the consulate, in 2023, 120 Colombian migrants became victims of this crime in this country. In 2022, the number was 69. Typically, perpetrators demand between $2,000 and $3,000 from migrants, Hernández explains, under the threat of killing them.
The kidnapping quickly attracted media attention across America. According to the consul, this, along with the Mexican government's quick and forceful response, was the reason the 32 migrants were rescued. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador deployed the National Guard and several security agencies to carry out the search. Numerous officers, helicopters, police vehicles and sniffer dogs filled the area. “It was a huge operation,” says Hernández.
Finally, the kidnappers released their victims this Wednesday in the municipality of Río Bravo, between Reynosa and Matamoros. They were deprived of their freedom for four days. “Because of the pressure that was created, they were cornered and released,” says the consul. There have been no arrests so far, but the investigation is ongoing. The four Colombians received assistance from the consulate to return to Cúcuta, but refused. They had interviews with Mexican prosecutors and that country's government gave them “some cards to legalize themselves,” Hernández says. With them, he explains, they can work in Mexico and have access to health services. However, they do not plan to stay long as their goal remains the same as when they left Colombia: to get to the United States.
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