EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A large group of Ecuadorian migrants who flew to Juarez, Mexico, last week was abducted by armed criminals, a New York-based legal aid organization says. A family of five that was part of the group has been freed after their relatives paid $40,000, but others are still missing.
“They arrived in Juarez. They were taken to a hotel. Some cabs came to take them to safe houses, warehouses, as they call them, and on the way to those warehouses they were stopped by vans with armed men who kidnapped them,” said William Murillo, executive director and founder of the 1-800Migrante, a legal services organization.
The organization released a chilling recording of an unknown male chastising a relative of the kidnapped family for not paying the full ransom.
“The problem is you only gave me 240,000 pesos ($14,200). You told me that is all you have, blah-blah-blah. The problem is that it’s five people,” the purported kidnapper says. “I will release two people for those 240,000. I will help you out. I understand it’s five people and there’s children. Give me 100,000 for each. I cannot help you more. I will send you a video to show you they are well.”
1800Migrante publicly released a photo of the freed family and said they remain in Juarez under the care of unnamed human-rights organizations.
“They had already paid thousands of dollars to come (to the U.S. border). That is a lot of money that one family had to pay. But, if they tell me they have my children and to pay this much, I would sell my soul to the devil to get that money,” said Murillo, the former minister of Immigration in Ecuador.
The organization is investigating what happened to the remaining eight Ecuadorian citizens and almost a dozen more from other countries reportedly kidnapped after flying to Juarez.
Border Report contacted the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office for comment on the case. The AG’s Office said a special state police unit investigates kidnappings and has not received official information from them.
Murillo said 1800Migrante has received numerous calls regarding additional Ecuadorian nationals being held for ransom by criminals all over Mexico.
“We must remember there are still many Ecuadorians and citizens of other countries held against their will in Mexico,” he said.
The nonprofit Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) earlier this month published a study on how kidnapping and extortion of migrants passing through Mexico has increased substantially since late 2023.
WOLA research concludes many Mexican authorities either tolerate or are actively involved in the kidnappings and the migrant-kidnapping industry. It also states U.S. border policies continue to channel asylum-seekers through very dangerous places in Mexico, such as Tamaulipas.
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