21 July 2010, 5:16 pm
TECATE, Mexico — The bedraggled immigrants were picking their way through the boulders and scrub when a group of heavily armed men descended on them short of the California-Mexico border. They corralled them in a cave and pointed their guns at the 10 men and one woman. These lawless badlands in the hills east of Tijuana long have teemed with bandits and rapists, but these criminals demanded only phone numbers. They started calling the immigrants' loved ones in Pomona, San Diego and Bakersfield: Send money or we'll shoot, they said. The days-long kidnapping ordeal in May illustrates what authorities say is a growing trend as roaming gangs of well-organized, heavily armed gunmen turn their sights on illegal immigrants, making a treacherous journey more dangerous for people trekking north. In the rash of kidnappings, which began about two years ago, gunmen hold people captive until relatives in the United States send wire transfers of up to $5,000 to accounts in Mexico. Some immigrants are beaten; several have been killed, including two brothers from Mexico City. Many straggle across the border and turn themselves in to Border Patrol agents. Others end up in migrant shelters in Tijuana, too frightened to report the cases to Mexican police. Little was known about how the criminals operated until Mexican authorities dismantled two gangs in recent months, including the one involved in the May case, in which 11 suspects were arrested after a shootout and a foot chase through the hills. The arrests provided authorities with a rare glimpse into criminal networks whose reach stretches from the border to cities across the United States and Mexico. The gang allegedly was run by a career criminal from Nayarit state and included a former Mexican army soldier. They admitted kidnapping more than 100 immigrants over 18 months, holding them in remote caves, makeshift camps and ranches. "We threatened the families that if they didn't pay, we would kill the immigrants," Jose Flores Romero, the suspected ringleader, said in his statement to detectives, referring to the abductions in May. Authorities believe several gangs continue to operate. With a network of lookouts scattered at key points across 60 miles of rugged, isolated terrain, few immigrants slip by them without the gangs' knowledge. "They know all the trails leading to the border, from Tijuana to Tecate and the La Rumorosa" mountain range, said Fermin Gomez, a Baja California assistant attorney general. "They know exactly where they're going, how many are walking, and they're all intercepted." The current situation resulted from a convergence of factors in the United States and Mexico that put increasing pressure on the traditional human-smuggling groups in the area, according to authorities in both countries. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012415834_immig22.html I do not see any supporters or latino's out and about protesting this ?... Read More »
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