Step.– Mexican authorities on Aug. 2 rescued a 9-year-old Honduran boy in Ciudad Juarez who was being held for ransom by members of a transnational criminal organization in the border city south of El Paso, Texas.
U.S. Border Patrol agents in El Paso and HSI El Paso developed information about the kidnapping case and shared it with special agents from HSI Ciudad Juarez who worked with the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), or state anti-kidnapping unit in Ciudad Juarez, to locate and rescue the child. The child’s mother had been separated from her son at a stash house in Ciudad Juarez while waiting to be smuggled into the United States through El Paso.
On July 27, the mother entered the country illegally and was detained by Border Patrol agents in El Paso. Meanwhile, the boy’s kidnappers began demanding money from the boy’s relatives in Kansas City, Kansas.
On August 1, agents from the Chihuahua anti-kidnapping unit interviewed one of the beneficiaries of the money transfers sent from Kansas to Ciudad Juarez. The next day, the kidnappers abandoned the boy at a municipal police station in Ciudad Juarez. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing. Mexican authorities plan to make arrangements to transport the boy to his home country.
“The success of this case and the safe return of an innocent child highlights the importance of the work we do together with the excellent relationships we have cultivated with the U.S. Border Patrol and our Mexican partners to protect a vulnerable population that unscrupulous human traffickers exploit,” said Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge of HSI El Paso. “Rest assured that HSI will continue to use our broad range of authority and international presence to attempt to target domestic and transnational criminal organizations engaged in human smuggling operations along the Southwest border.”
“This rescue is a testament to the power of determination, teamwork and dedication of our officers and partners. We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the children,” said El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good.
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