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Mexico Kidnappers Snatched 10K US-Bound Migrants

Human rights commission estimates 10K migrants seized over 6 months

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 16, 2009 7:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – Mexican gangs preying on Central American migrants headed for the US kidnapped almost 10,000 people between September 2008 and February 2009, according to a new report from Mexico's national human rights commission. The average ransom paid was $2,500, according to the report, which said Mexican authorities participated in some of the abductions. The organization blasted the justice system's inefficiency in tackling the problem.

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Central American migrants being held in captivity react as Mexican Army soldiers, unseen, liberate them in Reynosa, Mexico,earlier this year. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

Central American migrants, who were being held hostage by a kidnap gang, wait at the back of a military truck after being freed by soldiers in Reynosa, Mexico, earlier this year. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

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The kidnapping of migrants has become a constant practice, on a worrying scale, generally unpunished and with characteristics of extreme cruelty. - Jose Luis Soberanes, head of Mexico's National Human Rights Commission

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Mexico Kidnappers Snatched 10K US-Bound Migrants