The Gulf Cartel continues to operate with total impunity, abducting migrants attempting to reach the U.S. border. Kidnappings continued even after Mexico's president was forced to admit that his government had failed to rescue a group of 32 migrants abducted by cartel gunmen, when in fact it was the cartels who released them. .
Last week, authorities in Tamaulipas, with help from Mexican soldiers, raided a house in the border city of Reynosa and rescued 61 migrants. The migrants, from Guatemala, Ecuador and El Salvador, were reportedly held in secret locations against their will. However, authorities and the military did not arrest any of the kidnappers who held the migrants against their will.
The migrant rescue in Reynosa is linked to an ongoing investigation into an earlier kidnapping case that became a national scandal in Mexico.
As Breitbart Texas reported, on December 30, Gulf Cartel gunmen in at least five SUVs stopped a passenger bus and kidnapped the 32 migrants inside. The gunmen were able to leave before law enforcement arrived and moved the migrants to a hiding place. They held the migrants hostage for several days before releasing them. The incident became a national scandal as Mexican authorities tried to take credit for the rescue, with federal authorities claiming it was the result of a coordinated effort. Days later, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was forced to say that the cartels were simply releasing the migrants of their own volition.
After their release, authorities transferred the 32 migrants to the border city of Matamoros, where they stayed in several shelters as they awaited appointments with U.S. authorities to apply for asylum.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist at Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart, Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Breitbart's senior management team.you can follow him twitter And even more Facebook. He can be contacted at: iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart Texas Cartel His Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Breitbart's senior management team.follow him twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at: bdarby@breitbart.com.
