Officials detained two human traffickers in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, on charges of kidnapping after rescuing two migrants held for ransom.
The event occurred this week when Coahuila Attorney General’s Investigation Police agents raided a residence near Piedras Negras. Two Honduran migrants had been confined there against their will. The traffickers were demanding $2,000 from the migrants’ relatives for their release, according to authorities.
The detentions highlight northern Coahuila’s status as a preferred route for traffickers moving migrants and asylum seekers into Texas. Piedras Negras alone has over a dozen independent smuggling operations active in the area.
Despite human smuggling being a federal crime in Mexico, national authorities and the military seldom target these groups. State authorities, limited by the absence of specific human smuggling laws at the state level, can only prosecute these traffickers when migrants fall victim to crimes such as kidnapping, rape, or abuse.
