Translated by Jesús Ronquillo / Circuito Frontera
During this year 2023, in the crime of kidnapping in the state of Chihuahua and, particularly in Ciudad Juárez, the documented victims have been migrants.
According to official figures and data from the Security and justice table in Ciudad Juárez, 70 victims of this crime were counted in this border, while last week, the State Attorney General, César Jáuregui Moreno, revealed that during this year 113 people were rescued for this reason.
The official stated that this phenomenon has experienced an increase, generating an urgent call to address this serious problem that affects the migrant population seeking to cross into the United States.
Although, this situation has been in sight since last year, as members of the Security and Justice Roundtable in Ciudad Juárez have made known on previous occasions.
Jáuregui Moreno emphasized that, unlike previous years in which the state maintained a relative calm in terms of kidnappings, the massive inrush of migrants has created an opportunity for organized crime to exploit these people, as they are not only victims of kidnapping but also of extortion, in search of greater profit. This is not counting cases of fraud.
“The issue of kidnappings has increased exponentially in the state when it comes to migrants. We do not have the kidnappings we had before. The state has had many years without kidnappings of businessmen, among others.
However, with the disproportionate arrival of migrants, the only thing that is causing us is that there is an abuse of these migrants by the organized crime that sees in them the possibility to continue bleeding them with more money than they already had to give to be able to be at the border and be in a position to enter the United States”.
He said that so far this year alone they have rescued 113 migrants from kidnapping, and have recorded seven convictions against the people who participated in these events, of which 28 are in custody.
In addition, 17 people are being prosecuted, of which 12 have been sentenced in relation to these cases.
The prosecutor also mentioned the armed confrontation in Ciudad Juárez, where security forces clashed with alleged criminals involved in human trafficking. One of the criminals was killed and another was wounded.
He reported on the discovery of clandestine graves, including a recent one in Aldama, where four skeletons were found, as well as ballistics evidence being used to carry out exhaustive investigations in search of the perpetrators.
Also, in relation to the skeletons located in El Mimbre in the Coyame area, it appears that the victims were part of the dispute for the control of human trafficking between organized crime groups.
So far, of the 13 migrants who were lost in that area, 10 have yet to be identified, of which nine have been fully identified, and a final one is expected to be identified through a biological DNA test by a family member in Chiapas.
