Kidnappings In South Texas Rising

[2501]

http://www.krgv.com/news/local/story...moANGKWqQ.cspx

MCALLEN, TX - Kidnappings are risky, but experts say the ransom is worth the effort to the cartels.

Drug related kidnappings in the Valley have quadrupled in the past year.

Luis Escobar was kidnapped in Mexico. He was grabbed from his own car. He managed to escape.

"When they take me from one car to the other car, I see a lot of cars and traffic, and I begin to run," he says.

A short time later armed gunmen tried to kidnap him again. That's when Escobar packed his wife and children up and left Mexico behind.

They moved to San Antonio. Eventually starting a business that helps Mexican business owners find American investors.

He's not the only person who's faced kidnappers.

A well known bakery owner was kidnapped in November of 2006, and a muffler shop owner was taken from his McAllen shop in January of 2008.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says it's just another money making plan for the cartels.

"It's a tool cartels use to exert control of their supply lilnes," says Special Agent John Johnson.

Johnson tells CHANNEL 5 NEWS at least 95% of all kidnappings in the Valley since 2008 are drug related.

The FBI started a task force in 2007 after kidnappings got to an all time high in Nuevo Laredo.

Now the increase is happening in the Valley.

"Even drug traffickers are calling us asking for help to get one of their family members back," says Johnson.

Law enforcement officials say it's hard to know exactly how many people are kidnapped since victims won't go to the police.

They do say since families of the kidnapped victims often pay the ransom to get their loved one back, which encourages the cartels to continue kidnapping people.

Unfortunately, I personally know of 4 people who have been kidnapped. One of them found dead 3 months ago. The other 3 are family of friends.

[No Ceiling]

do they only kidnap rich people?

[2501]

do they only kidnap rich people?

they kidnap anyone that may have some source of income or anyone who is involved in the game but working for rivals. if they want money from a rich family, they'll do 2 things. they'll extort the family for a long time or they will kidnap one of the members.

they also kidnap immigrants who are about to illegal go into the united states. Cartels will have members pose as coyotes offering passage to the USA for money, load them up in a truck, then drive them to a ranch and keep them there for randsom. its sad because these families are the poorest of the poor. A lot of those immigrants are from southern Mexico. Keep in mind that they already take the money they pay the coyotes which can range from $500-$2000.

Others that are kidnapped are people involved in the drug game. the one I mentioned that was killed was purchasing guns under the table from a supplier in Weslaco, Tx for Los Zetas and smuggling them into Mexico for them. The kidnappers initially contacted his family demanding 200K and his father's flooring business (based in mexico), but they never got another call and his body was found in Reynosa, Mx a couple of weeks later.

[No Ceiling]

they kidnap anyone that may have some source of income or anyone who is involved in the game but working for rivals. if they want money from a rich family, they'll do 2 things. they'll extort the family for a long time or they will kidnap one of the members.

they also kidnap immigrants who are about to illegal go into the united states. Cartels will have members pose as coyotes offering passage to the USA for money, load them up in a truck, then drive them to a ranch and keep them there for randsom. its sad because these families are the poorest of the poor. A lot of those immigrants are from southern Mexico. Keep in mind that they already take the money they pay the coyotes which can range from $500-$2000.

Others that are kidnapped are people involved in the drug game. the one I mentioned that was killed was purchasing guns under the table from a supplier in Weslaco, Tx for Los Zetas and smuggling them into Mexico for them. The kidnappers initially contacted his family demanding 200K and his father's flooring business (based in mexico), but they never got another call and his body was found in Reynosa, Mx a couple of weeks later.

definitely fuk up stuff. being rich in south texas is scary

[Rednose Pitbull]

they kidnap anyone that may have some source of income or anyone who is involved in the game but working for rivals. if they want money from a rich family, they'll do 2 things. they'll extort the family for a long time or they will kidnap one of the members.

they also kidnap immigrants who are about to illegal go into the united states. Cartels will have members pose as coyotes offering passage to the USA for money, load them up in a truck, then drive them to a ranch and keep them there for randsom. its sad because these families are the poorest of the poor. A lot of those immigrants are from southern Mexico. Keep in mind that they already take the money they pay the coyotes which can range from $500-$2000.

Others that are kidnapped are people involved in the drug game. the one I mentioned that was killed was purchasing guns under the table from a supplier in Weslaco, Tx for Los Zetas and smuggling them into Mexico for them. The kidnappers initially contacted his family demanding 200K and his father's flooring business (based in mexico), but they never got another call and his body was found in Reynosa, Mx a couple of weeks later.

thanks for explaining everything, but let me ask u something, could all this have something to new with this new law that just got passed? This is sick stuff, third world country crazy **** goes down, i know in my country brazil its so damn dangerous to even wear nice clothes and stuff outside. Too many bandits and robbers and killers, if they see u with nice **** on they will point a gun to ur head and make u give it up. Its just a sick world we live in. People grow into these lifestyles of makin a liviin doing this ****, its no better than selling drugs, kidnapping is just as bad as selling drugs.

[fadan80]

Man, and its not only kidnappings, but murders too. I live in the mexican border with Del Rio Tx. and a few years ago Del Rio was one of the most pacific places in the whole US... now the drug cartels have appeared and crime arised

[2501]

thanks for explaining everything, but let me ask u something, could all this have something to new with this new law that just got passed? This is sick stuff, third world country crazy **** goes down, i know in my country brazil its so damn dangerous to even wear nice clothes and stuff outside. Too many bandits and robbers and killers, if they see u with nice **** on they will point a gun to ur head and make u give it up. Its just a sick world we live in. People grow into these lifestyles of makin a liviin doing this ****, its no better than selling drugs, kidnapping is just as bad as selling drugs.

Naw, kidnappings had been decreasing because of the instability of power in the borderlands. As rival cartels moved into each others territories, a lot of the concentration was put on fighting for real estate so the focus was on going to war with rivals and ensuring drugs were crossing the border. But now they are ramping up on the additional avenues of income such as kidnappings, extortion, prostitution, auto theft.

Right now, the US Consulate has issued a warning to any US citizens traveling into Mexico encouraging them not to drive their SUV's into the country because cartels are short on them and are targeting them.