Two teenagers in El Paso, abducted in front of Juarez Restaurant, were rescued with three migrants from China, Guatemala and Mexico, who were holding on to Ransom, said Chihuahua General Prosecutor and a FBI spokesman.
The two US citizens were held about three days after being abducted before at least one witness around 9:00 pm on Friday, April 11, outside a restaurant, a Chihuahua Prosecutor General said in a message. The location and name of the restaurant were not revealed.
More: A boy separated from the mother in Juarez, saved a house after being detained for ransom
A woman from China, a Guatemalan man and a woman from the southern Mexican state of Tabasco were also rescued on Monday, April 14, during a state police operation, the State Prosecutor’s Office said.
The FBI in El Paso works with their Mexican law enforcement counterparts, providing technical assistance and support from the FBI Violence Squad, said El Paso FBI spokesman, special agent Janet Harper.
Two US citizens from El Paso, Texas, along with three migrants, claim to have been held for ransom of abductors in this house in the neighborhood of Manuel J. Crack, Southeast Juarez, Mexico, until they were rescued by State Police in Chihuahua on Monday, April 14, 2025.
Some of the victims had brands on their doors from strangling and cutting a knife in their ears after their abductors tortured them while demanding payments for ransom from their families in return to release them, the prosecutor said.
Arrested suspected abduction abducted by El Paso’s teenagers saved
The State Police Police Zone for the Murder, working with the Municipal Police in Juarez and aided by the FBI, found the abducted persons in a house in the neighborhood of Manuel J. Crater in Southeast Juarez, said the office of the Prosecutor General.
During the rescue operation, police arrested Daniel Fermin “El Mou” Br, 22; Marco Irving “El Toro”, 18, and Omar Ricardo “El Laska”, 22 years old, who are said to have been armed while guarding the victims of abduction, authorities said. Family names were not revealed by the authorities in accordance with the rules in Mexico on the naming of suspects in crimes.
Three suspects were arrested after two US citizens from El Paso, Texas and three migrants from China, Guatemala and Mexico were rescued on Monday, April 14, 2025, while they were held for ransom in Huarez, Mexico.
Investigators also arrest Christian Airin Sm, 22 years old, nickname “El Cokito” who has allegedly owned money that is a payment for ransom for one of the victims, says
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The abduction of US citizens for ransom in Juarez is quite rare, even when migrants, who are hoping to reach the United States, have become a lucrative target for kidnappers connected to people’s smuggling rings, Mexican law enforcement officers said.
The abductors will require the families of abducted migrants to pay to release them in order to leave them to continue their journey to the US border.
Chihuahua State breaks down into abduction
The law enforcement agencies in Chihuahua, by order of governor Maria Eugene, “Maru” Campos, are being destroyed by kidnapping, said Chihuahua Prosecutor General Cesar Jargui Moreno at a press conference in Juarez on Friday, April 11.
“We put an end to it,” Jarringu Moreno said.
The abductors themselves are often teens and young men, aged 20, and younger people who could be sentenced to 50 to 90 years in prison, Prosecutor General added.
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State police have arrested 35 suspects of January abduction. There are 60 reports of victims’ abduction – 52 were rescued, five were released in negotiations, two escaped and one remains missing, prosecutor General said.
The actual number of abductions, including undocumented migrants who may not tend to connect with law enforcement, can be much higher.
Chihuahua State Police saved over 200 migrants who were abducted for ransom only in January, Luis Agre, head of the State Police in Chihuahua, told a press conference at a press conference in February.
Daniel Borunda can be found at [email protected] and @borundadaniel at xS
This article originally appeared at El Paso Times: US citizens rescued after abducted outside restaurant in Mexico