US Border News: 162 Immigrants Rescued From Human Trafficking Ring In Mexican State of Sonora

By Oscar Lopez | Apr 06 2014, 10:51 PM EDT



Illegal immigrants from Central America, who intend to travel to the U.S. border through Mexico, carry signs as they take part in the re-enactment of the Passion of Christ on a railway line in Huehuetoca March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter. The sign (bottom R) reads, "No more missing migrants. Stop human trafficking!" Reuters

162 migrants, 97 of them Mexicans, have been rescued by the Mexican Army from the hands of human traffickers in Sonora. The men and women were found in the town of Saric in the Sonoran desert. The Mexican Secretary of Defense revealed that four camps were found in the desert on Friday close to the American borders where the victims were being held prisoner. 97 of those rescued were Mexicans, 60 were Guatemalans, three from Honduras and two from El Salvador.

The area of Saric is found on the border of the Sasabe Desert, an area known to harbor intense criminal activity from groups who traffic in weapons, drugs and people between Mexico and the United States. The victims were all found in good health and in a stable condition - they have since been transferred to the appropriate authorities. They were most likely migrants trying to cross the border illegally into the US.


In the last two weeks, just a few kilometers west of the encampment, the area has seen a number of attacks on drug mules, people who are utilized by cartels to carry drugs through difficult terrain on foot and into the United States. In one such incident, seven men were killed in an ambush: in another, which took place last week, another man was killed carrying drugs. This area has become a serious hot spot for illegal activity.


http://www.latintimes.com/us-border-...-sonora-164060