Armed men snatch 34 Cuban migrants from custody of Mexican

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Armed men snatch 34 Cuban migrants from custody of Mexican immigration agents


By Mark Stevenson
ASSOCIATED PRESS

3:45 p.m. June 12, 2008

MEXICO CITY – Armed men hijacked a bus carrying 34 detained Cuban migrants in southern Mexico after forcing immigration agents away at gunpoint, officials said on Thursday.
Eight assailants blocked a road in southern Chiapas state late Wednesday, stopping the bus carrying the Cubans and forcing the unarmed immigration agents to get off, said an official of Mexico's National Immigration Institute. None of the agents were harmed.

The official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said the assailants “were carrying heavy caliber weapons, and threatened the agentsâ€

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The seized migrants were being taken to an immigration processing center in the nearby city of Tapachula when the hijacking took place. Mexico's immigration agents are normally unarmed on such assignments.

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''Life's tough.....it's even tougher if you're stupid.''
~ John Wayne

Published Friday, June 13, 2008

Armed men snatch 33 Cubans in Mexico
By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press Writer

Armed men hijacked a bus carrying 33 Cubans and four Central American migrants detained in southern Mexico after forcing immigration agents away at gunpoint, officials said on Thursday.

A half-dozen assailants wearing masks and carrying guns blocked the road, stopped the bus and forced the seven unarmed agents and two bus drivers to get off, Mexico's National Immigration Institute said.

The hijacking occurred late Wednesday in the southern state of Chiapas. None of the immigration agents or bus drivers were harmed.

"The armed men took off with the foreigners to an unknown destination," the Immigration Institute said in a press statement.

An immigration official who was not authorized to be quoted by name said the assailants threatened the agents with "heavy caliber weapons." He initially said 34 Cubans had been involved. The bus was later discovered, empty near the jungle city of Ocosingo.

The Cubans had been detained June 5 on Mexico's Caribbean coast near Cancun.

Immigration officials said they did not know who carried out the attack, or if they were immigrant smugglers seeking to recover their charges. Migrant traffickers have sometimes been known to kidnap groups of migrants from their rivals, and later ransom them off.

Cubans are increasingly traveling through Mexico to reach the U.S., instead of trying to get past U.S. Coast Guard patrols off Florida.

There have been violent incidents related to the smuggling of Cuban migrants in the past: a suspected Cuban-American smuggler was shot and seriously wounded in Mexico in December. But Wednesday's assault marked the first case in recent memory that assailants targeted migrants who'd already been detained by immigration authorities.

The seized Cubans and Central Americans were being taken to an immigration processing center in the nearby city of Tapachula when the attack occurred. Mexican immigration agents are normally unarmed on such assignments.

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/200 ... _in_Mexico

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Armed men hijacked a bus carrying 33 Cubans and four Central American migrants detained in southern Mexico after forcing immigration agents away at gunpoint, officials said on Thursday.

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There have been violent incidents related to the smuggling of Cuban migrants in the past: a suspected Cuban-American smuggler was shot and seriously wounded in Mexico in December. But Wednesday's assault marked the first case in recent memory that assailants targeted migrants who'd already been detained by immigration authorities.

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The four Central American migrants could be drug smugglers and or cartel members--likewise for one of the Cubans.

Besides being unarmed, imagine the Mexican immigration guards lacked radioes too.

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Originally Posted by MyAmerica

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The seized migrants were being taken to an immigration processing center in the nearby city of Tapachula when the hijacking took place. Mexico's immigration agents are normally unarmed on such assignments.

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''Life's tough.....it's even tougher if you're stupid.''
~ John Wayne

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aint that the TRUTH. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: