Searching for Central American Migrants Who Disappeared in Mexico Daniel Higa - Infosurhoy.com
go to original March 19, 2014

Central American migrants wait for a train to Northern Mexico. According to the National Migration Institute, 171,000 undocumented migrants entered Mexico in 2013, 95% of them from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. (Yuri Cortez/AFP)

MEXICO CITY – Guatemalan Arturo Reyes remains forever haunted by what happened on one fateful day in February 2011, when he learned just how dangerous – and deadly – a northern trek across Mexico can be for those searching for a better life.

He was among 75 Central American migrants who were forced at gunpoint to get off a train known as “La Bestia” (The Beast) in Boca de Cerro in the state of Tabasco. Their journey toward the U.S. was over – and it was about to get worse, much, much worse.

“They robbed us, beat us and raped two young women and a boy. Anyone who tried to escape was killed right in front of our eyes,” Reyes, 23, recalled while telling his story to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) at an immigration station in Tabasco.

The kidnappers demanded a US$4,500 ransom from the families for each hostage. Four days into the kidnapping, an Army unit forced the abductors to flee the safe house, freeing the hostages.

“I was going to the United States to look for a job and a better life, but now I can’t forget the smell of blood and death,” he said. “We got out, yes, but we were broken.”

But the terror that happened to Reyes, who eventually returned to Guatemala, is commonly experienced by migrants, who often are raped, beaten and killed – generally by cartels and organized crime groups – during their journey.

From 2006 to 2013, 120,000 migrants disappeared while travelling through Mexico. In 2012 alone, 11,000 migrants were kidnapped, according to the NHRC.

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