Kidnapped Mexican Migrant’s Family Paid $12k Ransom for Relative Held in Texas, Cartel Refused to Set Him Free: Authorities

A migrant trying to cross the United States border was abducted and held for ransom in Texas, and his relatives were told if they didn't pay up, he would be forced to work for a cartel which may leave him "in jail or with a bullet to the head," authorities said.

The man was one of six undocumented migrants found at a so-called stash house in Sparks earlier this month, the El Paso Times reported.

A criminal complaint showed he was due to cross the border from Mexico at El Paso on August 28, but was abducted a few days earlier from his hotel room in Juárez. His identification documents and personal belongings were left behind in the room.

On August 25, a person claiming to "represent an organization that controlled illegal activity at the border" called the man's brother and the demands began.

The caller wanted either $6,000 to release the hostage back into Mexico or $13,000 for release into the United States. The family was sent a video of their relative saying his name and telling them he was OK.

The relatives then wired funds totaling $12,000, but that was not enough. A few days later, on September 3 the kidnappers demanded more money, saying if the family didn't pay the man would have to work for a cartel.

He would either have to smuggle drugs and migrants, or help guard other kidnapping victims. Court documents stated the family was told this work would likely end with the migrant "in jail or with a bullet to the head."

Then the family received another video, with their relative appearing scared and saying he was in El Paso.

Known cartel employee harbored migrants

The victim's brother called the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, saying he was being held by smugglers, and they contacted the FBI.

Agents were able to trace one of the phone numbers used to contact the victim's family to a man called Luis Edward Castro and an address on Chaucer Drive in Sparks.

When feds knocked on the door, Castro and two illegal immigrants came to the door. When officers entered the property, they found the kidnapped man along with five other undocumented migrants.

Officers also found three rifles, a shotgun, two handguns and an AR-15 rifle, and Castro allegedly admitted a pistol was his while the others were being stored for other gang members.

Castro also allegedly admitted to being involved in people smuggling, which he was paid $100 per person, per day, as well as $200 to buy food for them.

Castro, 27, is also known as "El Alaska," according to the El Paso Times and was suspected of killings across the border in Juárez. He gets his nickname because he is a U.S. citizen born in Alaska, who allegedly ended up working as part of "La Empresa" gang/cartel in Mexico.

El Alaska appeared in front of a U.S. Magistrate earlier this week for a detention hearing, facing a federal human-smuggling harboring charge.

His attorney Joseph Veith reportedly told the court that if Castro was involved in people smuggling, he only "played a minor role and didn't do anything violent."

Migrants had reportedly told agents that Castro walked around the house with a gun, but never threatened them, instead he fed them and cleaned their rooms.

Stash houses are common

U.S. Customs and Border Protection are not unused to dealing with stash houses.

They are often a building, trailer or house where illegal aliens are held alongside weapons, drugs or other illegal items. Officers are told to look out for telltale signs, such as unkempt front lawns, piles of uncollected mail and multiple vehicles coming and going.

Around the same time as this particular case, CBP officers further south-east in Laredo discovered a stash house with ten individuals "being harbored in deplorable conditions."

CBP told The Messenger that it had dealt with 268 stash houses this year alone, with over 3,500 migrants held in "unsanitary" conditions, many of them from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

“Our El Paso Sector agents continue to disrupt the operations and smuggling attempts of the Transnational Criminal Organizations in our region and enforce consequences under Title 8 authority,” El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good said in a previous update in August.

“I am extremely proud of the men and women of the El Paso Sector who continuously display professionalism, commitment and resilience while safeguarding America’s borders.”

In a statement released to The Messenger, the FBI confirmed details of the case.

“On September 5, 2023, FBI El Paso, U.S. Border Patrol, and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office conducted law enforcement activity at a location within El Paso County," the statement read. "Six undocumented immigrants were rescued. 

"This is part of an investigation into a kidnapping for ransom extortion scheme, and therefore, no further information can be provided at this time.”